Lin OTP

Abstract

1. Introduction

LinOTP is truly open in two ways. Its modules and components are licensed under the AGPLv3 and give you a complete working open-source solution for strong multi-factor authentication.

But LinOTP also uses an open and modular architecture. LinOTP aims not to lock you into any particular authentication method or protocol or user information storage.

LinOTP accommodates many different OTP algorithms using a modular approach. This includes the OATH standards such as HMAC (RFC 4226) and time-based HMAC. But LinOTP's design makes it easy to create your own tokens with different algorithms, including challenge-response tokens, tokens based on QR codes, and tokens based on push-type messages.

2. Objective

LinOTP - the open source solution for two factor authentication

This project demonstrates how Python can be applied to a real-world Cybersecurity & Ethical Hacking problem.

4. Technology Stack

5. System Requirements

General requirements for this technology stack — check the README for exact versions.

• Python 3.8 or later
• pip / virtualenv for dependencies
• VS Code, PyCharm or Jupyter Notebook
• Git (to clone the repository)

6. Installation & Setup

git clone https://github.com/LinOTP/LinOTP.git
cd LinOTP

1. Build the LinOTP container image
2. Start a PostgreSQL database
3. Initialize LinOTP with an admin user
4. Make LinOTP available at
5. Username: admin
6. Password: admin (configurable via LINOTP_ADMIN_PASSWORD environment variable)

docker compose up

Full setup instructions are in the project README.

7. Future Enhancements

Suggested extensions you can add to make this your own project.

• Add logging and alert notifications (email / Telegram)
• Write a threat model document for the tool
• Package it with Docker for safe lab testing

8. Viva / Review Questions

Common questions examiners ask for projects in this domain.

1. Which threat or attack does this project defend against?
2. What detection or protection technique is used and what are its limits?
3. How are false positives and false negatives handled?
4. Which cryptographic algorithms or security standards are involved?
5. What legal and ethical rules apply when testing a tool like this?

9. Source Code & License

This project is developed by LinOTP and published on GitHub under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. Please follow the license terms and credit the original author when you use or modify this code.