Microsoft Selects PhoneFactor to Provide Multi-Factor Security for HealthVault
PhoneFactor’s multi-factor authentication service has been integrated with Microsoft HealthVault, an online service designed to put consumers in control of their personal health information. HealthVault users can now benefit from an extra layer of security when signing into the service, further protecting their privacy and preventing identity theft and fraud.
“Our customers want choice, ease-of-use, and they want tools to help them secure their personal health information online,” said David Cerino, general manager of Microsoft Health Solutions Group. “By adding PhoneFactor to HealthVault, our users can benefit from a strong second layer of protection.”
The integrated Phonefactor service provides simple, effective, multi-factor authentication. When consumers sign into HealthVault or one of the health and wellness applications that use HealthVault single sign-on, such as the American Heart Association’s Heart360 and the Mayo Clinic Health Manager, they start by entering a user name and password. Instantly, PhoneFactor calls the user. The user answers the call and presses # to complete the sign-in process. HealthVault is making PhoneFactor authentication available to its users at no cost.
PhoneFactor is ideal for such consumer applications as HealthVault. It works instantly with any phone anywhere in the world, it requires no end-user training, and its out-of-band architecture protects against security threats, including man-in-the-middle and malware. It is used by healthcare organizations to authenticate remote access to protected health information stored on hospital networks.
“People are paranoid about the security of their medical records and rightfully so,” said Tim Sutton, PhoneFactor CEO and co-founder. “With PhoneFactor, HealthVault users can be confident that the privacy of their data is protected with no additional cost to them, no extra devices to carry and no software to install.”