Passwordless Future

Passwordless? Imagining the Future of Authentication by Gerald BeucheltGerald Beuchelt (The Security Ledger)

Employing Multifactor Authentication severely decreases the risk that a company will be successfully hacked, as it considers a multitude of factors (such as location, facial ID, IP address) verses only one (such as a password) prior to granting access to an application.

However, transparency as to where authentication data is stored for multifactor authentication is also necessary. This is particularly and especially true with biometric factors (such as facial recognition or touch ID). For example, consider facial recognition technology being used at security gates in airports. You scan your face or fingerprint, but where are they storing this data that they’re comparing to and is it in one centralized location? If so, not only is that data outside of the individual’s control, but it could be at risk if the airport does not protect it correctly. This highlights the need to respect and protect a user’s digital identity through decentralization capabilities.

Businesses looking to integrate biometrics, whether as a replacement to passwords or to complement them, should consider solutions where the biometric data is stored on the user’s device as opposed to a centralized repository. This respects the user’s privacy while providing one of the highest levels of protection.

Gerald Beuchelt, the Chief Information Security Officer at LogMeIn talks about how changes in authentication may deliver a passwordless future.

Passwordless? Imagining the Future of Authentication by Gerald BeucheltGerald Beuchelt (The Security Ledger)

Employing Multifactor Authentication severely decreases the risk that a company will be successfully hacked, as it considers a multitude of factors (such as location, facial ID, IP address) verses only one (such as a password) prior to granting access to an application.

However, transparency as to where authentication data is stored for multifactor authentication is also necessary. This is particularly and especially true with biometric factors (such as facial recognition or touch ID). For example, consider facial recognition technology being used at security gates in airports. You scan your face or fingerprint, but where are they storing this data that they’re comparing to and is it in one centralized location? If so, not only is that data outside of the individual’s control, but it could be at risk if the airport does not protect it correctly. This highlights the need to respect and protect a user’s digital identity through decentralization capabilities.

Businesses looking to integrate biometrics, whether as a replacement to passwords or to complement them, should consider solutions where the biometric data is stored on the user’s device as opposed to a centralized repository. This respects the user’s privacy while providing one of the highest levels of protection.

Additionally, eliminate the frequent password change requirements, only require password changes when there was a known or suspected compromised of account credentials, and scan new and existing passwords against known lists of compromised accounts credentials.

Browser security

The SecurityFocus web sites have been running a series of articles on web browser security. The articles target the two major browsers, IE (6 and 7) and (strangely) older versions of Firefox (1.5 and 2.0). The current article looks at attacks on Password Managers. The user is given a false sense of security because they "expect that the browser, possibly in conjunction with the operating system, will protect their information". The significant take away was that these browsers are not to be trusted to store personal information such as usernames, passwords and other stored form information.

Firefox's password manager (version 2.0) as of November 2006 has a software flaw that allows a user's credentials (from the site is currently visited) to be posted to any URL if the user clicks a maliciously crafted link.

And IE( 6 or 7) has this issue:

Internet Explorer is usually a prime target for malware infection. These vulnerabilities converge at a dangerous point where malware programs are specifically targeting AutoComplete information. These programs gain confidential information and then send it back to the attacker.

So what we do to reduce the risks? Fortunately, the article provides some defensive strategies. They suggest avoiding password managers altogether, using a strong ( not easy guessed ) password to protect the password manager, using an alternative password manager that supports encryption, strong and unique passwords for every site, and even some programming tips for web developers.

On my Mac, I use 1Password. 1Password uses a master password, encrypts stored passwords and form data, and can generate unique random passwords for any site. You can Download 1Password here and give it a test drive.

Check out this article on the The Real Life Risks Of Re-Using The Same Passwords.