NEM Authenticator  —  2FC for enhanced security

From Aleix Morgadas

This post requires some knowledge about Blockchain technology.

The NEM Blockchain’s focus is to unleash the power of the blockchain technology to build real world applications on top of it.

NEM comes with a rich API that makes it easy to integrate the new and existing software with itself. Furthermore, the API is a needed layer of abstraction that allows every software solution to use it independently.

You may think, if it is so easy to integrate, someone could have evil purposes (mostly around stealing your money/assets). He/she can develop software using the NEM Blockchain that requires your private key to be used. Does it mean that we must be releasing on software verified by the NEM Foundation? Of course not! No if we have the NEM Authenticator.

So, what is NEM Authenticator? Let’s start with something familiar, the Google Authenticator.

The Google Authenticator is a 2-Factor Authentication application where the users have to introduce their password (something they know) and a PIN code (something they have), to be able to login in a web site for example.

For reference see: https://ageekydad.com/tag/2-factor-authentication/

NEM Authenticator is a mobile application, for Android & iOS, where the user can confirm their transactions securely.

But… all you need to use a NEM Account is the public key and the private key, how could you keep safe your money if you share your private key? Using a 2-Factor Confirmation Process.

The 2-Factor Confirmation Process is a way to secure your money/assets and still be able to use third-party software without the fear of losing all the XEM (XEM is the NEM’s blockchain coin) you own.

If you want to check the technical details, check out the proposal definition. Technical Reference.

NEM Authenticator is under development by Atraura Blockchain, and it will be released soon.

Join the Open Beta now on the NEM Forum!

This post first appeared on medium.