Live data from Hacker News

Apple Passkey

developer.apple.com

211–220 of 421 posts

Re: Apple Passkey

#211
post #122

Can I use a password manager like 1password it’s FIDO2 the way I currently can in iOS/macOS? iCloud Keychain is the most barebones of password manager

Seems like this will be possible: https://blog.1password.com/1password-is-joining-the-fido-all...

Excellent. I actually like Apple's practice in this regard: they have a barebones/baseline functionality but allow third parties to provide a value added replacement that can be a first class replacement.*

Apple is almost there with mail, addressbook, and calendar but perhaps surprisingly they aren't as seamless as it is with passwords.

* For example this allowed me to plug 1password into my parents' phones and computers and use the shared vaults to make sure I could help them get unstuck from various web sites. Plus when they pass on I'll still be able to help the surviving parent to get access to things they need from the other parent's device. The apple one is disabled so they can't even accidentally get something confusingly stored in it.

Re: Apple Passkey

#212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ahhh so they already have what they need to do iCloud E2EE, they just decide not to use it for your data....

E2EE would have made it significantly harder for Apple to build the web based apps at iCloud.com. Not to say that shouldn’t have though, but I can understand whey they didn’t.

Matrix has E2EE on the the web... it's kind of different, but you can share pretty large files...

Re: Apple Passkey

#213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> iCloud ... backup > E2EE If you can lose all your existing devices, and can still restore your data, then that data isn't end to end encrypted. I'm taking the "end" in e2ee to mean your devices. Nothing but your devices can decrypt your e2ee prospected data. If a new device can enter the circle of trust without an existing device's corporation then there is a backdoor. I imagine icloud keychain supports synchroniza…

The password stored in your backup via iCloud Keychain use the passcode of your devices as a secondary encryption/lock method, which doesn’t have a password recovery mechanism like the Apple ID used to secure your iCloud backup. Not sure that meets the definition of E2EE but it’s not like the passwords are recoverable by another party (or even you, if you forget the passcode) just because they’re in your iCloud backu…

[deleted]

Re: Apple Passkey

#214
post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't this approach significantly less secure than Apple's though? As far as I understand the secure enclave coprocessor in Apple devices stores key material and implements user verification (TouchID etc.), right? Instead software like tpm-fido bridges (in software) a user verification mechanism (maybe even a fingerprint reader) and the system's TPM. But such a system can be interposed with mere root access, and the…

Yes, having the verification done by the secure enclave itself is more secure. The TPM spec does allow for direct integration with biometric devices, but I'm not aware of any general purpose computers that ship in this configuration. > TPM tricked in giving out its secrets To be clear, the key can never leave the TPM (with how tpm-fido is implemented). The threat is an attacker can perform an online attack by getting…

> To be clear, the key can never leave the TPM (with how tpm-fido is implemented).

Yep sorry you're right you wouldn't get the actual keys to use elsewhere, you can just use them as if you had them on the "compromised" device only, my bad.

> But it doesn't really matter for the Webauthn threat model. An attacker with root access can steal your browser sessions directly.

If you're using WebAuthn to authorize the emission of session tokens you're absolutely right, just get root and steal them from the browser :) but WebAuthn is more versatile than that. You could e.g. require a WebAuthn assertion to authorize a payment. In that case root access still doesn't help you with a secure enclave, but is sufficient to trick your server in believing the user has authorized the operation with tpm-fido, right? Again I absolutely don't mean to detract from tpm-fido, just pointing out that, very sadly, I don't think a TPM+fingerprint reader+software can really replace integrated solutions like Apple's secure enclave, or a yubikey, etc. In general unless I'm mistaken, it's not a tpm-fido shortcoming specifically.

Re: Apple Passkey

#215
post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://support.apple.com/guide/sccc/introduction-sccccea618... Introduction to Apple security assurance As part of our commitment to security, Apple regularly engages with third-party organizations to certify and attest to the security of Apple’s hardware, software, and services. These internationally recognized organizations provide Apple with certifications that align with each major operating system release. …

Are such third parties listed? Can you inspect their reports? What testing methodologies are involved in order to issue such certifications? And can we see such certifications at all?

If you don't trust Apple, why would you trust a third party auditor?

I can't think of any entity I would trust with securing truly sensitive information. For important stuff, do it yourself. For simple things, including bank accounts and such, I see no issue with trusting Apple.

Re: Apple Passkey

#216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple’s implementation uses SMS as a backup. Thinking is probably that if you only have one device, it’s usually your phone; so you would have been able get your 2FA code via text. It’s not easily discoverable though, so easy for you to miss it.

> Apple’s implementation uses SMS as a backup. I hope they'll go away from this, or at least give the option. I won't use their password/key storage until they do. 2FA is only as good as the weakest link, and SMS is the weakest possibility.

2FA is as strong as the strongest link, not the weakest. You need both factors, not either factor.

In this case, it's just that one of the factors has a weak backup option.

Re: Apple Passkey

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> iCloud ... backup > E2EE If you can lose all your existing devices, and can still restore your data, then that data isn't end to end encrypted. I'm taking the "end" in e2ee to mean your devices. Nothing but your devices can decrypt your e2ee prospected data. If a new device can enter the circle of trust without an existing device's corporation then there is a backdoor. I imagine icloud keychain supports synchroniza…

The password stored in your backup via iCloud Keychain use the passcode of your devices as a secondary encryption/lock method, which doesn’t have a password recovery mechanism like the Apple ID used to secure your iCloud backup. Not sure that meets the definition of E2EE but it’s not like the passwords are recoverable by another party (or even you, if you forget the passcode) just because they’re in your iCloud backu…

So maybe I don't get it, but I always understood that 2FA means something you know and something physical you have. Now if I can get they keychain using something I know, does that not somewhat defeat the purpose of 2FA?

Re: Apple Passkey

#219
I don't get what it's all about this passwordless. I make my browser (Firefox) generate strong password and store them in its password manager, this is synchronized with end to end encryption to all my devices, I have only to remember a master password. It's kind of the same but it works with every website. It is not complicated, doesn't require certificates that you may loose, and that sort of things.

Re: Apple Passkey

#220

I don't get what it's all about this passwordless. I make my browser (Firefox) generate strong password and store them in its password manager, this is synchronized with end to end encryption to all my devices, I have only to remember a master password. It's kind of the same but it works with every website. It is not complicated, doesn't require certificates that you may loose, and that sort of things.

Try explaining a password manager to your nana, and having her use it. Then explain to her how she can install it on her phone and have it synchronised across all her devices. Password managers are awesome, but way too technical to become mainstream. You shouldn't have to install 3rd party software for something so fundamental. The password system really needs an overhaul and hopefully this will go along way towards fixing it.
Post reply on HN