Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Pay Factor Authentication® and how AuthLN protects your identity stack.
General
Understanding Pay Factor Authentication
PFA is a patented fourth authentication factor — “something you pay.” It attaches a payment to every authentication attempt. Authorized users are funded by the organization and refunded instantly. Attackers must spend their own money with no refund.
MFA tells you WHO someone claims to be. PFA tells you how much they’re willing to pay to prove it. AuthLN adds an economic layer that MFA can’t provide — it doesn’t replace your existing factors, it complements them.
Enterprise CISOs in regulated industries, MSP/MSSP security practice leads serving mid-market clients, and Federal/DoD security architects implementing zero-trust mandates.
Technical
Integration & How It Works
AuthLN deploys as middleware in front of your existing IdP — Okta, Entra ID, Ping Identity, Auth0, or custom OIDC/SAML. No changes to your SSO or directory. Deployment takes days, not months.
A payment invoice is generated. Your organization’s node pays it automatically on the user’s behalf. Authentication succeeds and the payment is refunded instantly. The user sees a brief prompt — similar to any MFA push.
The attacker must fund the payment from their own wallet. Without the enrolled device’s cryptographic signature, authentication fails. The payment is not refunded. This generates pre-breach telemetry for your SOC.
Bitcoin & Lightning
The Infrastructure Behind PFA
No. The organization funds a payment pool. Users never interact with Bitcoin or Lightning directly. Payments and refunds are invisible to the end user.
No. The Lightning Network is settlement infrastructure — like SWIFT is to dollars. It’s plumbing, not a speculative asset. AuthLN manages all nodes, liquidity, and payments on your behalf. Zero crypto expertise required.
No. Authentication data is NOT broadcast to any public blockchain. All data remains private and under your control.
Pricing
Plans & Costs
PFA Identity Protection starts at $3/user/month. PFA + SIEM Intelligence is $6/user/month. Free 2-week trial with full platform access. Enterprise volume discounts available.
Lightning Network transaction fees are negligible (fractions of a cent) and included in your plan pricing. No hidden per-authentication surcharges.
Attacker payments are not refunded. These funds effectively become the “cost of attacking” your organization. Payment data is logged as pre-breach telemetry.
Integration
Deployment & Compatibility
Yes. Most customers begin with a single high-risk application (admin console, VPN, financial system) and expand coverage as they see results.
Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, CrowdStrike Falcon, Elastic SIEM, and Sumo Logic. Custom integrations via REST API and webhooks.