Secure procurement: Introducing mandatory Two-Step Verification

Strong account security is essential for protecting your organization’s procurement processes and ensuring business continuity. In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, relying solely on passwords leaves even the most robust organizations open to risk. Adding a simple but powerful extra layer of protection can make all the difference in keeping sensitive information and transactions secure.

With the introduction of mandatory Two-Step Verification (2SV) for Amazon Business, administrators can enhance account protection across the organization. By requiring two forms of authentication, 2SV adds an extra layer of assurance that only authorized users can access critical business functions.

The hidden costs of weak account security

Safeguarding your procurement process goes beyond managing budgets and suppliers; it starts with strong account security. When account protections are not prioritized, organizations expose themselves to a range of operational and financial risks that are easily preventable.

Security vulnerabilities

The most common entry point for unauthorized access is a compromised password. And the persistence of password-related breaches are often tied to the human error. In fact, according to the 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 68% of breaches were tied to this human element, including using week passwords, reusing passwords across multiple accounts, and social engineering tactics like phishing. When an employee uses the same password for multiple services, a breach on one platform can expose your business account.

Once an unauthorized user gains access, they can view sensitive financial data, order histories, and more. This can lead to fraudulent purchases or disruptive changes to account settings, creating immediate financial and logistical problems. Securing your account at the sign-in stage is one of the most effective ways to prevent these issues.

The threat of operational disruption

An account compromise does more than just expose data; it disrupts your entire procurement workflow. The process of identifying a breach, locking down the account, and recovering control consumes valuable time and resources. This downtime directly halts purchasing activities and can delay critical projects.

Additionally, a security incident can affect the trust you've built with internal teams and external partners. Stakeholders and vendors rely on your ability to maintain a secure procurement environment. A security lapse can damage this confidence, adding another layer of complexity to your business relationships. Taking proactive security measures ensures operational continuity and maintains professional trust.

Your new layer of defense: Mandatory 2SV for Amazon Business

Addressing security vulnerabilities, compliance gaps, and operational disruptions requires a proactive approach. Fortunately, strengthening your account security is straightforward with the right tools. Mandatory 2SV for Amazon Business is a direct and effective solution designed to counter these common challenges and give you greater control.

What is mandatory 2SV?

2SV adds an additional layer of security to the Amazon Business account sign-in process, confirming a user’s identity by requiring two forms of authentication:

1. Something they know: Their Amazon Business password.
2. Something they have: A unique, one-time code from a mobile phone or authenticator app.

The mandatory 2SV feature empowers administrators to enforce this requirement for all users across their organization, while also allowing them to enable exemptions at the user level. By enabling mandatory 2SV, you ensure that even if a password or email account is compromised, unauthorized individuals cannot gain access to your Amazon Business account. This simple step effectively protects your organization against account takeover attempts, safeguarding your sensitive data and procurement workflows.

How to implement mandatory 2SV

Activating mandatory 2SV is a simple process designed to give you additional control over your organization’s account security without causing disruption. Administrators can roll out mandatory 2SV to their organization in just a few clicks.

1. Navigate to Business Settings in your Amazon Business account.
2. Choose User management from the menu and then select Enhanced security settings.
3. Click the Enhanced security settings link and select the Turn on enhanced security button.
4. From the pop-up window, turn on enhanced security settings by choosing the Require button.

Users will then be prompted to enroll in 2SV when they sign in to Amazon Business next. They can choose their preferred authentication method (SMS, authenticator app) and complete the enrollment process.

A note for SSO-enabled organizations

If your organization uses a Single Sign-On provider like Okta or Azure AD to access Amazon Business, we recommend managing multi-factor authentication (MFA) through your identity provider. This approach centralizes your security policies and prevents users from facing multiple authentication challenges, creating a smooth sign-in experience.