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The tools aren't the hard part. The hard parts are adoption and recovery. SMS has an extraordinary advantage in that the vast majority of people transparently
by UncleMeat 2y ago
The tools aren't the hard part. The hard parts are adoption and recovery.
SMS has an extraordinary advantage in that the vast majority of people transparently have access to it. No need to download another app. No need to install anything. No need to buy a special usb device. It also has a recovery mechanism built in, as the carriers will all let you move your phone number to a new device. This, of course, comes with the high cost of sim-swapping attacks. But few companies will be happy with "customers just lose their accounts when they drop their phones in the toilet."
We'll see if the google/apple security key system takes off. That's probably the best bet we've got given the ubiquity of these ecosystems.
- zelphirkalt 2y agoHow I would loath to rely on Goole or Apple to be able to make payments or confirm other actions. Sure as hell they would call home about what actions I am performing, and associate that data with some Google account or Apple Id or so, that they will force me to have. No thank you.
- UncleMeat 2y agoThat's fine. I don't think any individual is foolish for preferring to keep these companies out of the process. But it is just undeniable at this point that any authentication system other than raw passwords must come from any already ubiquitous ecosystem that doesn't require people to download, install, or buy anything new. Hoping that yubikeys take off is fantasy.