Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's indeed scary. Losing your 2nd factor shouldn't block you from accessing your accounts indefinitely . There should at least be one recovery path outside 2FA be it "printed recovery keys", "email recovery", "support channels", or even (despite being fully insecure) SMS maybe with a grace period (like 48 hours). Backing up your 2FA secrets isn't user-friendly at all, and it's even harder after you've started usin…
> Losing your 2nd factor shouldn't block you from accessing your accounts indefinitely. You’re absolutely right and also you don’t have to worry. Everyone who operate auth of any sort will be forced on day one to have reasonable recovery. Nobody is gonna lock customers out because you lost their super-secret private key. In practice, it goes back to email recovery for 98% of services. This will remain true with passk…
Exactly. That's why I'm in favour of SMS based auth for really important services like banking and government services. Your phone got broken/lost? Most providers offer replacement sims immediately or in 24h at worst around here. Your phone is broken, but you have an old 20 year old flip phone? Pop your card in there (with a plastic frame) and you can still authenticate (another reason against non physical sim cards).
I saw mentions that SMS is insecure, but I never heard about a credible remote attack that didn't include provider cooperation or taking over your phone. (someone driving to your house and setting up a fake cell tower in your yard doesn't count for most people). Yes, the user experience is annoying to say the least. Consider the current system we have in Poland for government services (taxes, health care, driving agency, benefits). Most people use their bank as the auth provider a typical session would look like this: - go to a gov website, click login, be present with various login options that include personal certs etc, choose your bank from the list - login to your bank's system the normal way (with physical 2fa if you have it, printed keys, or SMS). - then the bank asks you "do you want to provide auth request that contains these personal detail to _gov_agency_A, if yes tick these 4 boxes that absolve us from anything you do down the line - then they send you another SMS to confirm finally authenticating you to the site - you can browse the site etc, but let's say you want to send in a document that requires signing, you fill that document online and they ask you "select your signing provider" (despite already being logged in - you select your bank, you go through two rounds of SMS again to sign the doc - phew... Done
It's rather elaborate and hinges on SMS being secure. Most older people get lost at around "tick these 4 boxes" part, so most likely the whole process is being done for them by a local gov/library/internet cafe employee or a relative.
Is it secure? It's pretty annoying to use, but personally I consider the security adequate. I