Why Multifactor Authentication Should No Longer Be Optional in K–12

Anyone who uses online banking these days probably gets multifactor authentication prompts, usually via a text message or authentication app, although fingerprint scans and facial recognition are becoming more common. Users may not like the additional validation prompts, but they understand the function and the need to verify access to sensitive accounts with something stronger than a password.
Until recently, MFA remained a hotly debated subject in K–12 education circles, but cybersecurity insurance carriers are now requiring school districts to use the technology to prevent ransomware and…

Related Articles

A look at the CBP prioritizing facial recognition to verify ~85% of the 221K daily travelers entering the US, replacing passport lines and self-serve kiosks (Heather Murphy/New York Times)

Heather Murphy / New York Times:
A look at the CBP prioritizing facial recognition to verify ~85% of the 221K daily travelers entering the US, replacing passport lines and self-serve kiosks  —  More than 80 percent of all travelers entering the U.S. are now verified by facial recognition.  The loss of older, seemingly more convenient methods has many perplexed.

The Iranian government plans to use facial recognition on public transport to identify women who are not complying with its strict new hijab laws (Weronika Strzyżyńska/The Gua …)

Weronika Strzyżyńska / The Guardian:
The Iranian government plans to use facial recognition on public transport to identify women who are not complying with its strict new hijab laws  —  Government says it will use technology on public transport in crackdown on women’s dress  —  The Iranian government is planning …

Texas AG sues Google for allegedly using features in Photos, Assistant, and Nest devices to collect facial- and voice-recognition data without proper consent (Miles Kruppa/Wall Street Journal)

Miles Kruppa / Wall Street Journal:
Texas AG sues Google for allegedly using features in Photos, Assistant, and Nest devices to collect facial- and voice-recognition data without proper consent  —  State alleges tech giant didn’t obtain user consent for biometric-data use  —  The Texas attorney general sued Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG 2.32%▲ …

Cairo-based Money Fellows, which digitizes money circles or rotating savings and credit associations, raised a $31M Series B, bringing its total funding to $37M (Tage Kene-Okafor/TechCrunch)

Tage Kene-Okafor / TechCrunch:
Cairo-based Money Fellows, which digitizes money circles or rotating savings and credit associations, raised a $31M Series B, bringing its total funding to $37M  —  Egyptian fintech Money Fellows has raised $31 million in what it describes as the first close of its Series B investment.

DC-based Pie Insurance, which uses data and analytics to help SMBs get insurance digitally, raised a $315M Series D, bringing its total funding to $615M+ (Ana Lucía Murillo/Washington …)

Ana Lucía Murillo / Washington, D.C. Business Journal:
DC-based Pie Insurance, which uses data and analytics to help SMBs get insurance digitally, raised a $315M Series D, bringing its total funding to $615M+  —  Pie Insurance has raised yet another staggering round of funding to create new lines of business for the tech-enabled insurance firm.