TazWorks enhances background check security

SALT LAKE CITY — (November 1, 2011) — TazWorks LLC, a web-based background screening software company, in an ongoing effort to continually improve security, has enhanced the Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) available in InstaScreen Premiere 2.0™. Background Screening Agencies will be able to utilize this feature to assure the security of their sensitive business data.
There are three classes of factors in MFA: 1) Something a person knows, e.g., user-name and password; 2) Something a person has, e.g., digital certificate, token, or physical device; and 3) Something a person is, e.g., fingerprints or retina pattern. InstaScreen™ 2.0 currently requires authentication based on “what a person knows” (user-name and password), and provides an option for “what a person has” (IP address restrictions). IP address restrictions are not always practical, however, and can be time consuming to manage. InstaScreen now provides a more user-friendly means to restrict access based on an additional factor from the “what a person has” class: an SMS/text enabled phone.
When logging into InstaScreen™ 2.0 from an unrecognized computer, the user (either as a CRA, Client, or Vendor) will receive, via SMS/text, an additional authentication token to enter in with the username and password. Once verified, that computer will be “registered” in InstaScreen™ 2.0, and the user will be able to login from that computer with just the username and password for subsequent sessions. This registration process will be required every 30 days, as well as anytime the user logs in from an unregistered computer. A user may have up to four computers registered concurrently.
Multi-Factor Authentication provides significant security benefits to CRAs and their clients with respect to safeguarding access to sensitive, business-critical data in InstaScreen™ 2.0. Most notably, leveraging MFA helps protect against unauthorized access by an adversary who obtains a user’s credentials through malware, social engineering, or snooping around a desk for post-it notes. The industry recognizes these benefits, and MFA is becoming a de facto security requirement for access to third-party data sets, as recently seen with Experian. TazWorks encourages all to take advantage of the MFA enhancements to InstaScreen™ 2.0.
“Unfortunately, the slow economy does not seem to have had any meaningful impact on the activities of the hacker community, and security concerns continue to be a fundamental priority for all in the background screening industry,” said Barton Taylor, founder of TazWorks. “TazWorks is committed to the security and integrity of client and applicant data, as well as maintaining approval from the three national credit bureaus to deliver credit data over the Internet. To this end, we spend countless hours and dollars for security consulting, staff training, and third-party auditing towards the EI3PA and other security certifications. You can rest assured knowing that we have your back.”
About TazWorks
TazWorks, LLC was founded in 2002 to provide background screening companies with an affordable world-class background screening application. InstaScreen Premiere 2.0™ delivers simple, powerful background screening software right to your browser. Efficient, intuitive, full-featured options such as QuickApp, Tenant Scorecard, Drug Testing Workflow, and Applicant Tracking System (ATS) interfaces, combined with outstanding service and support, make TazWorks the easy choice. Since its inception, InstaScreen has experienced continual growth, year after year.
The TazWorks team offers decades of experience in computer programming, background screening, and customer service, but it is TazWorks’ clients who truly made the difference. InstaScreen Premiere 2.0™ is a direct result of the cooperative effort between the TazWorks team and TazWorks’ client base, resulting in a software package that takes the background screening process to the highest level.
Learn more about TazWorks by visiting http://www.tazworks.com/
To learn more on how TazWorks’ new InstaScreen Premiere 2.0™ can assist customers in improving their efforts in the background checking industry, contact sales at 801.572.7401 Ext 3 or contact us. Read more about InstaScreen Premiere 2.0™