News

 

Passwords not so reliable anymore - Toronto star - Friday June 1, 2004

Code thieves make online world perilous for regular users - Two-stage security next step in helping protect transactions
 
ANICK JESDANUN - ASSOCIATED PRESS
  To access her bank account online, Marie Jubran opens a Web browser and types in her Swedish national ID number along with a four-digit password.
  For additional security, she then pulls out a card that has 50 scratch-off codes. Jubran uses the codes, one by one, each time she logs on or performs a transaction.  Her bank, Nordea PLC, automatically sends her a new card when she's about to run out.
  As more Web sites are demanding passwords, scammers are getting more clever about stealing them.  Hence the need for such "passwords-plus" systems.
  Scandinavian countries are among the leaders as many online businesses abandon static passwords in favour of so-called two-factor authentication.
  "A password is a construct of the past that has run out of steam," said Joseph Atick, chief executive of Identix, Inc., a Minnesota designer of fingerprint-based authentication.  "The human mindset is not used to dealing with so many different passwords and so many different PINs."
  When a static password alone is required, security experts recommend that users combine letters and numbers and avoid easy-to-guess passwords like "1234" or a nickname.
  Stevan Hoffacker follows those rules but commits a different faux pas: He uses the same password everywhere, including access to multiple e-mail accounts, Amazon.com, The New York Times Web Site. and E-Z pass electronic toll statements.
  In such cases, should hackers or scammers compromise one account, they potentially have one's entire online life.
  "This is one of those things that if I stop and think about it, it is not good, but I do my best not to stop and think about it," said Hoffacker, an information technology manager in New York.
  But it is difficult to remember dozens of strong passwords - so many sites now require them. Alternatives include writing them down on a sticky note attached to a monitor or in an electronic spreadsheet - practices security experts also deem unsafe.
  Software such as Symantec Corp.'s Norton Password Manager and Apple Computer Inc.'s Keychain help store passwords in secure, encrypted form.  But if you compromise the master password, you're out of luck.  Your entire collection is gone.
  Many sites, meanwhile, will e-mail passwords insecurely - without encryption - if you forget.  A site called BugMeNot.com even encourages users to share passwords for non-financial sites like newspapers.
  The tolls of password harvesting are many:
  Keystroke recorders secretly installed at public Internet terminals can capture passwords, as can "phishing" e-mails designed to trick users into submitting sensitive data to fraudulent sites that look authentic. There are computer viruses programmed to harvest passwords as well as software that guesses passwords by running through words in dictionaries.
  Though analysts have no hard figures on password-specific fraud, they blame insecure passwords for unauthorized financial transfers, privacy breaches and even the hacking of corporate networks.
  With two-factor authentication, having a password alone is useless.
  "We will never play the fear factor here, but still it stays a fact that with our products, phishing is no longer an issue," said Jochem Binst of Vasco Data Security International Inc.
  The Belgian company issues devices the size of pocket calculators or key chains.  You type your regular password into the device for a second code that is based on the time and the unit's unique characteristics.  That's the code you type into the Web site.
  Someone who steals your device won't have your password; someone who steals your password won't have your device.
  MasterCard International Inc. has been testing similar systems in Britain, Germany and Brazil.  Swipe a card with a smart chip into a special reader, enter your PIN and obtain a password good only once at Office Max, British Airways and a dozen other merchants.
  In Singapore, bank customers wishing to designate new accounts for fund transfers must likewise obtain a second password -- through a phone call, e-mail or mobile text messaging.
  Biometric systems are similar, except a fingerprint or iris scan replaces one or both passwords. 
  Future Systems And Software
 6-295 Queen Street East
 Suite # 404
 Brampton, Ontario  Canada
 905-450-6256
 Sales@futsyssoft.com
Become a Fan on Facebook Join us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Twitter Comment on our Blogs Connect to our RSS feed