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                                  Umopapisdn

I neglected to mention I received the security hardware token [1] from the
Corporate Overlords. It's the size of a USB (Universal Serial Bus) thumb
drive but it's not USB. It's just a simple device with an LCD (Liquid Crystal
Display) screen and a green button. You press the green button and a number
shows up on the screen and that's your “password” for the moment.

Pretty simple and I've used it once so far to log in.

But when I went to submit my timecard for today, I had to reauthenticate. No
big deal, just hit the button—“12h522h“.

Odd, I thought, I thought this was numeric only. Perhaps a few segments are
burned out? So I type “1265226” and no go. I try again with the same value
[2] and again, no go. By the time I want to type it in a third time, the
token went blank. I hit the button and get … a backwards “J”? “6” maybe? What
is going on?

A few moments later I get a sequence of numbers with a backwards “J“ and an
“h”.

It takes me a few more minutes to realize I'm holding the security token
upsidedown.

Sigh.

There are three graphic symbols on the token along one edge. With the token
oriented one way, the three graphic symbols spell out a word. Flip the token
upsidedown and the three graphic symbols spell out a different word. And
what's amazing is that one of the symbols reads as a “E” one way, and as a
“D” in another.

Yeah, the symbols are that abstracted.

Boy do I feel stupid!

[1] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2020/09/15/1
[2] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2020/10/14.1

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