Definition
A one-time password is valid for only one user authentication.
How it works
When a user initiates authentication, they are asked for a one-time password, often in addition to other credentials such as a traditional password or smart card. The one-time password may be from a list provided in advance, sent via a channel such as SMS or HTTPS to an app, or a generated token.
In the case of a physical token which generates one-time passwords incrementally based on time elapsed, that token device need not be connected to the internet. In different implementations, an administrator of the system, or a user with additional verification, can adjust for clock skew between the token and the verification system as needed.
Considerations
Compromise of delivery channel
- SIM Swapping
- Secure token visual compromise
- Insecure delivery channel
Compromise of delivery device
Physical loss of One-time Password device.
Compromise of long-term backup codes
These are often provided in the form of a downloadable document with a regular name, which can be searched for in the case that the user forgets where they put them. This digital file or printed document could be stolen. Additionally, after the code file is printed, it could be recovered from the system printer spool unless the spooler cache is cleared.
Implementation perspective
One-time Password should be treated as a technical defensive capability rather than a product checkbox. In practice, teams should define the protected scope, the conditions under which the technique acts, and the observable evidence that demonstrates the intended behavior. For this technique, likely engineering context includes Credential, Password.
Use the technique to increase the effort, prerequisites, or constraints an adversary must overcome before exploitation or misuse succeeds.
Questions to ask
- Which component, configuration, credential, interface, or behavior is being hardened?
- What secure baseline or policy defines the intended state?
- How are exceptions approved, time-limited, and reviewed?
- How is the hardened state verified after deployment and significant change?
Evidence and validation
- Approved hardening standards and configuration baselines
- Automated configuration or integrity assessment results
- Exception records with owners, rationale, and expiration dates
- Test results demonstrating that the intended restriction is enforced
Common failure patterns
- A secure setting is documented but not enforced consistently across the environment.
- Hardening breaks required functions and is permanently weakened through undocumented exceptions.
- Teams measure deployment of a product rather than verification of the hardened condition.
This implementation perspective is original Bare Metal Cyber educational content. It does not replace the official D3FEND definition or establish that a specific product implements the technique.
Technique hierarchy
Top-level family
Parent techniques
Direct child techniques
None listed at this level.
Artifacts and ontology entities
These relationships describe how D3FEND connects a defensive technique to artifacts or other ontology entities. They describe graph semantics, not a product certification.
Explicit technique relationships
Show inferred artifact relationship paths (3)
ATT&CK Enterprise mitigation relationships
These links come from the D3FEND ontology’s ATT&CK mitigation mapping. They help users navigate between the knowledge bases and do not guarantee mitigation effectiveness.
Offensive-technique relationships
These relationships are generated from D3FEND graph paths and are explicitly experimental. They should be treated as hypotheses for defensive analysis—not as proof that the technique prevents, detects, or removes an offensive behavior.
ATT&CK Enterprise (20)
ATT&CK for ICS (3)
Authoritative sources
- Open this technique on the official D3FEND website ↗
- Open the official ontology resources ↗
- Digital Identity Guidelines ↗NIST · NIST · GuidelineReference
- A One-Time Password System ↗Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) · SpecificationReference
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