Towards Non-Observable Authentication for Mobile Devices

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2016-06-22

Department

Program

Citation of Original Publication

Wolf, Flynn; Kuber, Ravi; Aviv, Adam J.; Towards Non-Observable Authentication for Mobile Devices; 12th Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2016); https://www.usenix.org/sites/default/files/soups16poster9-wolf.pdf

Rights

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Public Domain Mark 1.0
This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.

Subjects

Abstract

When faced with the threat of observational attacks, mobile device users may attempt to mask the graphical interface to authenticate entry, to reduce the likelihood of third parties viewing and recreating the authentication sequence. However, interacting nonvisually with a mobile interface is not without its own challenges. In this paper, we describe a study examining the efficacy of authenticating entry using both PINs and graphical patterns when the mobile interface is outside of the line of sight of third parties and the user (i.e. in the user’s pocket, bag, or shielded by the non-dominant hand). A tactile aid intended to provide awareness of the orientation of the mobile device and to support authentication sequence entry is also being evaluated as part of the research.