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.     

A Human-Cognitive Perspective of Users’ Password Choices in Recognition-Based Graphical Authentication

ABSTRACT

Graphical password composition is an important part of graphical user authentication which affects the strength of the chosen password. Considering that graphical authentication is associated with visual search, perception, and information retrieval, in this paper we report on an eye-tracking study (N = 109) that aimed to investigate the effects of users’ cognitive styles toward the strength of the created passwords and shed light into whether and how the visual strategy of the users during graphical password composition is associated with the passwords’ strength. For doing so, we adopted Witkin’s Field Dependence-Independence theory, which underpins individual differences in visual information and cognitive processing, as graphical password composition tasks are associated with visual search. The analysis revealed that users with different cognitive processing characteristics followed different patterns of visual behavior during password composition which affected the strength of the created passwords. The findings underpin the need of considering human-cognitive characteristics as a design factor in graphical password schemes. The paper concludes by discussing implications for improving recognition-based graphical passwords through adaptation and personalization techniques based on individual cognitive characteristics.     

Graphical passwords based on robust discretization

This paper generalizes Blonder's graphical passwords to arbitrary images and solves a robustness problem that this generalization entails. The password consists of user-chosen click points in a displayed image. In order to store passwords in cryptographically hashed form, we need to prevent small uncertainties in the click points from having any effect on the password. We achieve this by introducing a robust discretization, based on multigrid discretization.     

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.     

A user authentication system using back-propagation network

Information security has been a critical issue in the field of information systems. One of the key factors in the security of a computer system is how to identify the authorization of users. Password-based user authentication is widely used to authenticate a legitimate user in the current system. In conventional password-based user authentication schemes, a system has to maintain a password table or verification table which stores the information of users IDs and passwords. Although the one-way hash functions and encryption algorithms are applied to prevent the passwords from being disclosed, the password table or verification table is still vulnerable. In order to solve this problem, in this paper, we apply the technique of back-propagation network instead of the functions of the password table and verification table. Our proposed scheme is useful in solving the security problems that occurred in systems using the password table and verification table. Furthermore, our scheme also allows each user to select a username and password of his/her choice.     

动态口令身份认证和报警系统

针对目前普遍使用的固定口令身份认证系统,给出了一种基于白噪声器件的动态口令身份认证系统。该系统中,动态口令是通过自噪声器件产生的随机序列经过特定的不可逆映射函数变换后得到的,这使得攻击者很难从已知的任何数量的口令中推断出下一个口令。此外,系统还提供了无线报警提示功能,可将用户的登录信息及时地发送给对应的合法用户,从而能够有效地防止非法用户的假冒攻击行为。     

PG-RNN:一种基于递归神经网络的密码猜测模型

用户名—密码（口令）是目前最流行的用户身份认证方式，鉴于获取真实的大规模密码明文非常困难，利用密码猜测技术来生成大规模密码集，可以评估密码猜测算法效率、检测现有用户密码保护机制的缺陷等，是研究密码安全性的主要方法。本文提出了一种基于递归神经网络的密码猜测概率模型（password guessing RNN， PG-RNN），区别于传统的基于人为设计规则的密码生成方法，递归神经网络能够自动地学习到密码集本身的分布特征和字符规律。因此，在泄露的真实用户密码集上训练后的递归神经网络，能够生成非常接近训练集真实数据的密码，避免了人为设定规则来破译密码的局限性。实验结果表明，PG-RNN生成的密码在结构字符类型、密码长度分布上比Markov模型更好地接近原始训练数据的分布特征，同时在真实密码匹配度上，本文提出的PG-RNN模型比目前较好的基于生成对抗网络的PassGAN模型提高了1.2%。     

Investigating the Viability of Multifactor Graphical Passwords for User Authentication

ABSTRACT

Authentication using images (i.e., graphical passwords) is claimed to be one of the alternatives for overcoming weaknesses in the traditional username and password authentication. This paper reports on the study to explore the feasibility of combining two graphical password methods for better security. A graphical password prototype scheme, the Enhanced Graphical Authentication System (EGAS), was developed (which combines the methods of clicking on the image (i.e., click-based) and selecting a series of images (i.e., choice-based). The EGAS was tested by 30 participants randomly chosen from the authors’ university and two evaluations were made; namely user performance of the combined method and the feasibility of authentication strategies toward the introduced method itself. From both evaluations, it is found that positive results have been obtained, which suggest that these methods could be combined together effectively without giving impediment to users.     

基于集合调和的远程口令恢复方法*

基于对多项式编码的集合调和方法的研究,提出一种简单的远程口令恢复新方法。其利用容易记忆的低熵口令集经hash变换后加密并存储高熵口令;利用集合调和多项式容错求解得到原始的低熵口令集,从而恢复高熵口令。同时,提供了两个安全的远程口令恢复协议。分析表明,此方法可以安全广泛地应用到远程应用系统中。     

User interface design affects security: patterns in click-based graphical passwords

Design of the user interface for authentication systems influences users and may encourage either secure or insecure behaviour. Using data from four different but closely related click-based graphical password studies, we show that user-selected passwords vary considerably in their predictability. Our post-hoc analysis looks at click-point patterns within passwords and shows that PassPoints passwords follow distinct patterns. Our analysis shows that many patterns appear across a range of images, thus motivating attacks which are independent of specific background images. Conversely, Cued Click-Points (CCP) and Persuasive Cued Click-Points (PCCP) passwords are nearly indistinguishable from those of a randomly generated simulated dataset. These results provide insight on modeling effective password spaces and on how user interface characteristics lead to more (or less) security resulting from user behaviour.     

动态字典破解用户口令与安全口令选择

口令认证一直是最主要的身份认证方式。考虑到口令要满足口令策略和易记忆的要求,用户常常会将个人信息组合起来作为口令。因此,为了调查此类口令的比例,以2011年泄露的四种真实口令集为实验素材,预先设定口令的组合结构和格式,使用程序统计使用个人信息组合作为口令的比例。实验结果表明,使用姓名、电话号码、特殊日期等信息组合而成的口令比例为12.41%~25.53%。根据这一规律,提出了动态字典攻击。攻击者可以在获得用户部分个人信息后,生成具有针对性的动态字词典,并以此来破解用户口令。最后,还讨论了如何选择口令以防止攻击者通过动态字典破解用户口令。     

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.     

A graphical-based password keystroke dynamic authentication system for touch screen handheld mobile devices

Since touch screen handheld mobile devices have become widely used, people are able to access various data and information anywhere and anytime. Most user authentication methods for these mobile devices use PIN-based (Personal Identification Number) authentication, since they do not employ a standard QWERTY keyboard for conveniently entering text-based passwords. However, PINs provide a small password space size, which is vulnerable to attacks. Many studies have employed the KDA (Keystroke Dynamic-based Authentication) system, which is based on keystroke time features to enhance the security of PIN-based authentication. Unfortunately, unlike the text-based password KDA systems in QWERTY keyboards, different keypad sizes or layouts of mobile devices affect the PIN-based KDA system utility. This paper proposes a new graphical-based password KDA system for touch screen handheld mobile devices. The graphical password enlarges the password space size and promotes the KDA utility in touch screen handheld mobile devices. In addition, this paper explores a pressure feature, which is easy to use in touch screen handheld mobile devices, and applies it in the proposed system. The experiment results show: (1) EER is 12.2% in the graphical-based password KDA proposed system. Compared with related schemes in mobile devices, this effectively promotes KDA system utility; (2) EER is reduced to 6.9% when the pressure feature is used in the proposed system. The accuracy of authenticating keystroke time and pressure features is not affected by inconsistent keypads since the graphical passwords are entered via an identical size (50 mm × 60 mm) human–computer interface for satisfying the lowest touch screen size and a GUI of this size is displayed on all mobile devices.     

Improving password security and memorability to protect personal and organizational information

Personal information and organizational information need to be protected, which requires that only authorized users gain access to the information. The most commonly used method for authenticating users who attempt to access such information is through the use of username–password combinations. However, this is a weak method of authentication because users tend to generate passwords that are easy to remember but also easy to crack. Proactive password checking, for which passwords must satisfy certain criteria, is one method for improving the security of user-generated passwords. The present study evaluated the time and number of attempts needed to generate unique passwords satisfying different restrictions for multiple accounts, as well as the login time and accuracy for recalling those passwords. Imposing password restrictions alone did not necessarily lead to more secure passwords. However, the use of a technique for which the first letter of each word of a sentence was used coupled with a requirement to insert a special character and digit yielded more secure passwords that were more memorable.     

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.     

一种新的混合式身份认证技术

系统资源的安全与访问者的身份认证有着直接的关系，目前绝大多数系统的身份认证是基于常规口令的，由于人本身的因素使常规口令并不安全，因此在常规口令的基础上结合人对图像很容易识别的现象提出半可视化口令保护技术。这种技术使系统用户免去记忆枯燥的常规口令的麻烦基础上提高口令的记忆效率和安全性。给出了相关的定义和认证过程，实验验证了该技术便于记忆且是安全的。     

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.     

一种新的可视化图形口令

对用户的认证是系统安全的核心组成部分之一.基于口令的认证是一种最常用的对用户的认证方法.人们往往选取容易记忆的简单口令,但是它们也容易被攻击.有些图形口令免去了人们记忆口令的烦恼,但是它们要求对用户的培训必须秘密进行,这使得用户设置和修改口令比较困难.提出了一种新的图形口令方案,它利用人们随身携带的普通钥匙作为图形口令,用户通过看看屏幕就可以输入口令,试验表明它简单、易于实现,用户使用起来也十分方便.     

Simple social engineering

It is practically impossible to get very far these days in the system security arena without running into the need for a password to access a system. It might be for an in-house system or even for an online service, but we all need passwords and user IDs to get very far.