I don’t mind the extra layer of security, and actually prefer it. The only exception is when the site/service only allows SMS or email delivery, and won’t let me use an auth app.
I don’t think that the problem is 2FA itself so much as poor UX on existing systems.
Let’s say that I have a little USB keychain dongle in my pocket with an “approve” button and a tiny screen. When I sign in, at the time that I plug my password in, I plug the dongle in. It shows the information for whom I am approving authentication. I push the “approve” button.
It’s got a trusted display (unlike a smartcard, so that a point-of-sale system can’t claim that I’m approving something other than what I am).
It can store multiple keys, and I basically use it for any credentials that I don’t mind carrying with myself.
I then keep another, “higher security” dongle at home with more-sensitive keys.
Does that add some overhead relative to just entering my password? Yeah. But is it a big deal? No. And it makes it a lot harder for someone to swipe credentials.
I agree that using phone-linked SMS 2FA authentication is problematic (for a number of reasons, not just because it locks you to a phone, but because there are also privacy implications there).
I then keep another, “higher security” dongle at home with more-sensitive keys.
Noted :)
As a game designer, I would prefer my security be maintained through an elaborate series of puzzles.
It’s all fun and games until the giant, hulking, unkillable zombie mutant starts stalking you and suddenly that elaborate lock involving 13 different Renaissance paintings arranged through a hallway under different colored lights seems vastly inferior to just having a fucking key and normal lock.
Umbrella Corp. Security Specialist: “Okay, but what if you lose the key?”
Fun fact, any game dev’s financial data can be stolen if you’re capable of answering my riddles three
There’s literally nothing wrong with enforcing TOTP over just a password.
The better alternatives are worse though. Key based authentication would allow you to effectively authenticate a trusted account on a trusted device with a single action, but requires you to not lose your keys, or to have a multifactor fallback. This is what I want tbh - I tap my yubikey when I set up my phone, and now it doesn’t require passwords. For extra security, require tap on boot.
Its literally meant to protect by needing another code that isn’t just “Password1!”
