Bringing Commercial-Grade Two-Factor Authentication to the OutSystems Community
As part of the recent update of the Vonage communication components in the OutSystems Forge marketplace, two-factor authentication (2FA) for OutSystems was released. This is significant for two main reasons:
1. More Than Ever, Security Is a Top Priority
First, because security is a top priority for OutSystems and its users. Single-factor authentication, or only verifying a user’s identity by asking them to log in via a password, is no longer sufficient.
Let's take a closer look at two-factor authentication.
How two-factor authentication works
Intercept the login
A user logging into an account first confirms their username and password, but to be certain that the user is who they say they are, our Verify API gets involved.
Our Verify API reaches out
We send a one-time code — via SMS, voice, or push notification — to the phone associated with that username and password.
The account owner confirms
When the code arrives on the phone belonging to the user associated with the account, the owner keys in the short verification code into the input box presented by the app.
Allow account access
Your app verifies that the entered code matches the code that was sent, confirming that the person attempting to access the account has the phone linked to that account. Your app can then give full access to the user.
2FA brings an additional challenge for bad actors — a password, even if it's hacked, is no longer enough to gain access to a user’s online account. They would also need access to the user’s SMS. 2FA therefore provides an extra layer of security.
This is true whether the organization needs to authenticate an employee or a customer. And it applies to every sector and not just B2C use cases, such as banking and insurance, healthcare, utilities, and government.
With the Vonage 2FA component for OutSystems, you can seamlessly generate a one-time password and instantly send it to the user via SMS. SMS is demonstrably still the communication service of choice because of its high delivery rate, as well as its high response rate.
As a global leader in cloud communications, Vonage has many direct-to-carrier relationships around the world. Together with our proprietary Adaptive Routing algorithm, this allows us to work in real-time to find the best routes for your SMS.
In addition, Vonage ensures that one-time passwords (OTP) are delivered in accordance with country requirements, and they can also provide more comprehensive Service Level Agreements.
2. Orchestrating a Complete Customer Journey
The second reason why this is significant is that Vonage Communications APIs enable the creation of complete user journeys.
With the addition of 2FA, OutSystems developers and users can now access the full breadth of communication capabilities, from account creation to messaging to visual engagement.
For instance, as a user creates an account, the organization can seamlessly:
validate the user’s identity with 2FA
but also automate messaging via SMS or WhatsApp to schedule a virtual appointment,
hold the appointment via a remote video session
and enable a follow-up via an in-app voice call or click-to-call session from a webpage.
We have seen traction in areas as diverse as telemedicine (see the Unimed success story video) to video banking to enabling HIPAA-compliant medical collaboration (with Seecure built with LINKIT).
Why Vonage 2FA With OutSystems?
OutSystems recently named Vonage “Partner of the Year.” Vonage 2FA now enables OutSystems developers, integrators, and customers around the world to expand digital transformation beyond traditional use cases.
Learn more about OutSystem’s partnership with Vonage.
