Identity solutions company HID has announced a new integration with Microsoft Entra ID, enabling employees to use their existing physical access cards as a multi-factor authentication (MFA) method to access resources such as Entra ID and Microsoft 365.
The integration allows organisations to take the next step towards not using passwords by simplifying MFA deployment and enabling faster end-user adoption for Entra ID users while meeting Microsoft’s mandatory MFA requirements and accelerating the path to phishing-resistant password-less authentication.
“Deploying MFA is one of the most important steps to securing user identities, and the purpose of Microsoft Entra ID External Authentication Method is to extend the purpose of Entra ID’s functionality by enabling organisations to use the third-party MFA solution of their choosing to establish quick, simple, and secure MFA,” said Microsoft Security Product Manager Eleanor Falla. “HID’s integration offers flexibility through its many authenticator choices and offers the convenience of choosing from existing physical cards to access both facilities and digital resources as an MFA factor.”
A Microsoft Research study showed that MFA reduced the risk of security compromise by more than 99.2%. HID brings seamless, streamlined MFA deployment to Entra ID users through its HID Authentication Service powered by the HID Authentication Platform. The secure cloud platform enables organisations to meet Microsoft’s mandatory MFA requirements, whether they are in the early phase of their password-less journey or ready to shift to a completely phishing-resistant, password-less authentication path. Developed explicitly for highly regulated industries where high assurance is crucial, the platform simplifies identity establishment, creation, management, and use and employs cryptography to secure data.
“HID’s longstanding partnership with Microsoft has delivered increasingly valuable MFA innovations as we collaborate on driving a password-less future,” said HID’s Director of Strategic Alliances, Sean Dyon. “Our solutions meet enterprises wherever they are on what I call the crawl, walk, run path to completely phishing-resistant password-less authentication. We recognise the vital importance of effective change management and optimising the user experience at every point in this journey through extensive MFA options that fit a broad range of organisational needs.”
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Flexibility to tailor the MFA journey: HID offers the industry’s broadest range of authentication methods and physical authenticators, including hardware OTP tokens, security keys and smart cards equipped with FIDO technology (device-bound passkeys) as well as PKI/CBA, and physical access cards;
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Convenience for users and administrators alike: HID is the first vendor to offer the option of using physical access cards to access Microsoft Entra ID, unifying physical and digital access from doorways to desktops and cloud applications. It means organisations don’t have to require users to have a company phone or to install anything on their personal phone; and
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Enhanced security from a trusted leader: With HID, organisations can leverage over 20 years expertise in smart cards, digital certificates and lifecycle management to quickly deploy MFA per Microsoft requirements without compromising productivity.
