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How would you identify the person on the phone? Their voice clearly isn't enough. Caller ID can be spoofed. With another password? What happens when they forget
by JonnieCache 16y ago
How would you identify the person on the phone? Their voice clearly isn't enough. Caller ID can be spoofed. With another password? What happens when they forget that as well? I guess you could require a face to face meeting to reset that password. But by having two alternative passwords, you have increased the attack surface. The user is much more likely to write the second "emergency" password down I expect.
Also, what happens when your helpdesk's VoIP system gets hacked in the same way that the email system got hacked in this case?
- lukeschlather 16y agoOnly document the full procedure on paper, and forbid people from mentioning the full procedure except in person. If an admin gets an email asking for a password, they should reply with a fake password, and then await a call to give a real password. Or vice versa. If the person contacting them tries repeatedly, they should feign incompetence and / or laziness, escalating if it gets out of hand (even if escalating means passing to another equal-rank admin.)
- doki_pen 16y agoThis is the right idea. A feedback loop is critical to hacking. If you take away the feedback loop it becomes nearly impossible.
- bhousel 16y agoOr just PGP encrypt any emails with root passwords or other details about your system. Just make sure you decide before the emergency who needs to be trusted with that information, and be smart about how you exchange keys with everyone involved.