TYPO3 V11 – important new features for our customers

TYPO3 V11 – important new features for our customers

On October 5, 2021, TYPO3 version 11.5 (Version 11 LTS) will be officially released.

In this LTS (Long Term Suppport) version, there are many important changes. Here, we want to focus on the new features that are visible to customers.

Multi-factor authentication

Most people are probably more familiar with the term “two-factor authentication”. The term multi-factor authentication is a bit broader and generally refers to authentication using more than just one factor.

What does that mean exactly?

In two-factor authentication, there are two factors for proving identity; many people are already familiar with such systems from everyday life:

• Bank card + PIN
• Password + SMS PIN

Why is this important?

With simple password authentication, knowing the password is enough to gain access. This knowledge can in turn be obtained, for example, by guessing weak passwords or through data breaches on other platforms (if the user uses the same password on multiple systems).

Is there an obligation?

No, but the BSI¹ expressly recommends always providing at least two-factor authentication.

The TYPO3 Community's objective for this feature

If the login process becomes too cumbersome or complicated, acceptance among users tends to be low; in this way, a better level of security is forfeited. When introducing an additional authentication method, it is therefore important to consider the user experience.

Prerequisite

TYPO3 11 includes two so-called MFA providers (Time based Passwords, Recovery Codes). These are services that provide additional authentication methods.

Further providers are available, including:

• Authentication using Yubikey
• Authentication using HMAC based one time password
• Authentication using the WebAuthn standard.

The backend user can then choose one of the available providers in the backend under their profile settings and activate and set it up for their accounts.

Improved backend

Numerous improvements have been made to the backend, including an upgrade of the Bootstrap library used in the backend (from version 3 to version 5).

Many improvements were also made regarding the accessibility of backend functions.

The width of the navigation column for the page tree can now once again be freely adjusted, which improves orientation in deeply nested page trees or with long page names.

Template module

If you select the TYPOScript Object Browser view in the Template module, in addition to the familiar configuration tree you now also get further options, such as toggling conditions on and off via a “Toggle Button”.

Deeplinks, Share Links

These links can generally make collaboration easier. Editors are now able to share a link to their active module with others. Provided the receiving person has sufficient access rights, they can use the link to open exactly the same view.