Anytime a username/password authentication is used, the common wisdom is to protect the transport of that data using encryption (SSL, HTTPS, etc). But that leaves the end points potentially vulnerable.
Realistically, which is at greater risk of intrusion?
Transport layer: Compromised via wireless packet sniffing, malicious wiretapping, etc.
Transport devices: Risks include ISPs and Internet backbone operators sniffing data.
End-user device: Vulnerable to spyware, key loggers, shoulder surfing, and so forth.
Remote server: Many uncontrollable vulnerabilities including malicious operators, break-ins resulting in stolen data, physically heisting servers, backups kept in insecure places, and much more.
My gut reaction is that although the transport layer is relatively easy to protect via SSL, the risks in the other areas are much, much greater, especially at the end points. For example, at home my computer connects directly to my router; from there it goes straight to my ISPs routers and onto the Internet. I would estimate the risks at the transport level (both software and hardware) at low to non-existant. But what security does the server I'm connected to have? Have they been hacked into? Is the operator collecting usernames and passwords, knowing that most people use the same information at other websites? Likewise, has my computer been compromised by malware? Those seem like much greater risks.
What do you think?
