Cisco Duo vs. Google Authenticator

Cisco Duo is extremely well-suited for someone wanting to add MFA to an on-premise Active Directory environment. Some of the other vendors in this space do provide this feature, but they do not natively support it. One of the top competitors in this space requires signing up with another third-party service to make this integration possible. Less moving parts for something as crucial as this is a huge benefit and having only one vendor to point fingers at makes troubleshooting much simpler.

Incentivized

It is supported by virtually all cloud-based software applications for business. I am happy to allow users to use this in addition to other authenticators. Certainly, if your business is in the Google cloud it makes sense, but my approach to the remote/virtual work world these past couple of years has been structured flexibility. Leaving some choice up to the users for their own comfort, particularly when they are using their own devices. I cannot think of a scenario where it is less appropriate - perhaps where you run the risk of "app sprawl". I.e., where you are requiring users to handle multiple authenticators (which can happen with certain pieces of hardware) you may want to encourage consolidation into one to avoid frustration.

Incentivized

• Speed - it's fast with almost no delay between triggering the MFA request and receiving the notification on an iPhone
• Security - in addition to the added MFA layer, a simple, 4-digit passcode can be added to the authentication request
• Ease of use - it doesn't scare users. It's simple to install, configure, and use.

Incentivized

• One strength is in how it checks identity to stop unwanted people from getting access.
• Another strength is in cutting down on the frustration of users for the authentication process.
• With the pandemic and needing to work away from the office it also provided additional security in keeping our network/infrastructure safe.

Incentivized

• If you need to integrate some legacy applications to Cisco Secure Access by Duo, it's not easy.
• If you want to have more detailed information and reports, you need to pay more for the licensing. The basic option is not enough.
• A constraint could be that each employee has to install it on their personal smartphone, which some don't like. But, there is an alternative using SMS, although sometimes it takes too long to receive the message.

Incentivized

• I once performed a factory reset of my smartphone which had Google Authenticator. I didn't have a backup for the device. When I restored my phone with the same google account, I was not able to restore the authenticator app settings. I had to add all the keys back into the app to use it. This is cumbersome, but I understand it is set up this way for security reasons.
• I don't like the ease with which it lets you delete a key. If I accidentally delete a key, I am doomed to get my 2FA key reset, unless I still have the QR code saved somewhere.

Incentivized

There are a lot of competing solutions on the market; however, Duo "just works", and there is little to no learning curve for the new members to be acclimated to it. As long as that continues I see it as the preferred option moving forward

Incentivized

It works as intended, easy to setup, free and gives you another level of security against any unwanted access or cyber attacks

Incentivized

La interfaz es intuitiva y fácil de navegar, lo que permite a los usuarios administrar sus dispositivos y acceder a las políticas sin problemas. La integración con las aplicaciones SSO y SaaS facilita aún más el proceso de acceso, mejorando la experiencia del usuario.

Incentivized

I have not faced any technical challenge personally using this application. It's very lightweight and doesn't require many system resources on your mobile device.

Incentivized

In the last 5+ years we've been using Duo, there may have been 1 outage that impacted us. We do receive periodic notifications of issues but, for the most part, they impact carriers or functionality that we either don't use, or do not care about.

In terms of availability, I had not experienced any issues with outages or the product not working when needed

Incentivized

We do not see any degradation of performance of the protected applications. There are occasional lags in receiving the push but no show stooppers.

The performance of google Authenticator is good and I have not experienced any slow downs

Incentivized

Since it’s a reputable company, I have received technical support when needed and I trust that if anything else happens I can contact them with any issues. I haven’t experienced bad customer service and I totally feel supported while using this authentication method. No complains so far and the high rating!

Incentivized

I have found Google’s support to be hit or miss. There are times when they are very responsive, and I get my issue resolved quickly, and there are times where a response from them takes weeks. There is no in-between. But my support experience with this particular product is nonexistent because I have not had a problem with it yet. Hopefully, we do not have any problems with it either.

Incentivized

There was no in person training but checking the box was the only way I could complete all of the questions.

This was not organized training but the videos that Duo provides to teach you how to install a particular integration are top notch.

Implementation was straight forward and you can isolate different scenarios in order to test new application setup or add to an existing setup. Gui interface is pretty easy to understand and follow. I had no experience with Duo and still manage to easily set up new policies and rules.

Incentivized

It was easy to implement and it went very smoothly. No issues

Incentivized

Our school is based in Microsoft 365. Azure has a product built into their licensing (provided you have purchased the appropriate level or the add-on product.) The MFA in Azure is a work in process and doesn't offer broad integration options as Duo does. We didn't look into any other commercial products.

Incentivized

We deploy Google Authenticator in residential and non-managed client scenarios. Google Authenticator can perform the basic functions needed for multi-factor authentication but lacks the more advanced features of solutions like Cisco's Secure Access by Duo. Google Authenticator is our go-to solution for anyone ready to increase their security but struggling to find the necessary technology budget.

Incentivized

So far, the only limits we've encountered were tied to our imagination. Duo's strong list of supported integrations is amazing.

The product doesn’t have any features of tools that can help it scale

Incentivized

• Very positive ROI given it is inexpensive for a small group and helps us secure our most valuable IT assets.
• Lack of extreme policy granularity results in higher administrative overhead, as there is no middle ground (i.e. MFA every time or not at all).

Incentivized

• More secure data = less worried about a data breach.
• Takes longer to log in, and if I don't have my phone then I have to go looking for it, so it really makes it so that you can't be without your phone, which in certain instances is annoying or not possible and can hold up work time.
• Everyone is willing to use the same program because everyone likes Google—makes it easier to manage.

Incentivized