On designing usable and secure recognition-based graphical authentication mechanisms

In this article we present the development of a new, web-based, graphical authentication mechanism called ImagePass. The authentication mechanism introduces a novel feature based on one-time passwords that increases the security of the system without compromising its usability. Regarding usability, we explore the users’ perception of recognition-based, graphical authentication mechanisms in a web environment. Specifically, we investigate whether the memorability of recognition-based authentication keys is influenced by image content. We also examine how the frequency of use affects the usability of the system and whether user training via mnemonic instructions improves the graphical password recognition rate. The design and development process of the proposed system began with a study that assessed how the users remember abstract, face or single-object images, and showed that single-object images have a higher memorability rate. We then proceeded with the design and development of a recognition-based graphical authentication mechanism, ImagePass, which uses single-objects as the image content and follows usable security guidelines. To conclude the research, in a follow-up study we evaluated the performance of 151 participants under different conditions. We discovered that the frequency of use had a great impact on users’ performance, while the users’ gender had a limited task-specific effect. In contrast, user training through mnemonic instructions showed no differences in the users’ authentication metrics. However, a post-study, focus-group analysis revealed that these instructions greatly influenced the users’ perception for memorability and the usability of the graphical authentication. In general, the results of these studies suggest that single-object graphical authentication can be a complementary replacement for traditional passwords, especially in ubiquitous environments and mobile devices.     

An Enhanced Drawing Reproduction Graphical Password Strategy

Passwords are used in the vast majority of computer and communication systems for authentication. The greater security and memorability of graphical passwords make them a possible alternative to traditional textual passwords. In this paper we propose a new graphical password scheme called YAGP, which is an extension of the Draw-A-Secret (DAS) scheme. The main difference between YAGP and DAS is soft matching. The concepts of the stroke-box, image-box, trend quadrant, and similarity are used to describe the images characteristics for soft matching. The reduction in strict user input rules in soft matching improves the usability and therefore creates a great advantage. The denser grid granularity enables users to design a longer password, enlarging the practical password space and enhancing security. Meanwhile, YAGP adopts a triple-register process to create multi-templates, increasing the accuracy and memorability of characteristics extraction. Experiments illustrate the effectiveness of YAGP.     

图形密码身份认证方案设计及其安全性分析

为了解决身份认证方案中口令的安全性和易记忆性的矛盾,针对传统的字符式口令的诸多缺点,提出了结合新型图形密码的身份认证参考方案.在图形密码设计原则下,依据基于识别型和基于记忆型的设计思想,提出图形密码身份认证参照方案,并将图形密码的安全性与文本密码进行比较,分析了图形密码的密钥空间和抵抗常见口令攻击的能力.经分析多数图形密码在易记忆性和安全性方面优于传统密码.     

Bend Passwords: using gestures to authenticate on flexible devices

Upcoming mobile devices will have flexible displays, allowing us to explore alternate forms of user authentication. On flexible displays, users can interact with the device by deforming the surface of the display through bending. In this paper, we present Bend Passwords, a new type of user authentication that uses bend gestures as its input modality. We ran three user studies to evaluate the usability and security of Bend Passwords and compared it to PINs on a mobile phone. Our first two studies evaluated the creation and memorability of user-chosen and system-assigned passwords. The third study looked at the security problem of shoulder-surfing passwords on mobile devices. Our results show that bend passwords are a promising authentication mechanism for flexible display devices. We provide eight design recommendations for implementing Bend Passwords on flexible display devices.     

The trouble with login: on usability and computer security in ubiquitous computing

Logging in by typing usernames and passwords is by far the most common way to access modern computer systems. However, such contemporary user authentication mechanisms are inappropriate in a ubiquitous computing environment, where users constantly are accessing a wide range of different devices. This paper introduces new concepts for user authentication in ubiquitous computing, such as the notion of proximity-based user authentication and silent login. The design of these new mechanisms is part of the design of a ubiquitous computing infrastructure for hospitals, which is grounded in field studies of medical work in hospitals. The paper reports from field studies of clinicians using an electronic patient record (EPR) and describes severe usability problems associated with its login procedures. The EPR’s login mechanisms do not recognize the nature of medical work as being nomadic, interrupted, and cooperative around sharing common material. The consequence is that login is circumvented and security is jeopardized.     

一种改进的智能卡远程用户匿名认证方案

针对Sonwanshi提出的远程用户认证方案存在会话密钥安全性差、不能抵御扮演攻击和离线口令猜测攻击的缺陷,提出了一种改进方案,主要在注册和登录阶段增加了安全性能。在注册阶段,用户口令直接在智能卡内进行相应运算,不再提交给服务器。这不仅降低了服务器对口令存储、维护的开销,而且避免了服务器对用户的攻击,提高了安全性能。在登录阶段,采用随机数的挑战应答方式取代原方案的时间戳方式,消除了时钟不同步导致的认证失败。对原方案、改进方案和其他同类方案进行安全性和效率分析的结果表明,改进方案不仅弥补了原方案的缺陷,而且相对同类方案,降低了时间复杂度,适用于安全需求高、处理能力低的设备。     

The usability of passphrases for authentication: An empirical field study

In developing password policies, IT managers must strike a balance between security and memorability. Rules that improve structural integrity against attacks may also result in passwords that are difficult to remember. Recent technologies have relaxed the 8-character password constraint to permit the creation of longer pass-“phrases” consisting of multiple words. Longer passphrases are attractive because they can improve security by increasing the difficulty of brute-force attacks and they might also be easy to remember. Yet, no empirical evidence concerning the actual usability of passphrases exists. This paper presents the results of a 12-week experiment that examines users’ experience and satisfaction with passphrases. Results indicate that passphrase users experienced a rate of unsuccessful logins due to memory recall failure similar to that of users of self-generated simple passwords and stringent passwords. However, passphrase users had more failed login attempts due to typographical errors than did users of either simple or highly secure passwords. Moreover, although the typographical errors disappeared over time, passphrase users’ initial problems negatively affected their end-of-experiment perceptions.     

Bu-Dash: a universal and dynamic graphical password scheme (extended version)

Passwordless authentication is a trending theme in cyber security, while biometrics gradually replace knowledge-based schemes. However, Personal Identification Numbers, passcodes, and graphical passwords are still considered as the primary means for authentication. Passwords must be memorable to be usable; therefore, users tend to choose easy to guess secrets, compromising security. The Android Pattern Unlock is a popular graphical password scheme that can be easily attacked by exploiting human behavioristic traits. Despite its vulnerabilities, the popularity of the scheme has led researchers to propose adjustments and variations that enhance security but maintain its familiar user interface. Nevertheless, prior work demonstrated that improving security while preserving usability remains frequently a hard task. In this paper we propose a novel graphical password scheme built on the foundations of the well-accepted Android Pattern Unlock method, which is usable, inclusive, universal, and robust against shoulder surfing and (basically) smudge attacks. Our scheme, named Bu-Dash, features a dynamic user interface that mutates every time a user swipes the screen. Our pilot studies illustrate that Bu-Dash attracts positive user acceptance rates, it is secure, and maintains high usability levels. We define complexity metrics that can be used to further diversify user input, and we conduct complexity and security assessments.

     

Why That Picture? Discovering Password Properties in Recognition-Based Graphical Authentication

Numerous graphical authentication ideas have been proposed on how to address the security and usability of text-based passwords. However, it remains unclear how users approach graphical password selection and the inherent personal bias when selecting images. This study investigates user choices in password selection for recognition-based graphical authentication. Our analysis is based on a total of 302 participants continuously using a graphical authentication system during a 6-week long study. The results show pronounced preference effects for image properties such as color, shape, and category. Additionally, there is a significant difference between genders in the selected images based on the same properties.     

Tackling the Password Problem: Image- and Gesture-Based Alternatives to Alphanumeric Passwords

Abstract

Alphanumeric passwords remain a ubiquitous means of user authentication, yet they are plagued by a fundamental problem: Secure passwords are difficult to create and remember. This paper suggests that image- or gesture-based passwords might strike a better balance between security and usability. It examines two such systems that are currently in widespread commercial use and examines alternative approaches that may offer insights for future improvements. Finally, it considers the possibility that touch-screen gesture passwords may become a viable biometric measure, which may allow them to provide multi-factor gesture-based authentication.     

Encouraging users to improve password security and memorability

Security issues in text-based password authentication are rarely caused by technical issues, but rather by the limitations of human memory, and human perceptions together with their consequential responses. This study introduces a new user-friendly guideline approach to password creation, including persuasive messages that motivate and influence users to select more secure and memorable text passwords without overburdening their memory. From a broad understanding of human factors-caused security problems, we offer a reliable solution by encouraging users to create their own formula to compose passwords. A study has been conducted to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed password guidelines. Its results suggest that the password creation methods and persuasive message provided to users convinced them to create cryptographically strong and memorable passwords. Participants were divided into two groups in the study. The participants in the experimental group who were given several password creation methods along with a persuasive message created more secure and memorable passwords than the participants in the control group who were asked to comply with the usual strict password creation rules. The study also suggests that our password creation methods are much more efficient than strict password policy rules. The security and usability evaluation of the proposed password guideline showed that simple improvements such as adding persuasive text to the usual password guidelines consisting of several password restriction rules make significant changes to the strength and memorability of passwords. The proposed password guidelines are a low-cost solution to the problem of improving the security and usability of text-based passwords.

     

物联网环境下基于NFC的一次性口令认证方案

针对当前部分传统身份认证技术存在耗能高、计算量大、效率低等缺陷,提出一种基于近场通信（Near Field Communication, NFC）技术的一次性口令认证方案。该方案不仅具有一次性口令成本较低、实现简单的优点,适用于物联网环境;同时通信双方运用NFC技术进行交互,利用NFC设备初始化时进行的冲突检测有效地解决了一次性口令认证明文传输的安全性问题。通过对其进行分析,可知该方案在有效防止常见攻击的同时保证了较小的计算量和较高的效率,能够应用到物联网环境中。     

Secure Graphical One Time Password (GOTPass): An Empirical Study

ABSTRACT

The traditional text-based password has been the default security medium for years; however, the difficulty of memorizing secure strong passwords often leads to insecure practices. A possible alternative solution is graphical authentication, which is motivated by the fact that the capability of humans’ memory for images is superior to text, which helps to improve password usability and security. Recently, some implementations of graphical authentication techniques have been deployed in practice. This paper introduces a new hybrid graphical authentication, “GOTPass,” that authenticates by means of a one-time numerical code that needs to be typed in based on a sequence of secret images and a prechosen input format. An important focus for this paper was the security aspects of the graphical password scheme. This paper reports an in-depth analysis of the security evaluation and shows a high resistance capability of GOTPass against common graphical password attacks. Three attacks were simulated (Guessing, Intersection, and Shoulder-surfing), and the results showed that nearly 98% of the 690 attempts failed to compromise the system.     

基于Hash函数的强口令认证方案设计与分析

分析了几种常用的一次性口令(OTP)认证方案存在的不足,提出了一种基于Hash函数的强口令认证方案.该方案能够实现用户端和服务器端双向认证,系统开销小,在认证过程中保护了用户的身份信息.并对安全性进行了分析,结果表明该方案能够防止字典攻击、重放攻击、假冒攻击和拒绝服务攻击,适用于运算能力有限的轻量级终端用户.     

Usability,security and trust in password managers: A quest for user-centric properties and features

A password manager stores and handles users’ passwords from different services. This relieves the users from constantly remembering and recalling many different login credentials. However, because of the poor usability and limited user experience of password managers, users find it difficult to perform basic actions, such as a safe login. Unavoidably, the password manager holds the login credentials of many online services; as a result, it becomes a desired target for online attacks. This results in compromised security, which users often consider as an inevitable condition that must be accepted. Many studies analysed the usability and security of various password managers. Their research findings, though important, are rather incomprehensible to designers of password managers, because they are limited to particular properties or specific applications and they, often, are contradictory. Hence, we focus on investigating properties and features that can elevate the usability, security, and trustworthiness of password managers, aiming at providing practical, simple, and useful guidelines for building a useable password manager. We performed a systematic literature review, in which we selected thirty-two articles with coherent outcomes associated with usability and security. From these outcomes, we deduced and present meaningful suggestions for realising a useable, secure and trustworthy password manager.     

An improved timestamp-based remote user authentication scheme

To protect the remote server from various malicious attacks, many authentication schemes have been proposed. Some schemes have to maintain a password verification table in the remote server for checking the legitimacy of the login users. To overcome potential risks of verification tables, researchers proposed remote user authentication schemes using smartcard, in which the remote server only keeps a secret key for computing the user’s passwords and does not need any verification table for verifying legal user. In 2003 Shen, Lin, and Hwang proposed a timestamp-based password authentication scheme using smartcards in which the remote server does not need to store the passwords or verification table for user authentication. Unfortunately, this scheme is vulnerable to some deadly attacks. In this paper, we analyze few attacks and finally propose an improved timestamp-based remote user authentication scheme. The modified scheme is more efficient and secure than original scheme.     

Shoulder-surfing-proof graphical password authentication scheme

The graphical password authentication scheme uses icons instead of text-based passwords to authenticate users. Icons might be somehow more familiar to human beings than text-based passwords, since it is hard to remember the latter with sufficient security strength. No matter what kind of password is used, there are always shoulder-surfing problems. An attacker can easily get text-based password or graphical password by observation, capturing a video or recording the login process. In this paper, we propose a shoulder-surfing-proof graphical password authentication scheme using the convex-hull graphical algorithm. We give evaluation and comparisons to demonstrate the security strength and the functionality advantages of our scheme.     

Elastic password authentication scheme using the Passcell-based virtual scroll wheel

User authentication such as password setting has become increasingly important for the secure management of the information stored in mobile devices. However, in the password authentication schemes used in mobile devices, enhancing security reduces their usability, and passwords become hard to memorize. In addition, enhancing their usability makes them vulnerable to shoulder-surfing or recording attacks involving stealing a glance at the authentication process through the system interface. In this paper, we propose a password authentication scheme that uses a virtual scroll wheel, called WheelLock, to ensure appropriate usability and prevent brute force, shoulder-surfing, and recording attacks.     

An Enhanced Graphical Authentication Scheme Using Multiple-Image Steganography

Most remote systems require user authentication to access resources. Text-based passwords are still widely used as a standard method of user authentication. Although conventional text-based passwords are rather hard to remember, users often write their passwords down in order to compromise security. One of the most complex challenges users may face is posting sensitive data on external data centers that are accessible to others and do not be controlled directly by users. Graphical user authentication methods have recently been proposed to verify the user identity. However, the fundamental limitation of a graphical password is that it must have a colorful and rich image to provide an adequate password space to maintain security, and when the user clicks and inputs a password between two possible grids, the fault tolerance is adjusted to avoid this situation. This paper proposes an enhanced graphical authentication scheme, which comprises benefits over both recognition and recall-based graphical techniques besides image steganography. The combination of graphical authentication and steganography technologies reduces the amount of sensitive data shared between users and service providers and improves the security of user accounts. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme, peak signal-to-noise ratio and mean squared error parameters have been used.