An Analysis of Graphical Authentication Techniques for Mobile Platforms as Alternatives to Passwords

Authentication is a basic access control concern for applications and services in the technological landscape that usernames and passwords have commonly addressed. Alongside the likes of certificate-based authentication, hardware tokens, and personal identification numbers, passwords have taken the forefront in modern authentication standards with functional recognizability, in that passwords are so common, the average user recognizes what they are and how to use them without much instruction. In recent years, mobile and touch screen technology has seen massive growth and has carried over these well-founded authentication techniques, but present novel challenges unique to the mobile macrocosm, as well as the inherent deficits passwords already face. For example, full-size keyboards allow efficient entry of alphanumeric strings on typical workstations, while touch screens often have compact graphical keyboards that are difficult to use. Likewise, smaller screen constraints on mobile devices often cause issues for graphical text entry elements that necessitate an explicit programmatic approach to maintain visibility and ease-of-interaction. Further, touch screens allow an entirely new facet of interaction that current password implementations simply do not employ. This document presents three graphical authentication techniques that aim to trend towards the combinatorial strength of passwords, while effectively utilizing touch interaction with means to enhance the authenticating experience for mobile device users. Thereafter, we evaluate each approach as a singularity and also in contrast to the password model, in order to propose alternatives better suited for the mobile era.National Science Foundation/DUE-1303455Ope