Privacy

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Separate 2FA OTP app from my password manager (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

27 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Do you think it's worth keeping 2FA OTPs in a separate source from your password manager? Currently I keep them in Bitwarden. I was thinking keeping them separate could add a little extra security in case my BW was cracked, but not sure it's worth the hassle of loading a second app for logins.

Do you know of an app that does 2FAs as conveniently as Bitwarden, in that it has mobile apps, browser extension, etc that can all access the same vault?

here's one i came across from an awesome-selfhosted list. i would need to test the PWA experience https://github.com/Bubka/2FAuth

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Yes. If you use bitwarden, even if you pay for premium or host it yourself, don't keep them in the vault. Don't sync them over the internet. In case someone somehow gets into your password manager, at least the TOTP secured accounts will (most likely) stay safe. The recovery codes should stay offline and encrypted somewhere safe in your home. You probably also want to secure your BW account with a hardware key such as yubikey for additional security.

[+] [email protected] -6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Not trying to be nitpicky, but 2FA only works over internet. Separating these two things has nothing to do with connectivity. Splitting them just give you security through obscurity in most cases because if something like bitwarden were to be compromised, there is almost certainly an overlap that could somehow get you access to other services protected by 2FA.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I’m pretty sure 2FA can work offline as well. You definitely don’t need an internet connection to perform 2FA with OTP codes.

[+] [email protected] -12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

No. 2FA as a functional protocol requires internet. No way around that considering the secured source needs to send updates to the app you referenced down to subsecond.

Maybe you're thinking of TOTP which does have a very small window where offline keys could work?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I obviously am speaking of TOTP. OP uses Bitwarden, which can only store TOTPs. And TOTPs do work offline as they only need the device's internal clock to work. As long as that is synced, TOTP will work.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

That's not what the original comment references though

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Indeed. Since it seems like that was too ambigious for you, I explicitly changed it to TOTP.

I mean, if you knew how most of the password managers worked, you also would've known this.

Edit: Furthermore, the 2FAs you speak of are proprietary solutions that can't even be added to password managers, so I assume you didn't even properly read anything.