Adaptive Authentication
Authentication flows that change based on risk signals. Low-risk sign-ins may complete with one factor; high-risk sign-ins escalate to step-up MFA or are blocked. Synonym in most contexts: risk-based authentication.
The value of adaptive authentication is that it lets you raise assurance without raising friction for everyone, which is the only way strong controls survive contact with a consumer funnel. The risk is that the signals are mostly heuristics: IP reputation, geo-velocity, and device fingerprints all degrade as attackers use residential proxies and real browsers. Treat risk scoring as a way to decide when to demand a phishing-resistant factor, not as a replacement for one.
See also: risk-based auth, conditional access, step-up auth, device posture
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