Tag: PAM

In my last post, I wrote about the benefits of U2F – Universal Two-Factor Authentication. Here are the three phases of installing it as the second factor on a Linux VM. For this article, I assume you have a Linux VM (or computer) configured with access to a USB port. I did this more as […]

  Last week I explained how repeated hashing works. Our user Alice can prove that she knows her secret without exposing that secret, and the server can verify this without knowing what her secret is. The follow-up question is – how to make it practical? My explanation last week told you how repeated hashing works, but […]

Encryption is used to protect confidentiality. But what role should it play within your operating systems for protecting file systems? The answer, as so often, is “it depends.” Physical Theft A laptop or detachable media such as USB-connected external disks and thumbdrives could easily be stolen or lost. Especially with smaller objects, you may not […]

Researchers at Purdue’s CERIAS group have developed a way of strengthening traditional password authentication against sophisticated attacks. Not only is the defense practical — you can download the PAM security module from GitHub — but it also includes a built-in alarm that warns you when attacker try to use decoy passwords they believe they have […]