Two-factor authentication for secure remote work

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Dmitry Shuralev, technical specialist for work with technological partners of the company "Aladdin R.D."

Strong authentication , or cryptographic authentication , is the process of authenticating a subject of an information system, implemented using cryptographic algorithms and protocols.

The basic idea of ​​strong authentication is that the authenticated party, in the process of exchanging messages with the authentication server, sends it some messages that are protected from forgery by intruders using cryptographic transformations.

Based on the number of factors used, authentication can be divided into the following classes:

single-factor (or simple) authentication , such as authenticating email users with a password;
two-factor , as a rule, the second factor is a one-time password or electronic signature, generated using an electronic medium in which the private key of the authenticated subject is stored, and the first factor is knowledge of the name and password of the system user. Also, as an additional element of the second authentication factor, the subject's cyprus whatsapp data of the PIN code, which allows the use of a hardware module with a private key to certify messages during exchange, acts as an additional element;
multifactorial , in which, as a rule, some biometric characteristics of the authentication subject are added to the two authentication factors listed above, such as a fingerprint, a voice recording, a photograph of the face, a pattern of the retina or iris, keyboard handwriting when entering a password, etc.
Multifactor authentication can be divided into strong and enhanced. Enhanced authentication is based on the use of one-time passwords in addition to the classic login/password pair.

Let's consider a strong authentication option based on a public key infrastructure (PKI). The basis of PKI, as the name suggests, is a public key. More precisely, a public key certificate in which it is transmitted. Certificates are issued by an accredited Certification Authority (CA), for example, this could be your own CA as an implementation of the Microsoft Certification Authority. The Certification Authority also confirms that the private key is known only to the owner of this key. The only correct and secure method of storing a private key and certificate is an alienable key carrier with protected memory. A specialized smart card chip reliably protects the key from modification, extraction and cloning.