My own 2FA setup locked me out of my server at 2am

I was sitting in my home office last Wednesday when my password manager update broke my authentication app sync. Suddenly I couldn't access any of my admin panels because the 2FA codes weren't matching. Had to drive to my shop at 3am and use a backup YubiKey I kept in my desk drawer - took 45 minutes and a lot of swearing to get back in. Anyone else keep a physical backup key somewhere inconvenient?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver2423d ago

That whole half asleep and frustrated part is way too real. I feel your pain, man. Nothing worse than realizing your safety net has a hole in it at 2am when you're already running on fumes.

palmer.ryan4d ago

The real problem is that nobody plans for the time between failure and recovery. We set up all this redundancy but forget we'll be half asleep and frustrated when we actually need it. Having your backup key in a different physical location is smart but you need to make sure you can reach it without needing a working phone for directions.