Two-step verification

This section describes how you can use two-step verification to reduce the risk of unauthorized access to Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console.

Scenario: Configuring two-step verification for all users

This scenario describes how to enable two-step verification for all users and how to exclude user accounts from two-step verification. If you did not enable two-step verification for your account before you enable it for other users, the application opens the window for enabling two-step verification for your account, first. This scenario also describes how to enable two-step verification for your own account.

If you enabled two-step verification for your account, you may proceed to the stage of enabling of two-step verification for all users.

Prerequisites

Before you start:

• Make sure that your user account has the Modify object ACLs right of the General features: User permissions functional area for modifying security settings for other users' accounts.
• Make sure that the other users of Administration Server install an authenticator application on their devices.

Stages

Enabling two-step verification for all users proceeds in stages:

1. Installing an authenticator application on a device

   You can install Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or any other authenticator application that supports the Time-based One-time Password algorithm.

2. Synchronizing the authenticator application time with the time of the device on which Administration Server is installed

   Ensure that the time set in the authenticator application is synchronized with the time of Administration Server.

3. Enabling two-step verification for your account and receiving the secret key for your account

   How-to instructions:

   • For MMC-based Administration Console: Enabling two-step verification for your own account
   • For Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console: Enabling two-step verification for your own account

   After you enable two-step verification for your account, you can enable two-step verification for all users.

4. Enabling two-step verification for all users

   Users with two-step verification enabled must use it to log in to Administration Server.

   How-to instructions:

   • For MMC-based Administration Console: Enabling two-step verification for all users
   • For Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console: Enabling two-step verification for all users
5. Editing the name of a security code issuer

   If you have several Administration Servers with similar names, you may have to change the security code issuer names for better recognition of different Administration Servers.

   How-to instructions:

   • For MMC-based Administration Console: Editing the name of a security code issuer
   • For Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console: Editing the name of a security code issuer
6. Excluding user accounts for which you do not need to enable two-step verification

   If required, you can exclude users from two-step verification. Users with excluded accounts do not have to use two-step verification to log in to Administration Server.

   How-to instructions:

   • For MMC-based Administration Console: Excluding accounts from two-step verification
   • For Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console: Excluding accounts from two-step verification

Results

Upon completion of this scenario:

• Two-step verification is enabled for your account.
• Two-step verification is enabled for all user accounts of the Administration Server, except for user accounts that were excluded.

About two-step verification

Kaspersky Security Center provides two-step verification for users of Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console. When two-step verification is enabled for your own account, every time you log in to Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console, you enter your user name, password, and an additional single-use security code. If you use domain authentication for your account, you only have to enter an additional single-use security code. To receive a single-use security code, you must have an authenticator application on your computer or your mobile device.

A security code has an identifier referred to as issuer name. The security code issuer name is used as an identifier of the Administration Server in the authenticator application. You can change the name of the security code issuer name. The security code issuer name has a default value that is the same as the name of the Administration Server. The issuer name is used as an identifier of the Administration Server in the authenticator application. If you change the security code issuer name, you must issue a new secret key and pass it to the authenticator application. A security code is single-use and valid for up to 90 seconds (the exact time may vary).

Any user for whom two-step verification is enabled can reissue his or her own secret key. When a user authenticates with the reissued secret key and uses it for logging in, Administration Server saves the new secret key for the user account. If the user enters the new secret key incorrectly, Administration Server does not save the new secret key and leaves the current secret key valid for the further authentication.

Any authentication software that supports the Time-based One-time Password algorithm (TOTP) can be used as an authenticator application, for example, Google Authenticator. In order to generate the security code, you must synchronize the time set in the authenticator application with the time set for Administration Server.

An authenticator application generates the security code as follows:

1. Administration Server generates a special secret key and QR code.
2. You pass the generated secret key or QR code to the authenticator application.
3. The authenticator application generates a single-use security code that you pass to the authentication window of Administration Server.

We highly recommend that you install an authenticator application on more than one device. Save the secret key (or QR code) and keep it in a safe place. This will help you to restore access to Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console in case you lose access to your mobile device.

To secure the usage of Kaspersky Security Center, you can enable two-step verification for your own account and enable two-step verification for all users.

You can exclude accounts from two-step verification. This can be necessary for service accounts that cannot receive a security code for authentication.

Two-step verification works according to the following rules:

• Only a user account that has the Modify object ACLs right in the General features: User permissions functional area can enable two-step verification for all users.
• Only a user that enabled two-step verification for his or her own account can enable the option of two-step verification for all users.
• Only a user that enabled two-step verification for his or her own account can exclude other user accounts from the list of two-step verification enabled for all users.
• A user can enable two-step verification only for his or her own account.
• A user account that has the Modify object ACLs right in the General features: User permissions functional area and is logged in to Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console by using two-step verification can disable two-step verification: for any other user only if two-step verification for all users is disabled, for a user excluded from the list of two-step verification that is enabled for all users.
• Any user that logged in to Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console by using two-step verification can reissue his or her own secret key.
• You can enable the two-step verification for all users option for the Administration Server you are currently working with. If you enable this option on the Administration Server, you also enable this option for the user accounts of its virtual Administration Servers and do not enable two-step verification for the user accounts of the secondary Administration Servers.

If two-step verification is enabled for a user account on Kaspersky Security Center Administration Server version 13 or later, the user will not be able to log in to the Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console versions 12, 12.1 or 12.2.

Enabling two-step verification for your own account

You can enable two-step verification only for your own account.

Before you enable two-step verification for your account, ensure that an authenticator application is installed on your mobile device. Ensure that the time set in the authenticator application is synchronized with the time set of the device on which Administration Server is installed.

To enable two-step verification for a user account:

1. In the main menu, go to USERS & ROLES → USERS.
2. Click the name of your account.
3. In the user settings window that opens, select the Account protection tab.
4. On the Account protection tab:
   1. Select the Request user name, password, and security code (two-step verification) option.
   2. In the two-step verification window that opens, enter the secret key in the authenticator application or scan the QR code and receive one-time security code.

      You can specify the secret key into the authenticator application manually or scan the QR code by your mobile device.

   3. In the two-step verification window, specify the security code generated by the authenticator application, and then click the Check and apply button.
5. Click the Save button.

Two-step verification is enabled for your account.

Enabling two-step verification for all users

You can enable two-step verification for all users of Administration Server if your account has the Modify object ACLs right in the General features: User permissions functional area and if you are authenticated by using two-step verification. If you did not enable two-step verification for your account before enabling it for all users, the application opens the window for enabling two-step verification for your own account.

To enable two-step verification for all users:

1. In the main menu, click the settings icon () next to the name of the required Administration Server.

   The Administration Server properties window opens.

2. On the Authentication security tab of the properties window, switch the toggle button of the two-step verification for all users option to the enabled position.

Two-step verification is enabled for all users. From now on, users of the Administration Server, including the users that were added after enabling two-step verification for all users, have to configure two-step verification for their accounts, except for users that are excluded from two-step verification.

Disabling two-step verification for a user account

You can disable two-step verification for your own account, as well as for an account of any other user.

You can disable two-step verification of another user's account if your account has the Modify object ACLs right in the General features: User permissions functional area.

To disable two-step verification for a user account:

1. In the main menu, go to USERS & ROLES → USERS.
2. Click the name of the internal user account for whom you want to disable two-step verification. This may be your own account or an account of any other user.
3. In the user settings window that opens, select the Account protection tab.
4. On the Account protection tab, select the Request only user name and password option if you want to disable two-step verification for a user account.
5. Click the Save button.

Two-step verification is disabled for the user account.

Disabling two-step verification for all users

You can disable two-step verification for all users if two-step verification is enabled for your account and your account has the Modify object ACLs right in the General features: User permissions functional area. If two-step verification is not enabled for your account, you must enable two-step verification for your account before disabling it for all users.

To disable two-step verification for all users:

1. In the main menu, click the settings icon () next to the name of the required Administration Server.

   The Administration Server properties window opens.

2. On the Authentication security tab of the properties window, switch the toggle button of the two-step verification for all users option to disabled position.
3. Enter the credentials of your account in the authentication window.

Two-step verification is disabled for all users.

Excluding accounts from two-step verification

You can exclude user accounts from two-step verification if you have the Modify object ACLs right in the General features: User permissions functional area.

If a user account is excluded from the list of two-step verification for all users, this user does not have to use two-step verification.

Excluding accounts from two-step verification can be necessary for service accounts that cannot pass the security code during authentication.

If you want to exclude some user accounts from two-step verification:

1. You must perform Active Directory polling in order to refresh the list of Administration Server users, if you want to exclude Active Directory accounts.
2. In the main menu, click the settings icon () next to the name of the required Administration Server.

   The Administration Server properties window opens.

3. On the Authentication security tab of the properties window, in the two-step verification exclusions table click the Add button.
4. In the window that opens:
   1. Select the user accounts that you want to exclude.
   2. Click the OK button.

The selected user accounts are excluded from two-step verification.

Generating a new secret key

You can generate a new secret key for a two-step verification for your account only if you are authorized by using two-step verification.

To generate a new secret key for a user account:

1. In the main menu, go to USERS & ROLES → USERS.
2. Click the name of the user account for whom you want to generate a new secret key for two-step verification.
3. In the user settings window that opens, select the Account protection tab.
4. In the Account protection tab, click the Generate a new secret key link.
5. In the two-step verification window that opens, specify a new security key generated by the authenticator application.
6. Click the Check and apply button.

A new secret key is generated for the user.

If you lose your mobile device, you can install an authenticator application on another mobile device and generate a new secret key to restore access to Kaspersky Security Center 13.1 Web Console.

Editing the name of a security code issuer

You can have several identifiers (they are called issuers) for different Administration Servers. You can change the name of a security code issuer in case, for example, if the Administration Server already uses a similar name of security code issuer for another Administration Server. By default, the name of a security code issuer is the same as the name of the Administration Server.

After you change the security code issuer name you have to reissue a new secret key and pass it to the authenticator application.

To specify a new name of security code issuer:

1. In the main menu, click the settings icon () next to the name of the required Administration Server.

   The Administration Server properties window opens.

2. In the user settings window that opens, select the Account protection tab.
3. On the Account protection tab, click the Edit link.

   The Edit Security code issuer section opens.

4. Specify a new security code issuer name.
5. Click the OK button.

A new security code issuer name is specified for the Administration Server.