RE: Cookies as the second factor

["Ken Kousky" <kkousky () ip3inc com>]

Sometimes these posts sound like their for the author rather than the
reader, but with that said, if there are still issues here lets return to
the basics ---

Any factor is stronger if it can't easily be reproduced and if we know when
it's missing .. in this regard, there are endless algorithms that can
generate a value from a machine to be used as an authentication factor. 

We could check out a machines mac address and look at other system features
to generate a unique value or we could deposit a cookie. They're both
examples of TOKENS, something we have, In general, they can be augmented by
a pin number, which is something we know and we're at least at the 1+ factor
level.

The strength of the factor though is how exposed it is:
1) how easily discovered it is
2) can it be cloned or copied
3) do we know if it's been compromised
4) how quickly are we aware of it's being compromised
5) can we lock out brute force attacks or can they be done off-line as in
dictionary attacks on our password hashes

As FFIEC pushes online financial services to explore more robust
authentication, we can expect to see a far more serious discussion of these
issues.

In the mean time, we continue to advise:
1) get rid of strong passwords, they're an oxymoron
2) you can have a strong string you write down and then append a simple pin
and have one and a half factors but you're way ahead of strong passwords
which must be written down to be operationally functional

Ken Kousky
IP3


-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Chong [mailto:andrewjw () singnet com sg] 
Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2006 1:19 PM
To: 'Robin Wood'; discard () dawes za net
Cc: 'Jeff Robertson'; webappsec () securityfocus com
Subject: RE: Cookies as the second factor

I guess the question put forward is how to achieve 2 factor
authentication.

The best way is to use a token based device (what you have). A good
recommendation is the Crypto Card which looks like a calculator. It cost
about USD$95 each.

If Crypto Card is too expensive, then you can implement a one-time
challeng PIN authentication to the user registered email. When a user
login correctly, a email containing a one-time PIN will be send to the
user registered email address. Once the email is receive, the user can
entered the PIN on the website again to login.

Regards,
Andrew Chong (Singapore), CISSP.

-----Original Message-----
From: Robin Wood [mailto:dninja () gmail com] 
Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2006 11:03 PM
To: discard () dawes za net
Cc: Jeff Robertson; webappsec () securityfocus com
Subject: Re: Cookies as the second factor


Javascript could be used to generate the cookie which is then passed
back to the server with each request. This would save having to make
sure a value was posted or passed on the query string on each request.

Don't have time to think about how good this would be for authentication
but I think techincally it can be done.

Robin

On 7/18/06, Rogan Dawes <discard () dawes za net> wrote:
> Jeff Robertson wrote:
> > It seems like it's been mentioned on here before, that a number of 
> > "two factor" or "multi factor" authentication schemes actually use a

> > cookie as the second factor.
> >
> > Anyone here have specific experience with such solutions, or 
> > opinions about how much security they add to a system?
>
> Sounds completely bogus to me.
>
> The cookie is typically generated by the server, as a response to an 
> authentication event (single or multi-factor). The cookie is then used

> to maintain that authentication from request to request.
>
> There is NO authentication component in such a cookie. It is created 
> by the SERVER, and as such CANNOT qualify as an authentication factor 
> at all.
>
> Rogan
>
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsored by: Watchfire

AppScan 6.5 is now available! New features for Web Services Testing, 
Advanced Automated Capabilities for Penetration Testers, PCI Compliance 
Reporting, Token Analysis, Authentication testing, Automated JavaScript 
execution and much more. 
Download a Free Trial of AppScan today!

https://www.watchfire.com/securearea/appscancamp.aspx?id=70150000000CYkc
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