Authentication Best Practices: Keeping User Accounts Secure

User accounts are one of the most common targets for attackers. Strong authentication protects your customers and your business, and modern approaches can make it both safer and more convenient.

Passwords done properly

• Store passwords only as secure, salted hashes, never in plain text.
• Encourage long passphrases rather than complex rules that lead to predictable passwords.
• Check new passwords against lists of known breached passwords.
• Limit repeated login attempts to slow down guessing attacks.

Multi-factor authentication

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires something in addition to a password, such as a code from an authenticator app or a security key. It blocks most account takeover attempts and should be available to all users, and required for administrators.

Passkeys

Passkeys let users sign in with their device's fingerprint, face recognition, or PIN, using cryptographic keys instead of passwords. They are resistant to phishing and increasingly supported across devices.

Single sign-on

For business products, letting employees sign in with their company identity provider centralises security and access management.

Secure sessions

• Use secure, HTTP-only cookies.
• Expire sessions after inactivity.
• Let users see and sign out of active sessions.
• Require re-authentication for sensitive actions such as changing email or payment details.

Account recovery

Recovery flows are a common weak point. Use secure, time-limited links, notify users of changes, and avoid security questions with guessable answers.

The login screen is the front door of your product. Lock it properly.

MOKRIN implements secure authentication with hashed passwords, MFA, passkey support where appropriate, and safe session and recovery handling.