Recently, Cisco declared its intention to purchase Duo Security for US$2.35 billion. Naturally, this is an important event not only for Duo Security, but for the entire multi-factor authentication industry. A sale of this magnitude confirms that the demand for two-factor authentication is higher than ever before. This also shows that there is a demand for simpler, less expensive means of delivering one-time passwords, since Duo prominently advertises its rejection of hardware tokens in favor of 2FA apps, push notifications, and SMS messages (which are expensive and not secure). Protectimus fully supports Duo Security’s efforts to simplify and reduce the cost of OTP delivery, but we remain convinced that security must not be sacrificed in the process. For example, in order to hasten the move away from SMS authentication to more modern, reliable MFA technologies, we’ve figured out how to deliver one-time passwords using chatbots on messaging services. This is much more efficient, secure, and convenient than SMS. Hardware tokens are also among the products we offer, and they can be connected to practically any site: from Google, Facebook, Dropbox, and Slack to cryptocurrency exchanges like Bitfinex, Coinbase, Poloniex, and so on. In light of that, has Cisco made the right decision? Should they maybe have spent $2.35 billion on acquiring Protectimus instead? We’ve decided to compare the solutions from Duo and Protectimus to settle the matter objectively. DON’T LIKE LONG READS? FIND OUR CONCLUSIONS IN A COMPARISON TABLE AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE. 1. Server-side component Duo Security Duo is a cloud-based 2FA solution. The choice of the SaaS model is completely logical. It makes integration fast and reduces the cost of deploying, protecting, and maintaining an authentication server. This style of interaction is convenient and easy for the client and company alike. In addition, it’s a rather modern approach to strong authentication, so it fits well with Duo Security’s concept as a modern, innovative provider of revolutionary MFA solutions. Protectimus Protectimus two-factor authentication solution is available not only in cloud-based form but also as an on-premise platform. Often, we advise customers to choose the cloud-based service, since it’s convenient, fast, and modern. Clients connected to the Protectimus SaaS service don’t need to waste time and money on extra equipment, security measures, and sysadmin salaries — there’s no load balancing or other infrastructure issues to worry about. The result is rapid integration with minimal costs. However, some companies can’t make use of cloud-based services because of strict information security rules, either from within the company or imposed by the government. For these cases, we made it possible to purchase an on-premise platform that clients can install in their own environments, allowing them to retain full control of the authentication server. Both the on-premise platform and cloud-based service are available with a subscription. Lifetime licenses for the platform can also be purchased. You can find out more about the differences between the cloud-based service and the platform here. 2. Features Duo Security Note: Nearly all features examined in this section can be activated only with Duo’s most expensive payment plans, Access and Beyond. Self-service is also available in the Duo MFA basic plan. Duo offers a range of additional features to make administration easy and increase the level of resource access protection: User self-service. Geographic filters. Prohibiting access from anonymous networks. Access control based on IP address. Role-based access policies allowing the administrator to impose custom (stricter) authentication requirements for users with the highest access level. Device access policies allowing the administrator to control which devices can access the applications. It checks the mobile devices with the Duo Mobile app installed on hygiene, operating system, browser, plugins, and whether...