Enhance Login Security with Two-factor Authentication or Single Sign-On

Cybersecurity threats are a hot topic for any business storing its data using cloud-based apps. It’s tricky enough to find a reliable third party service you can trust with sensitive and confidential company information. But it’s another challenge altogether to make sure your data isn’t compromised due to bad login security or complacent password habits from one of your employees.

Pipedrive is dedicated to ensuring our customers are equipped with the strongest security options available.

That’s why we’re so excited to announce the release of Two-factor Authentication and Single Sign-On for the Pipedrive app!

What is Two-factor Authentication?

Two-factor Authentication (also known as 2FA) allows users to add an extra security layer to their login process.

Basic username and password combinations are becoming more and more vulnerable to theft.

To manage this risk, you can use security-enhancing methods like 2FA. This helps you prevent unwanted parties or individuals from gaining access to accounts containing valuable information and critical business assets.

How does 2FA protect your data?

2FA is a type of multi-factor authentication. It works by confirming a user’s claimed identity during login by running an extra verification check on the user attempting to log in with their username and password. With 2FA, a user will enter their username and password as normal.

But, to prove it’s really the account owner trying to log in, the user will then have to provide the “second factor”, which can be based on the following:

• Something you know: like a password, a PIN number or a secret answer to a security question.
• Something you have: this could be bank card details, confirmation through a mobile device or a physical security token
• Something you are: most commonly, this can include a fingerprint, eye or face recognition or voice activation

Enabling just one of these additional factors on top of the usual login credentials will significantly improve the security of your account.

Now, all Pipedrive customers have the option to set up Two-factor Authentication on their account.

If somebody steals your password or that of your colleague - they’ll have a tough time getting past that second verification step.

How to Set Up Two-factor Authentication in Pipedrive?

Two-factor Authentication is an option available to all Pipedrive users, and switching it on couldn’t be easier:

Open Pipedrive, go to Settings > Personal > Security > Login verification > click Enable for my account.

Once you’ve done this, 2FA has been successfully enabled for your account.

Next time you log in to Pipedrive, we will automatically send you an email with a link to verify that it’s really you trying to access the account. Simply click the link, and you will have now completed the login verification step.

How to know when your security may be compromised?

If you’ve received the verification email, but it wasn’t you trying to log in, and the email shows a different location and device from which the login attempt was made - you should change your password immediately.

What is SAML SSO?

In addition to 2FA, we’ve also released SAML SSO - another login security feature available to our Advanced, Professional and Enterprise plan customers.

SAML stands for “Security assertion markup language”.

It is an XML-based protocol used for Single Sign-On (SSO) solutions, enabling authentication and authorization between two parties: a service provider and an identity provider.

In the case of our users, Pipedrive is the service provider, and your company’s SAML SSO solution of choice (e.g., Bitium) is the identity provider.

In a nutshell, businesses use SAML SSO providers to centrally manage account access to third-party services like Pipedrive.

Pipedrive can be used with any identity provider compatible with the SAML 2.0 standard including Bitium, Okta, Auth0, Office 365, Google SAML and many others.

What are the advantages of using SAML SSO?

There are multiple reasons why companies opt to implement SSO for accessing applications:

Enhances security and convenience

SAML SSO allows account admins to manage all user access centrally, and eliminates the need for account users to have to set up and remember passwords for many different services. This is especially useful for large sales teams with high staff turnover.

Helps comply with corporate security policies

Most large companies require that employee access to third party software (including Pipedrive) is managed centrally - usually by the IT department.

Improves work efficiency

Less passwords to remember means fewer calls to the IT department. This allows both the user and IT to focus on more important tasks than dealing with password resets.

Easy to use

It really is. One login is enough to have access to all the services needed for your work.

How to Set Up SAML SSO in Pipedrive?

The Single Sign-On feature is one of the many useful features of our Advanced, Professional and Enterprise plan. Learn more about Pipedrive’s features.

Configuring SSO requires some technical know-how, so we suggest consulting with your IT department for help with your setup.

First, you’ll need to acquire some keys from your SAML provider. Next, you’ll need to paste the keys in Settings > SSO. (Note this option is available to Pipedrive account admins only.)

SSO can then be enabled by the admin for all users by hitting the Enable for users switch at the bottom of the page.

Note that if SSO is enabled after your company’s users are already using Pipedrive with passwords - those users can just start using SSO to log in. If SSO is not enforced, they can continue logging in with both password and SSO.

For more information on how to set up SAML SSO for your company’s Pipedrive account, you can check out our support article.

How Do I Get These New Features?

You can significantly minimize the risk of potential data leaks by enhancing your login security with just one additional verification step.

We know how serious your data security is to your business, which is why Two-factor Authentication is available to all Pipedrive customers.

Our customers can take full advantage of the SAML SSO feature. This feature is a powerful addition suited to those managing access for larger sales teams. SAML SSO not only enhances security but also creates convenience for all users on the account. This added convenience means your sales team can focus more time on growing your business.

Start using 2FA or SSO right now.

This article was published on May 2, 2018. Product descriptions were correct at the time of publishing.