HID partnership brings access cards to Entra ID MFA options

HID has announced a new integration with Microsoft Entra ID, for enterprise employees to use their existing physical access cards as a method of multi-factor authentication (MFA) to access Entra ID and Microsoft 365 resources.

Both companies anticipate that the move could simplify MFA deployment and aid organizations in adopting passwordless authentication while meeting Microsoft’s mandatory MFA requirements.

The integration offers some level of choice for organizations in selecting how to implement MFA, particularly in relation to phishing-resistant, passwordless authentication, HID notes.

“Deploying MFA is one of the most important steps to securing user identities, and the purpose of Microsoft Entra ID External Authentication Method (EAM) is to extend the purpose of Entra ID’s functionality by enabling organizations to use the third-party MFA solution of their choosing to establish quick, simple, and secure MFA,” says Eleanor Falla, senior product manager for Microsoft Security.

“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.”

This comes as a study conducted by Microsoft Research revealed that MFA reduces the risk of security breaches by over 99 percent. HID’s new platform for Entra ID users comes with options, essentially, for the deployment of MFA through its cloud-based HID authentication service, launched in 2021. With that, HID says that the platform is particularly targeted at industries that require high security assurance and offers tools to manage and protect data using cryptographic methods.

HID’s director of strategic alliances, Sean Dyon, notes that the integration continues a longstanding collaboration with Microsoft, focusing on the transition to a passwordless future.

“Our solutions meet enterprises wherever they are on what I call the ‘crawl, walk, run’ path to completely phishing-resistant passwordless authentication. We recognize the vital importance of effective change management and optimizing the user experience at every point in this journey through extensive MFA options that fit a broad range of organizational needs,” he continues.

HID offers several different authentication methods, including hardware one-time password (OTP) tokens, security keys, and smart cards equipped with FIDO technology. Additionally, physical access cards and public key infrastructure (PKI) certificate-based authentication (CBA) are available.

HID’s knowledge in smart cards, digital certificates, and identity lifecycle management, will be implemented in the MFA deployment process.

Article Topics

access control  |  access management  |  HID  |  Microsoft Entra  |  multifactor authentication  |  passwordless authentication