Lesson 3: Authentication

- [Instructor] The final lesson that we can draw…from the Sony breach is a common one…from security incidents.…Implement strong authentication.…The malware used in the Sony attack…was extremely successful because it contained…a hard-coded password that was used to make…SMB connections between systems on the Sony network.…We don't know how the attackers obtained this password,…but it served as the skeleton key…that allowed them to quickly infiltrate…the entire Sony network.…

They might've obtained it through a preliminary attack,…through social engineering,…or with inside information.…But the way that they obtained it…doesn't really matter.…What does matter is that we understand…the importance of implementing…strong authentication systems.…The first way that we can strengthen…our authentication systems against this type of attack…is by implementing multifactor authentication.…We've talked about multifactor authentication before.…And you can learn more about it…by watching the state-sponsored university breach episode…