An authentication system can be operable to receive from a user premises device credentials associated with a user identity, wherein the user premises device can also be operable to monitor and control a premise of the user identity. The authentication system can process the credentials and transmit an authentication verification to an on-line system to enable access to the on-line system by a user equipment of the user identity. The authentication system can be used as a factor (or additional factor) of authentication, for example, to gain sooner access to an on-line system that has locked out a user identity in response to a personal denial of service (PDoS) attack.