What are security tokens primarily used for?

Security tokens play a crucial role in user identity verification and authentication processes. They are physical or digital devices that provide a means of proving a user’s identity before granting access to systems or information. Typically, security tokens generate one-time passwords or use cryptographic methods to securely authenticate users when they log in to their accounts or access sensitive information.

This method enhances security by requiring something the user has (the token) in addition to something the user knows (like a password), thus implementing a two-factor authentication mechanism. By requiring a token that can change at regular intervals or provide unique codes each time a user attempts to log in, security tokens help protect against unauthorized access and identity theft.

While data encryption, network performance monitoring, and backup data storage are all important elements of cybersecurity, they do not specifically relate to the core function of security tokens, which is fundamentally tied to authentication and ensuring that the user accessing a system is who they claim to be.