One time passwords are used to secure modern information systems and reduce the chances of unauthorized parties gaining access to information that does not belong to them. It is used to ensure that the user that is currently accessing the information is who they claim to be and confirms that the user of the information system is who they really are. The one-time passwords are used as an additional layer of authentication and verification for modern information systems and are very effective in securing sensitive information systems and information such as the user’s banking and health information.
This kind of information is very sensitive and only gets to be accessed when the user has provided an additional means of proving they really are the ones that are currently logging in and unless they can provide the one time password, they cannot get into the system even if they have been able to provide the correct username and password to the system they are trying to access.
The one-time password is usually sent to the user of the information system as a text message, voice call, or an email that has a timer on it, and once the duration that the authenticity of the one-time password expires, it can no longer be used.
Usually, this is the duration of 10 to 15 minutes during which the user is supposed to enter the one-time password before it expires. The ability of the one-time password to expire makes it a much stronger and reliable means of access information systems and secure web applications and the reason most modern information systems are being integrated with the ability to send an additional means of verifying the identity of the users that log into the system. The modern systems are also designed to ensure that the user only gets to use the fresh one-time passwords and these expire once they have been used meaning that nobody else will get to use the passwords.
As such, it ensures that the information is kept safe and secure and only the user that has an additional means of proving they are the genuine users of the information system will be able to gain access any time they want to. The modern web applications that make use of the one-time passwords as a means of proving the identity of the user are also known to work for the users in terms of proving their identities and ensuring that the sessions they establish are secured and get to expire once the time has run out.
Such information that is accessed using the one-time passwords is usually very sensitive and the people that are accessing it need to have a way of receiving the one time password for them to actually prove they are the ones at the login terminal which then makes it possible for them to be let into the information system or web application that holds the information they are trying to gain access to.