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Microsoft to abandon passwords | |
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| Time: 06:14 EST/11:14 GMT | News Source: VNUNet | Posted By: Chris Hedlund | ||
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Microsoft has revealed at a security panel at CeBIT that it is preparing to dump passwords in favour of two-factor authentication in forthcoming versions of Windows. Detlef Eckert, the senior director in charge of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative, did not specify which form of two-factor authentication would be used in the next edition of the company's operating system, codenamed Longhorn. But he said that the code would have vastly improved handling of technologies including smartcards and security tokens. "I believe that the time of password-only authentication is gone," said Eckert. "We need to go to two-factor authentication. This is the only way to bring the level of trust business needs." | ||
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| #1 By 2960 (68.101.39.180) at 3/15/2005 9:27:59 AM |
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I know! I know!
You'll have to buy MS-Tokens. 5 for a dollar, at Microsoft's web site. Or your local 7-11, whichever is closer. Computers will have a token slot. Each token authorizes you for 1 hour of computer use. If you try to insert someone elses token, the Laptop Lid slams shut on your fingers. Not for security of course, but because you tried to cheat Microsoft out of a Token sale. At the same time, Clippy will come to life on the screen and while dancing to a tune, he yells out "Take that you cheap bastaad!" :) TL |
| #2 By 1401 (69.40.49.210) at 3/15/2005 9:51:07 AM |
| Easy to by-pass passwords are the biggest vulnerability in Windows machines. |
| #3 By 9589 (66.57.218.61) at 3/15/2005 9:59:18 AM |
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#2, while this may not be a problem in your Mom's basement, corporations, which this is specifically addressing, have been grappling with this issue for some time. Where I work, before we put in place an on line means of changing passwords, the help desk group spent 60% of their time resetting passwords. We still spend a half hour in new employee orientation on this subject to include how to use mnemonics to write a password that meets the corporation's guidelines.
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| #4 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 3/15/2005 11:52:25 AM |
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#1, finally, Clippy finds a purpose in life. :)
I'll sell you my used tokens. |
| #5 By 37 (24.183.41.60) at 3/15/2005 8:01:23 PM |
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I stopped reading at "You'll have to buy MS-Tokens". That makes the remainder of the post null and void. Nobody HAS to do anything. Nobody HAS to buy MS products.
Pretty simple actually. |
| #6 By 7760 (12.155.143.50) at 3/15/2005 10:02:33 PM |
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I can see MS making two-factor authentication a requirement (at least by default) for logging onto domains. During employee orientation, you would scan their thumbprint (or their eye, or issue a token), which would then be associated with their user account, for example. Thumbprint and token readers are becoming relatively inexpensive, so one of either could be deployed with every computer. Eventually, I can see all computer cases shipping with a thumbprint reader on their front bezel, and laptops with a reader next to the trackpad. This would make it even easier for companies, as well as home users.
As #5 pointed out, users are the single greatest security risk. If users could, somehow, magically conform 100% of the time to the principles of high security (ex. not using simple passwords, writing passwords down on sticky notes, giving their passwords to co-workers or leaving their computers without locking them), much of this talk of increasing security would be moot. |
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