Your TOTP is Not a Second Factor :: If You Store It Wrong

By DeadSwitch

You think you have 2FA?

You think you’re safe because your logins need a second factor?

Then you go and store your TOTP codes in the same password manager that holds your passwords.

You’ve built a fortress. Then you handed the keys and the spare keys to the same person.

A Single Point of Failure is Not Security

If your KeePassXC database is breached, the attacker has both your password and your TOTP codes.
If your master password is weak, you’ve already lost.
If malware hijacks your database, you’ve given up everything in one go.

This is not 2FA. This is security theater.

Real two-factor authentication means:

Your password is stored in one vault.
Your TOTP codes live somewhere else :: physically separate, digitally segregated.

When they are together, there is no second factor.

The Ghost’s Way: Real OPSEC for TOTP

Use a dedicated TOTP app: Aegis (Android) or Raivo OTP (iOS).
Store your passwords in KeePassXC or another hardened vault.
Sync nothing. Airgap when possible.
Harden your phone :: disable cloud backups, encrypt, remove unnecessary apps.
Or go full ghost: store TOTP secrets on a separate, encrypted USB drive, using an offline copy of KeePassXC only when needed.

Security Is a Mindset, Not an App

A strong chain snaps at the weakest link. And if your TOTP lives next to your password, that link is already broken.

You are not secure just because you ‘use 2FA.’ You are only secure if your second factor is truly separate.

Otherwise? You’re one breach away from total failure.

Choose your fate.

DeadSwitch | The Cyber Ghost
“In silence, we rise. In the switch, we fade.”