Two-factor Authentication
From Computing and Software Wiki
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Revision as of 02:45, 9 April 2008
Two-factor authentication, also known as strong authentication, is a method which uses two different methods of authentication in order to verify a person's identity. It provides better verification then any single-factor authentication method on its own.
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Authentication
Authentication is a recent verification of a principal (source). A principal is someone connected to and participating on the network (source). There are three main methods of authenticating a principal, known as human authentication factors.
Human Authentication Factors
- What the user has
This can be something like a magnetic ID card or a drivers license that only that user owns.
- What the user knows
- What the user is
Two-factor Authentication
The definition of two-factor authentication must be further clarified. Although it is also known as strong authentication, these are often not the same thing. This is because strong authentication does not always necessarily mean that two factors were used, just two different authentication requests. <p>When using two factors, it means that two out of the three of the above methods must be used. This does not mean that single method can be used more than one time (two factor pdf). For instance, when a system asks for 3 passwords, this does not qualify as two-factor authentication. However, this is technically strong authentication because it asks for 3 passwords. <p> eak authentication is defined as cryptographic authentication between previously unknown parties without relying on trusted third parties (source)
Authentication Tools
The following is a list of some of the tools that are used today to provide authentication.
Magnetic Stripe Card
This is seen on bank cards, such as debit cards, on credit cards, membership cards, and many others. It can be used as a single or multi-factor authentication method, but is most commonly used as a two-factor method. For example, when using a debit card, one must input their PIN after swiping the card. It is slowly being replaced by smart cards for several reasons. First of all, it generally has a very limited storage capacity of about 1-4kb <ref>ISO/IEC 7810:2003</ref> . It is also very easy to retrieve the information on these cards. If a card contained very sensitive information, it would be a great security risk. (source)
