OTP Full Form

The OTP full form is One-Time Password. It is also known as One- Time Pin. It is a numeric or alphanumeric order of characters that is automatically generated and authenticates the users for a single transaction or login session. It is a one-time password that holds only for an extended period or transaction, on a computer or any other digital device. It is a secure way to provide access to an application or perform a transaction only once and is the prime method of authentication of bank transactions.

The one-time password becomes invalid after it has been used more than once. It is a security technique that protects against various attacks based on passwords like password sniffing and replay attacks. OTP provides more secured protection than static protection which remains the same after multiple login sessions or user-created passwords that may be weak or may be reused in multiple passwords on other platforms.

What is the Full Form of OTP?

The full form of OTP in English is One - Time Password.

What is OTP and How Does it Work?

An OTP is similar to a password but it can be used only once, thus the full form of OTP is a one-time password. The OTP is often used in combination with regular passwords as an additional authentication mechanism providing extra security.

OTP is the same as what they sound like: one and done. Once you have used the password it is dumped, and the next time you get into that application, you need to use another OTP. Doing this will 100% increase your security and make it difficult for robbers to penetrate private accounts.

Users can generate an OTP for a given application or website through smartphone apps, a test, or a proprietary token. One Login Protect is an example of the OTP  generator that you can use on your phone. All of these use two codes to generate an OTP seed and moving factor. 

The seed is a secret key that is established when you generate an account on the authentication server. The seed does not change whereas the moving factor changes each time a new OTP is requested. 

How OTP are Generated?

The different approaches for generating an OTP includes:

• Based on the time synchronization between the authentication users and client providing password (OTP are valid only for a short period).

• Using Mathematics algorithms to generate new passwords based on the previous password (OTP is a chain that must be used in predefined order).

• Using a mathematical algorithm where the new one-time password is based on a challenge (for example the numbers are chosen randomly by the authentication servers or transaction details) and/or a counter.

What are the Advantages of One Time Password?

The most important advantage of a one-time password (OTP) is that in contrast to a static password, it is not vulnerable to replay. It implies that a potential attacker who manages to record an OTP that was already used to log in into service or to make a transaction will not be able to abuse it as it will no longer be valid.

The second most important advantage of OTP is that the user who uses the same password or similar password for multiple systems is not vulnerable to all of them if the password for one of these is attained by an invader. 

Several OTP systems also ensure that sessions cannot be easily prevented or imitated without the knowledge of unpredictable data created using the previous sessions, hence minimizing the attack surface further.

Where is the Use of OTP?

The one-time password is widely used in the following major places

• During Online shopping

• During Banking transactions

• While availing of online service

• While creating an account on social media and other social media platform