The feature of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) via Email, enables Storefront administrators to offer Storefront users an extra layer of user-friendly protection during their login by enhancing the security of the platform and the privacy of the accounts. Specifically, with 2FA, a user needs to provide two different identity verification factors to confirm their identity, adding an additional layer of security beyond a password. Therefore, this feature grants users greater autonomy over their authentication preferences, aligning with the need for customizable security measures in your digital systems.

Enabling the 2FA Mechanism

You can enable the 2FA mechanism from within the BSS platform by navigating to the BSS Setup > Administration > System Options > User Authentication > Authentication Options and clicking on the Storefront Options -> Two Factor Authentication (2FA) toggle button to activate it (1), which by default is inactive. After enabling the 2FA toggle button, you must save this change by clicking on the Save button (2). Otherwise, the enablement of the 2FA mechanism will not be applied.

Once you have enabled the 2FA toggle button for the Storefront and saved the change, the 2FA Email Notification is also enabled automatically. However, the notification will not be deactivated if the Two Factor Authentication (2FA) toggle is deactivated. You must visit the notification BSS Setup > Administration > Notifications > Customer Notifications to deactivate it manually.
Moreover, if you wish to customize the 2FA Email Notification, according to your needs and business image, you can do it by either clicking at the end of the “You can edit the BSS 2FA notification email body, by clicking here“ text or by navigating to the BSS Setup > Administration > Notifications > Customer Notifications and selecting first the Group Contacts and then the Notification ‘Storefront User 2FA Verification Code’, where you can view the systemic Email notification. Once you have completed your edits, you must save them by clicking on the Save button. Otherwise, the changes to the 2FA notification will not be applied.

Logging into Storefront with 2FA

The classic login method in the Storefront platform remains the same, but the 2FA security step enriches it. Specifically, the Storefront user enters the credentials required for logging in, which include the username, and password. Whether the user has Administrative rights or is a regular user, during the login process with local login credentials, they will go through the 2FA authentication procedure when it is enabled*.

Once the Storefront user clicks the login button and passes the existing credentials verification, two actions occur:

1. A pop-up window opens, requesting the 2FA Verification Code.

2. An email is dispatched to the email address belonging to the user.

Verification Code Pop-up

In the pop-up window that appears, the Storefront user is requested to enter the six-digit verification code they received in their email. Of course, the email to which the verification code will be sent belongs to the user attempting to log in.
For extra security and historical purposes, at this stage, the email of the Storefront user attempting to log in is recorded in the path BSS Setup > Administration > Personal Setup > Profile.

Inside the verification pop-up window, the Storefront user can witness the Verification code field in which the 6-digit verification code that was dispatched to their email address must be filled in. The code is visible, and the Storefront user can see it when they enter it. The field cannot accept more than 6 characters and only accepts numbers.

There are two main scenarios concerning the Verification code field:

• Valid Verification Code: When the active verification code is inserted into the verification field, and the Verify and Log In button is clicked, then the Storefront user is successfully logged in and is redirected to the Storefront Home Page.

• Invalid Verification Code: In this scenario, three reasons can invalidate the verification process and are analyzed below.:

  • When the Storefront user leaves the Verification code field blank, and clicks Verify and Log In, the following error message appears:

    

  • In case an incorrect code is entered from the one sent to the email notification, by clicking the Verify and Log In button, the following message appears:

    

  • When the Storefront user attempts to enter the verification code after the code has expired, which occurs after 5 minutes**, or after 10 attempts → the following message is displayed:

    

For cases such as the aforementioned one where the verification code is expired, the user can interact with an option called Resend in the verification pop-up window. This button is typically used when a Storefront user needs to resend the verification email that was previously sent, but either it has expired or was not received in time. Please note that to prevent misuse, each verification code is single-use only, meaning that the code becomes invalidated after it has been used. Lastly, when the Storefront user clicks the Resend button, an informative message appears that informs the user that a new email has been dispatched.

Verification Email from the 2FA Mechanism

After the user fills in their Storefront local credentials to log in to the Storefront, a system-generated email notification is dispatched to the user's predefined email address containing the 2FA verification code.

The following email notification template is used:

Concerning the To: {#Contacts.Email#} email field, when the user leaves this field empty, it is configured to automatically send the notification to the account associated {#Contacts.Email#}. Otherwise, if a merge field for the recipient is set to the To: field, then the merge field takes precedence.

Of course, BSS administrators can customize, as previously mentioned, the email body to fit their business requirements.

The final 2FA notification email that is dispatched to the email address of the Storefront user looks like the following example: