6 E-Commerce Security Pointers for Marketers and Consumers Alike

3. Two-factor authentication. Online businesses increasingly use “two-factor” authentication to provide access to end users’ accounts. This combines something the consumer knows, such as a user name and password, with something the consumer has, such as a unique, one-time security code.

This code is typically generated by a small, plastic token, credit card-shaped smart card or SMS-enabled mobile device. Because a two-factor-protected site requires both the user name and password combination coupled with the one-time code, the theft of one is useless without the other.