2003Unpublished venueRequires access

OPA: a one-time password system

James A. Harris

Open publisher page 15 citations

Abstract

Most network applications authenticate users with an account name/password system. Systems using reusable passwords are susceptible to attacks based on the theft of the password. One-time password systems attempt to alleviate the problem of "sniffed" passwords by making the replay of a password useless. However, one-time password systems require the use of a generator that creates the one-time password. The added inconvenience (and in some cases cost) of the generator has limited the wide spread application of one-time password systems. OPA (One-time Password Algorithms) implements a system that allows users to protect their accounts with a one-time password that adds minimal additional complexity over a simple reusable password system. OPA does not offer the degree of security provided by most other one-time password systems but can provide additional security when compared to reusable passwords.

About this research paper

What this paper is about

Most network applications authenticate users with an account name/password system. Systems using reusable passwords are susceptible to attacks based on the theft of the password. One-time password systems attempt to alleviate the problem of "sniffed" passwords by making the replay of a password useless. However, one-time password systems require the use of a generator that creates the one-time password. The added inconvenience (and in some cases cost) of the generator has limited the wide spread application of one-time password systems. OPA (One-time Password Algorithms) implements a system that allows users to protect their accounts with a one-time password that adds minimal additional complexity over a simple reusable password system. OPA does not offer the degree of security provided by most other one-time password systems but can provide additional security when compared to reusable passwords.

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OpenAlex reports 15 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

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Available abstract

Most network applications authenticate users with an account name/password system. Systems using reusable passwords are susceptible to attacks based on the theft of the password. One-time password systems attempt to alleviate the problem of "sniffed" passwords by making the replay of a password useless. However, one-time password systems require the use of a generator that creates the one-time password. The added inconvenience (and in some cases cost) of the generator has limited the wide spread application of one-time password systems. OPA (One-time Password Algorithms) implements a system that allows users to protect their accounts with a one-time password that adds minimal additional complexity over a simple reusable password system. OPA does not offer the degree of security provided by most other one-time password systems but can provide additional security when compared to reusable passwords.

Key concepts: Password, One-time password, Computer science, Password policy, Password strength, Cognitive password, S/KEY, Computer security

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