Tagged Questions

5
votes
1answer
82 views

Are there risks of using the same OpenID provider for sites with different security levels?

I always use the same OpenID provider (Google, with a strong unique pw and 2-factor auth) in every site that supports it, without thinking twice. It's my understanding that, as long as the provider is ...
17
votes
6answers
998 views

How to verify that someone is who they say they are online?

I am working on an online job application web app and the question has come up about how we will verify that someone submitting an application is who they say they are. For example, we don't want ...
0
votes
1answer
507 views

What are the potential vulnerabilities in a SAML-based SSO approach?

What level of access would an attacker need to obtain to compromise a SAML-based SSO system? Would stealing the private key used to sign SAML requests be enough? What if an attacker had root on the ...
0
votes
2answers
127 views

Verifying users location & authenticity

I am builduing a business to business website, and users are able to sign up with a personal profile and create a business (like linkedin). I need to verify the following: Business Name ...
2
votes
4answers
600 views

Can SMS text messages be used to verify a person's unique identity through a short code system?

We run online contests and want to eradicate cheating (yeah right), or at least mitigate it. I've asked the question regarding user experience here: ...
1
vote
1answer
185 views

What does a Yadis / XRDS discovery session “look like” to the end user? How does it work? Is it relevant?

I can't wrap my head around how Yadis / XRDS would be used by a typical end user, or how it works so transparently? Considering that this technology isn't adopted by mainstream IDPs that makes me ...
8
votes
2answers
470 views

Benefits and drawbacks of giving an Administrator two accounts for elevated rights and another for daily use, such as email

Microsoft has long promoted the need to separate administrative accounts from regular use accounts, as shown with this guidance MSFT even went to far as create ADMINSDUser rights to put ...
5
votes
2answers
325 views

Length of CSRF Token

Is there any standard length of the token which should be used while generating the random tokens? Should we use the same standard which we use for generating Session IDs?
5
votes
1answer
533 views

Ways to sign gpg public key so it is trusted?

I have a service through SSL which gives the user a code for a specific reason. I want to sign the code with the web server's private key (gpg --clearsign) and send the signed code along so that they ...
3
votes
2answers
244 views

Web Certificate invalidation - You might be connecting to a website that is pretending to be [Site name]

Recently while trying to log-in to facebook this notification starts to appear at first I ignored it (by pressing Continue), but it started to popup every time I navigate through the website! I ...
8
votes
5answers
270 views

How to verify new accounts against a known persons database?

I need to (try to) solve the problem of new account creation for a patient portal for a medical records system (electronic health record). That is, a way to activate a patient online and match her ...
8
votes
7answers
291 views

Aren't permanantly logged in accounts inherently insecure?

The basic premise behind a "keep me logged in until I log out" feature is a cookie is stored with some identifier that is used to log the user in again when returning to the site. While these ...
18
votes
5answers
1k views

Should usernames be kept secret?

Help me settle an discussion among colleagues and guide future design: Even in a high impact scenario: e.g. protecting payment application or government gateway but in an Internet accessible ...
13
votes
3answers
179 views

Are malicious relying parties able to abuse OpenID logins?

if I logon with OpenID into a website (crafted by attackers/hackers) I want to know how much damage can they do to me? Are they able to steal my contact info, name, etc (assuming I'm using Gmail ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views

What is the exact difference between SAMLp and WS-Trust?

They seem to be similar on the surface, but I'm not sure how deep the differences are. Can someone explain to me the difference between SAMLp and WS-Trust? ADFSv2 gives me a choice between these ...