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Levels of Assurance in Authentication

Explore the importance of different levels of assurance in authentication, from single-factor to multi-factor, to ensure secure access. Learn about current industry standards and future developments in electronic authentication guidelines.

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Levels of Assurance in Authentication

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  1. Levels of Assurance in Authentication Tim Polk April 24, 2007

  2. Credits • Bill Burr and Donna Dodson co-authored SP 800-63 and contributed much of the content in this presentation • Neither would be possible without them!

  3. Why Levels of Assurance? • Security Commensurate with Need • One Size Does Not Fit All!

  4. Overview • A Cautionary Tale: FIPS 112 • Current Events • OMB Memorandum 04-04 • SP 800-63 • The response to 800-63 • Things To Look Forward To…

  5. FIPS 112, Password Usage • Published May 1985 • Established 10 factors and baseline criteria • Factor #1 was length range, and the baseline was four • Included three example systems: • Password system for {Low, Medium. High} protection requirements

  6. Why A Cautionary Tale? • Agencies gravitated to the three example systems • They were intended as examples • Agencies continued using them long after their time had passed • Moderate protection was 4-8 characters (uppercase, lowercase, digits) • Prescriptive standards are easy to use, but don’t always lead to the best security

  7. Current Events • OMB Memorandum 04-04 • SP 800-63: Entity Authentication • Agency & Industry Feedback

  8. OMB Memorandum 04-04 • E-Authentication Guidance for Federal Agencies (12/16/2003) • Agencies classify electronic transactions into four levels of authentication assurance according to the potential consequences of an authentication error • NIST develops complementary authentication technical guidance to help agencies identify appropriate technologies • Agencies req’d to begin implementation in 90 days after NIST issues guidance

  9. SP 800-63 • Scope: technical authentication framework for secret-based remote authentication (06/2004) • token types • registration & identity proofing • authentication protocols

  10. The Players • Token: is a secret, or holds a secret used in a remote authentication protocol • Credential Service Provider (CSP): A trusted authority who issues identity or attribute tokens • Subscriber: A party whose identity or name (and possibly other attributes) is known to some authority • Registration Authority (RA): registers a person with some CSP • Relying party: relies on claimant’s identity or attributes • Verifier: verifies claimant’s identity

  11. Level 1 Authentication • Single factor: typically a password • Can’t send password in the clear • May still be vulnerable to eavesdroppers • Moderate password guessing difficulty requirements

  12. Level 2 Authentication • Single factor: typically a password • Must block eavesdroppers (e.g password tunneled through TLS) • Fairly strong password guessing difficulty requirements • May fall to main-in-the middle attacks, social engineering & phishing attacks

  13. Level 3 Authentication • 2 factors, typically a key encrypted under a password (soft token) • Must resist eavesdroppers • May be vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks (e.g. phishing & decoy websites), but must not divulge authentication key

  14. Level 4 Authentication • 2 factors: “hard token” unlocked by a password or biometric • Must resist eavesdroppers • Must resist man-in-the-middle attacks • Critical data transfer must be authenticated with a key bound to authentication

  15. Tokens • Passwords • Soft Cryptographic Tokens • One Time Password Devices • Hard Cryptographic Tokens

  16. The Response • It’s Fantastic • Finally, a basis to compare mechanisms! • It’s Too Prescriptive • What about bingo cards? • What about remote biometrics? • What about knowledge based authentication? • What about combinations of tokens?

  17. Things To Look Forward To… • SP 800-63 Part 1 (Secret Based Authentication) • Goal is distribution for public comment 3Q FY2007 • SP 800-63 Part 2 (KBA) • Goal is distribution for public comment 3Q FY2007 • Research in remote biometrics

  18. SP 800-63 Part 1: Electronic Authentication Guideline • Features more flexibility - and complexity • More classes of tokens • Including bingo cards • Tokens in combination • E.g., memorized secret with simple OTP • More support for assertions • More comprehensive Life Cycle

  19. SP 800-63 Part 2: KBA • The electronic process of establishing confidence in a user’s identity by verifying personal attributes presented to an information system. • KBA process consists of 2 parts: verifying that the identity actually exists and that the user is entitled to that identity.

  20. Questions? http://csrc.nist.gov http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-63/SP800-63V1_0_2.pdf tim.polk@nist.gov

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