Visible to the public Sweet-spotting Security and Usability for Intelligent Graphical Authentication Mechanisms

TitleSweet-spotting Security and Usability for Intelligent Graphical Authentication Mechanisms
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2017
AuthorsBelk, Marios, Pamboris, Andreas, Fidas, Christos, Katsini, Christina, Avouris, Nikolaos, Samaras, George
Conference NameProceedings of the International Conference on Web Intelligence
PublisherACM
Conference LocationNew York, NY, USA
ISBN Number978-1-4503-4951-2
Keywordscomposability, compositionality, Computational Intelligence, cryptography, eye-tracking, pubcrawl, recognition-based graphical authentication, security, usability, user study
AbstractThis paper investigates the trade-off between security and usability in recognition-based graphical authentication mechanisms. Through a user study (N=103) based on a real usage scenario, it draws insights about the security strength and memorability of a chosen password with respect to the amount of images presented to users during sign-up. In particular, it reveals the users' predisposition in following predictable patterns when selecting graphical passwords, and its effect on practical security strength. It also demonstrates that a "sweet-spot" exists between security and usability in graphical authentication approaches on the basis of adjusting accordingly the image grid size presented to users when creating passwords. The results of the study can be leveraged by researchers and practitioners engaged in designing intelligent graphical authentication user interfaces for striking an appropriate balance between security and usability.
URLhttp://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3106426.3106488
DOI10.1145/3106426.3106488
Citation Keybelk_sweet-spotting_2017