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If the crew of StarTrek Enterprise every had to log in to their bank accounts, this is how they probably did it . . . entering the PIN with their eyes.
Researchers at the Stanford University in California developed a new concept in authentication, called EyePassword:
“A system that uses infrared light to track the position of your eyes as you look at numbers and letters displayed on a screen could soon make that possible. “While it is simple to look over someone’s shoulder to tell what keys they are pressing, it’s harder to tell exactly where on the screen the user is looking,” says Manu Kumar, who helped create the system, called EyePassword, at Stanford University in California.
EyePassword works by shining an invisible infrared beam on the user’s face. That produces a reflection or “glint” in their eye that stays in the same spot no matter where they look, in contrast to their pupils, which move whenever their gaze shifts. A camera tracks the relative positions of the glint and the person’s pupils and uses this to work out what …”
Here is link to the article in the New Scientist Magazine (premium account required)
iPhone – Phishing Vulnerabilities
I am not going to rush to the store to get the iPhone. My Nokia E62 is not even close to have the same coolness factor, but at least it does email pretty well . . . except of course, if a message has a link, the Nokia browser will not kick in if I click on the embedded link. I used to get annoyed, but consider the same functionality on the iPhone.
John Leyden writes for TheRegister.com on the shortcomings of the iPhone in terms of vulnerabilities in phishing attacks:
• The iPhone’s email client only displays the first few characters of a weblink, which makes it easier to hide a fraudulent URL at the end of a link without arousing suspicion.
• The mechanism the iPhone uses to link between web browser and telephone functions also makes it easier to embed scam telephone numbers within sites, which a user may be prompted to dial.
Other researchers found a number of additional vulnerabilities which could uncover passwords hiding in Apple software.
What is the future of authentication? Looking at all the available technologies in the consumer authentication market, it is possible to see two general trends, which seem to be going in somewhat different directions:
1) The first approach is to keep the old passwords, but build around them a layered protection mechanism. The key driver is the fear that the user will not want to accept any change in the way they authentication.
2) Another approach is to admit that passwords are the weakest link (really the passwords + users). This perspective calls for a paradigm shift in the way we use passwords in general. Rather than applying more and more patches on an inherently insecure authentication approach, why not look for an effective and simple way to adopt a new generation of passwords – Passwords 2.0? I guess the best illustration of this approach is to think of the car keys. We had keys because we have house keys and that’s what we know to be secure. Now, the newest cars have a “Start” button, while the “key” is reduced to a token device which in close proximity to the car acts as owner identification and allows the car to start. In a similar fashion, what worked for the mainframe in closed networks is obviously not working for the 21st century WWW and requires a paradigm shift – a new kind of “keys”.
Comments anyone?
But what are the key elements in the “next generation”, or Passwords 2.0 world of authentication? Dr. Norman Fraser (CEO of Tricerion) just published a white paper which addresses the issues of “guessability” and “shareability” of regular passwords, protecting against against these vulnerabilities without compromising usability. (I think I just set my personal record for the number of “-bilities” in once sentence).
Last year I got to see a prototype of the new OTP tokens which fits into a regular plastic credit card. I still wonder how they managed to put a battery there (and how long it will last). This is a very neat product. In terms of usability, this token has a higher chance of being popular with online bank users since we all carry at least one credit card at all times. It is easy to use and carry. The key is to make sure the battery lasts till the card exprires.
“VeriSign was expected to announce a deal with Innovative Card Technologies Inc. to outfit banks and e-commerce sites with cards that work with VeriSign’s password system.
With the card, consumers logging on to an online bank account, for instance, would type in their regular username and password, along with a six-digit code that appears on the card’s display window. That code constantly changes, meaning the customer needs to have possession of the card to access the account.”
A Canadian company came up with the idea of using a desktop webcam as an authentication device. The camera, essentially a biometric device, uses 40,000 identification points. Apparently, even if you had a beard and then shaved, the system will still recognize your face ( . . . your wife may not). I love this statement:
“The 3D DeskCam can remove the need for passwords, tokens or smart cards to log on to a computer or online services”
Yeah, right, we’ll be much happier to use a $350 desktop camera for authentication, rather than a ~$10 token, or ~$1 mutual authentication systems. And if you are reading this blog, chances are, you have more than one computer in your household.
