Cybersecurity Glossary
MFA Fatigue
Flooding someone with approval prompts until they tap accept just to make it stop.
What MFA Fatigue means
When an attacker already has the password, they can trigger the push approval repeatedly, often late at night. Eventually the user approves out of confusion or irritation. Several major breaches began exactly this way, sometimes finished with a phone call posing as support.
Why MFA Fatigue matters for small businesses and nonprofits
It shows that having multi factor authentication is not the same as having it configured well. The fix is small and specific rather than a change of platform.
What to do about MFA Fatigue
- Turn on number matching so approving requires reading a code from the screen
- Show application and location context in the prompt
- Tell staff that repeated unexpected prompts mean their password is already known
Not sure where you stand on this?
We review your current setup against the basics, tell you plainly what is covered and what is not, and give you a ranked list with effort and cost. No jargon and no scare tactics.