this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2023
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This is something I am seeing more and more of. As companies start to either offer or require 2FA for accounts, they don't follow the common standards or even offer any sort of options. One thing that drives me nuts is when they don't offer TOTP as an option. It seems like many companies either use text messages to send a code or use some built in method of authorizing a sign in from a mobile device app.

What are your thoughts on why they want to take the time to maintain this extra feature in an app when you could have just implemented a TOTP method that probably can be imported as an existing library with much less effort?

Are they assuming that people are too dumb to understand TOTP? Are they wanting phone numbers from people? Is it to force people to install their apps?

*edit: I also really want to know what not at least give people the option to choose something like TOTP. They can still offer mobile app verification, SMS, email, carrier pigeon, etc for other options but at least give the user a choice of something besides an insecure method like SMS.

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[–] 8bitguy@kbin.social 55 points 11 months ago (9 children)

As someone who has had to walk the "I don't do computers" public through basic things over the phone, I can confirm that yes, a lot of people are way too lazy to learn anything new. They will instead call the support folks and blast some poor person just trying to deal with their day. Call center volume goes up anytime any barrier is added. Agreed though, SMS OTP is constantly becoming less effective. Email OTP is somewhat pointless.

[–] CoggyMcFee@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (8 children)

Can you explain what you mean when you say email OTP is somewhat pointless?

[–] 8bitguy@kbin.social 31 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Email is commonly compromised. It's an easy target for bad actors executing a takeover.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 5 points 11 months ago

SMS also isn't that hard to compromise either. I can at least put email behind real 2FA, so they'd have to somehow intercept the email to break email 2FA. I can't do that with SMS, I'm at the mercy of carriers, who obviously don't care.

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