using ip addresses for authentication is extremely risky, even if switch users may not be able to easily access email. ill label a few reasons.
(1.) often, residential ip addresses are dynamic, so theyll change often. this can prevent someone from authenticating.
(2.) when a user requests a password change via email and doesnt receive an email, they are encouraged to contact bdns and submit their ip address. what if an attacker ip logs a user to take over their account? will the sender email address be verified, and what if the user registered with an email address they can no longer access? how will any of this be verified?
(3.) user accounts could be stolen if an attacker on a local network impersonates them.
while the attack scenarios can be considered edge cases, they still need to be considered, especially in a forum this large. someone is bound to run into one of these issues eventually.
instead of ip authentication, i suggest any of the following:
- knowledge based authentication. such as having multiple security questions that the user creates upon registration.
- access based authentication. force users to register with email addresses. for switch users, provide suggestions on email providers that are minimal and work with low resource consumption.
i dont mean to complain or whine about this password reset policy, im just concerned it could backfire and cause future issues.
