In January this year, a Polish security researcher named Piotr Duszyński released a pen testing toolkit named Modlishka, (which loosely translates in English to Mantis) that can automate attacks against websites that use either SMS or OTP based two-factor authentication (2FA). While this is certainly concerning, the ability to co-opt some of these methods of 2FA is hardly new. Yet, the common response from some security pundits was that 2FA as an entire category was under assault and likely to fail. Instead of embracing the 'security panic theater' and wringing my hands, I'll review the current 2FA threat landscape, take a look at practical steps to mitigate those threats, and then I’ll review the current/future state of 2FA and alternative authentication methods.
Lance Peterman is Enterprise Security Architect at Merck. With more than 20 years of experience working in various sectors of the technology industry, Lance’s current focus has been in specialized areas of information security, including identity and access management, risk management, cybersecurity and mobility. Lance is also a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of North Carolina – Charlotte, teaching software architecture and design. He is a founding member of IDPro and currently serving on its board of directors. Active credentials include CISSP and PMP.