TOTP

How to Secure Your Gosuslugi Account Against Hacks and Recover Access After Takeover

Russia's Gosuslugi portal now holds far more than basic documents, including tax notifications, child records, data-sharing consents, and access to other government services, making account security critical. The guide stresses using a unique strong password, enabling two-factor authentication with TOTP or biometrics instead of SMS, and regularly reviewing active sessions and connected mobile apps. It details steps to add a trusted contact for recovery, audit consents granted to third parties, and monitor for unauthorized logins or statements. In case of suspicious codes or calls, users must never share verification codes and should immediately check actions in the system, revoke unknown consents, and contact support. If access is lost, recovery options include online password reset with passport data or in-person visits to service centers, followed by credit history checks and self-imposed credit bans via Gosuslugi starting March 2025. The advice also covers protecting the linked phone number and email to prevent SIM swaps and further fraud.

Step-Up Authentication vs 2FA: Implementing Additional Verification for Sensitive Operations in Corporate Systems

Traditional two-factor authentication secures only the initial login, leaving active sessions vulnerable to misuse during sensitive tasks such as accessing payroll data. Step-Up Authentication addresses this by requiring extra verification at the moment of critical actions rather than at login. The article details how one project moved beyond standard Identity Provider features in WSO2 by building a dedicated PIN-code service and gateway-2fa microservice. This approach uses signed cookies with TTL controls and JWT cross-checks to enforce elevated trust levels without disrupting normal user flows. The solution aligns with Zero Trust principles and was monitored via Matomo and ELK for usage and performance metrics. Key implementation considerations include balancing TTL duration, encrypting stored PINs, and conducting load testing before deployment.