A new phishing attack attempts to steal user name, password and temporary password
Phishers crack two-factor authentication
/v3-uk/news/1964578/phishers-crack-factor-authentication
13 Jul 2006, Tom Sanders in California , V3
Security experts have detected a new type of phishing attack that could render two-factor authentication useless.
A dual-factor security system typically uses a password and some kind of hardware security device such as a smartcard or token that issues temporary passwords.
Smartcards are commonly used within corporations, while online transaction systems and banks opt for tokens.
The Security Fix blog reported that researchers at Secure Science Corporation spotted a phishing website targetting Citibank's Citibusiness service that attempted to steal both the user name and password as well as the temporary password issued by the security token.
The site furthermore acted as a middleman that relayed the information to the Citibank server for authentication. It prompted users if the information they entered was incorrect.
"Exactly the same kind of attacks can be used to target other types of two-factor authentication, including one-time password sheets," noted Mikko Hyppönen, chief research officer with F-Secure.
Two-factor authentication systems are considered to be safer than services that rely solely on a user name and password because the temporary passwords expire after a short time. Owners also notice when their tokens or key cards are lost.
But security researchers have warned that attackers could still use the temporary passwords in a real-time attack where they do not wait for the temporary password to expire.
"These days, typical attacks do not engage in this level of sophistication. Usernames and passwords are still collected, but it is usually some time before they are used. Two-factor authentication tokens work well for these very simple-minded attacks," commented Zulfikar Ramzan, a senior principal researcher with Symantec.
"However, if an attack is more sophisticated and the phisher can use the credentials in real time, we are the ones out of luck.
"I believe that two-factor authentication security will be almost futile when we tackle the next generation of phishing attacks."
© Incisive Media Investments Limited 2010, Published by Incisive Financial Publishing Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, are companies registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 04252091 & 04252093
Do you agree?
What have they cracked?
This article omits the most important factor in getting phished. It fails to mention that the so-called "crack" still requires tricking a user into clicking on an email link. If the user accesses the banks site using an https bookmark, he cannot fall victim to this non-crack.
Posted by Howard Mirkin, 17 Apr 2007
Not yet convinceable
Yeah, I do agree with the fact that Hardware tokens are not a good choice as looking from the end user point of view, since he/she has to carry n numbers of hardware tokens as per the associated authentication organization.
But I doubt on one phrase of this article which says :
"The site furthermore acted as a middleman that relayed the information to the Citibank server for authentication. It prompted users if the information they entered was incorrect."
IMHO the above kind of attacks are called man-in-the middle attack.
Posted by Basileis, 07 Jun 2007
Not yet convinceable
Yeah, I do agree with the fact that Hardware tokens are not a good choice as looking from the end user point of view, since he/she has to carry n numbers of hardware tokens as per the associated authentication organization.
But I doubt on one phrase of this article which says :
"The site furthermore acted as a middleman that relayed the information to the Citibank server for authentication. It prompted users if the information they entered was incorrect."
IMHO the above kind of attacks are called man-in-the middle attack.
Posted by Basileis, 07 Jun 2007
Doom And Gloom?
Why is that any time someone breaks or circumvents a technology all the analysts come out of the woodwork and predict doom and gloom? Take websites for example. Most require nothing more than a password which is easily stolen and used to cause havoc, yet passwords are still being used.
Two Factor Authentication isn't going anywhere anytime soon and regardless if it's been cracked or not, it's still the best we've got. Any technology can and will be broken.
Posted by Barry, 11 Apr 2008