Password Management Services Vulnerable to Attack
Should you trust an online service to store your online passwords?
According to a study at the University of California, Berkeley, web-based password manager services have significant flaws and are vulnerable to attack. A paper, titled “The Emperor's New Password Manager: Security Analysis of Web-based Password Managers” by Zhiwei Li, Warren He, Devdatta Akhawe, and Dawn Song, details the study of five popular password management services.
The report states, “… in four out of the five password managers we studied, an attacker can learn a user's credentials for arbitrary websites. We find vulnerabilities in diverse features like one-time passwords, bookmarklets, and shared passwords.”
Password managers have gained popularity as a means for avoiding the proliferation of many different passwords for many different websites. Authentication with the password manager service opens all the user's online accounts. Unfortunately, an intruder who gains access to the password manager thus gains access to the user's entire Internet presence.
Most of the services tested in the study responded quickly to the feedback, patching vulnerabilities discovered in the research; however, the authors of the study point out that their investigation was by no means comprehensive, and other vulnerabilities might also exist. Further study will lead to an automated solution that will lead to more complete vulnerability testing. In the meantime, if you decide to go without the services of a password manager, keep in mind that the age-old practices such tools were developed to prevent, such as using the same password for all your accounts or writing your password on a Post-it note stuck to your desk, probably will not offer a greater degree of protection.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Gnome OS Transitioning Toward a General-Purpose Distro
If you're looking for the perfectly vanilla take on the Gnome desktop, Gnome OS might be for you.
-
Fedora 41 Released with New Features
If you're a Fedora fan or just looking for a Linux distribution to help you migrate from Windows, Fedora 41 might be just the ticket.
-
AlmaLinux OS Kitten 10 Gives Power Users a Sneak Preview
If you're looking to kick the tires of AlmaLinux's upstream version, the developers have a purrfect solution.
-
Gnome 47.1 Released with a Few Fixes
The latest release of the Gnome desktop is all about fixing a few nagging issues and not about bringing new features into the mix.
-
System76 Unveils an Ampere-Powered Thelio Desktop
If you're looking for a new desktop system for developing autonomous driving and software-defined vehicle solutions. System76 has you covered.
-
VirtualBox 7.1.4 Includes Initial Support for Linux kernel 6.12
The latest version of VirtualBox has arrived and it not only adds initial support for kernel 6.12 but another feature that will make using the virtual machine tool much easier.
-
New Slimbook EVO with Raw AMD Ryzen Power
If you're looking for serious power in a 14" ultrabook that is powered by Linux, Slimbook has just the thing for you.
-
The Gnome Foundation Struggling to Stay Afloat
The foundation behind the Gnome desktop environment is having to go through some serious belt-tightening due to continued financial problems.
-
Thousands of Linux Servers Infected with Stealth Malware Since 2021
Perfctl is capable of remaining undetected, which makes it dangerous and hard to mitigate.
-
Halcyon Creates Anti-Ransomware Protection for Linux
As more Linux systems are targeted by ransomware, Halcyon is stepping up its protection.