What is OTP, Advantage, Features, Example - InForMative World.

What is OTP - 

OTP stands for One Time Password, also known as One Time Pin. It is a password that is valid for only one login session or transaction, on acomputer system or other digital device. 

OTP avoid a number of shortcomings that are associated with traditional (static) password-based authentication. With the increase in cyber security threats, it has become more and more necessary to upgrade the security standerds of your web applications. 

You need to make sure your users' accounts are safe. When an unauthenticated user attempts to access a system or perform a transaction on a device, an authentication manager on the network server generates a number, user one-time password algorithms.

The same number and algorithm are used by the security token on the smart card or device to match and validate the one-time password and user. 

Advantage of a one-time password -

The one-time password avoids common pitfalls that IT administrators and security managers face with password security. They do not have to worry about composition rules, known-bad and weak passwords, sharing of credentials or reuse of the same password on mutiple accounts and system. 

Another advantage of one-time passwords is that they become invalid in minutes, which prevents attackers from obtaining the secret codes and reusing them.

One-Time Password examples -

OTP security token are microprocessor-based smart cards or pocket-size key fobs that produce a numeric or alphanumeric code to authenticate access to the system or transaction.

This secret code changes every 30 or 60 seconds, depending on how the token is configured. Mobile device apps, such as Google Authenticator, rely on the token device and PIN to generate the one-time password for two-step verification. 

OTP security token can be implemented using hardware, software or on demand. Unlike traditional passwords that remain static or expire every 30 to 60 days, the one-time password is used for one transaction or login session.

Feature of OTP - 

A One-Time Password (OTP), also known as one-time-pin, is a password that is valid for only one login session or transaction, on a computer system or other digital device. 

OTPs avoid a number of shortcomings that are associated with traditional (static) password-based authentication; a number of implementations also incorporate two factor authentication by ensuring that the one-time password requires access to something a person has [such as a small keyring fob device with the OTP calculator built into it, or a smart-card or specific cellphone] as well as something a person knows [such as a pin].

In our system workflows OTP can be configured to the Merchant needs.