Multi-factor authentication will generate $27 billion for mobile operators this year: Juniper – Cybersecurity

According to a new study from Juniper Research, mobile operators are expected to generate $27 billion from multi-factor authentication text messages worldwide in 2022.

Multi-factor authentication is the combination of two or more credentials, including an email or text message code to verify and secure a transaction.

This jump represents a growth of 5% from the $27 billion generated in 2021. The authors suggest that this growth is the result of increased cybersecurity pressure on digital service providers.

According to research co-author Keith Breed, “SMBs have generally not invested in messaging for security in the past. However, growing pressure to implement greater user security will drive SMB adoption over the next 5 years and increase global traffic.

The study shows that 1.7 trillion multi-factor authentication messages will be delivered globally this year, representing 60% of all enterprise SMS traffic.

Operators can use firewalls to monitor SMS traffic used for multi-factor authentication to capitalize on growing demand in this industry and charge a premium for this traffic.
Mobile operators should automate the monitoring of this traffic by leveraging machine learning algorithms, according to the report.

“Automating traffic detection is critical for operators as we expect multi-factor authentication traffic to reach 2.1 billion messages by 2027,” Breed said.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the adoption of digital services and such as digital virtual assistants, according to a Juniper white paper on the subject.

According to the report, “Voice AI is used to extract information from normal voice calls to create a series of meaningful instructions, which can answer users’ questions quickly and efficiently. Users are increasingly verified by video, using facial recognition with 3D “vividness” detection as a more secure form of authentication.

“Throughout the pandemic, businesses have been able to see the benefits of investing in digital technology with authentication and the level of investment looks set to continue.”