Multi Factor Authentication - Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction to Multi Factor Authentication | Frequently Asked Questions | Enrollment Preview

1. What is Multi Factor Authentication?
Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) provides you, the member, added safety by helping ensure that only you can access your Centra account. Part of MFA is a picture and caption you choose that are shared secrets between you and Centra. When you see your picture and caption, you can be confident that you are at the legitimate Centralink web site, not an imposter site.

Make sure you see the picture and caption you chose before you enter your password!

In addition, the MFA system remembers which computer(s) you normally use; preventing potential fraudsters from logging into your Centra account even if they somehow obtain or guess your username and password.

2. Why do I need MFA?
MFA is an enhanced security feature that helps protect you while you access your on-line account. On the Internet today, fraudsters attempt to steal your identity by impersonating the web sites you trust. This is called "Phishing." We are committed to proactively protecting you, our member, against such attacks. MFA helps us do this.

3. What is Phishing?
Recently there have been attempts by fraudsters to trick people into revealing their personal information, such as passwords, by creating fake web sites that look very much like the sites of legitimate financial institutions. They send out emails randomly with links to these fake web sites. This phenomenon has been called Phishing, (pronounced "fishing").

4. How does it work?
When you visit your Centra branch office, you know our faces and we know yours. MFA does the same thing over the Internet. It is a new method to identify us to you and you to us. When you enroll in MFA, you will select a secret picture and caption known only to you. Whenever you log-in we will show you this picture so you can rest assured that you are accessing the real Centralink site and not an impostor site.

We also check the computer(s) or device(s) that you are using to access Centralink. Typically you will access the web site from one or two computers, such as your work and home machine. MFA remembers your computer. Should you need to log-in from a different computer, such as an Internet cafe, we will take additional steps to verify your identity, such as ask you to provide the answer to secret questions we both know the answers to.

MFA remembers your computer by assigning a unique identifier to each computer you use to access our web site using standard secure cookies. The cookie is used to store the identification information only. No personal or private data is stored in any way.

5. How is MFA more secure?
MFA protects you from accidentally revealing your username and password to a fake site. This is done by showing your MFA photo and caption to you, so that you may decide if the site is secure. If you do not see your photo and caption, you will know that the site you are on is not Centralink. In addition, if someone does somehow get your username and password, he will still not be able to access your account because he is not at your registered computer.

6. What keeps somebody from stealing my MFA picture?
We only show you your MFA picture and caption if you log-in from your own computer, or after you have answered a secret question. So, it is not possible for an unauthorized person to get access to your picture.

7. Why am I being asked a question when I try to log-in?
We ask you a secret question when we detect that you are trying to log-in from a new computer. This is to prevent someone with stolen passwords from logging into your account. Since only you know the answer to the questions, we will know it's really you. Generally you will be asked to answer a secret question only when you log-in for the first time from a new computer.

After you answer the question, you will be asked whether we should remember this computer for future log-ins. If you are using a personal computer, you should answer yes. If you are using a public terminal, you will want to answer no.

8. What is the difference between my picture caption and my password?
When logging back into your Centra account, the new picture caption that you entered will appear inside your MFA image, giving further proof that you are indeed at the legitimate Centralink website. The password you enter will continue to be the same password that you have entered previously when logging onto Centralink.

9. Can I access my account from multiple computers?
Yes, you can still access your Centra account from any number of computers. If you log-in from a new computer or a public terminal, you will just need to go through one extra step of answering a secret question. This helps protect you by keeping unauthorized people from accessing your valuable information. There is no limit on how many different computers you can use to log-in to your Centra account.

10. I am not an Internet expert. How easy is MFA to use?
MFA is extremely simple for anyone to use. You don't need to memorize anything new -- just use the site as usual and look for your photo and caption at log-in.

11. I share my computer with someone who has their own Centra account. Can both of us still log-in from this machine?
Yes, you can both use the same computer to log-in to your individual Centra accounts. There is no limit on how many people can log-in into Centralink from the same computer.

12. What happens if someone steals my password? How will MFA keep them from accessing my account?
When someone tries to log-in using your stolen user name and password, we will recognize that they are logging in from a different computer, and ask them a secret question. Since only you know the answers to your secret questions, they will not be able to give a correct answer. They will not be able to log-in.

13. Can I change my MFA picture and caption?
Yes, you can change your MFA picture and caption at any time. To make the change, go to the account maintenance link after you log-in to your account.

14. How do you know I am logging in from my own computer?
When you log-in for the first time from a new computer, we put a secure (encrypted) cookie on your computer. This cookie contains a randomly generated unique number that identifies your computer. The cookie is visible only to the Centralink site and does not contain any of your personal information. When you log-in after that, your web browser sends us this cookie. This lets us know that this is your computer.

15. I am trying to log-in from my own computer, but Centralink is not showing me my MFA picture. Instead, it is asking me a question. What is happening?
This might happen in rare cases if you have deleted all cookies on your computer. Before answering a secret question or entering your password, make sure that you are going to the legitimate Centralink web site. The easiest way to ensure this is by typing the Centra URL (www.centra.org) directly into your web browser. Then, after you answer the security question, you should see your secret MFA picture next to the password field. If your MFA picture is there, you can be confident that you are at the legitimate web site and can enter your password.

16. What is a Trojan or Key Logger?
Some fraudsters have been putting programs on random computers in order to harvest your user id and password information used to log-in to web sites. They collect this information and secretly transmit it to their own computers and attempt to log-in to your site. These are called Trojans (short for Trojan Horse) or Key Loggers (for logging your keystrokes).

17. How does MFA protect me from a Trojan or Key Logger?
Once you have registered with MFA and have registered your computer, even if a fraudster steals your login ID and Password, his computer will not be registered and he will not be able to log-in as you; thus, MFA protects your identity and your account.