2,511 research outputs found
Non-Intrusive Subscriber Authentication for Next Generation Mobile Communication Systems
Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/753 on 14.03.2017 by CS (TIS)The last decade has witnessed massive growth in both the technological development, and
the consumer adoption of mobile devices such as mobile handsets and PDAs. The recent
introduction of wideband mobile networks has enabled the deployment of new services
with access to traditionally well protected personal data, such as banking details or
medical records. Secure user access to this data has however remained a function of the
mobile device's authentication system, which is only protected from masquerade abuse by
the traditional PIN, originally designed to protect against telephony abuse.
This thesis presents novel research in relation to advanced subscriber authentication for
mobile devices. The research began by assessing the threat of masquerade attacks on
such devices by way of a survey of end users. This revealed that the current methods of
mobile authentication remain extensively unused, leaving terminals highly vulnerable to
masquerade attack. Further investigation revealed that, in the context of the more
advanced wideband enabled services, users are receptive to many advanced
authentication techniques and principles, including the discipline of biometrics which
naturally lends itself to the area of advanced subscriber based authentication.
To address the requirement for a more personal authentication capable of being applied
in a continuous context, a novel non-intrusive biometric authentication technique was
conceived, drawn from the discrete disciplines of biometrics and Auditory Evoked
Responses. The technique forms a hybrid multi-modal biometric where variations in the
behavioural stimulus of the human voice (due to the propagation effects of acoustic
waves within the human head), are used to verify the identity o f a user. The resulting
approach is known as the Head Authentication Technique (HAT).
Evaluation of the HAT authentication process is realised in two stages. Firstly, the
generic authentication procedures of registration and verification are automated within a
prototype implementation. Secondly, a HAT demonstrator is used to evaluate the
authentication process through a series of experimental trials involving a representative
user community. The results from the trials confirm that multiple HAT samples from
the same user exhibit a high degree of correlation, yet samples between users exhibit a
high degree of discrepancy. Statistical analysis of the prototypes performance realised
early system error rates of; FNMR = 6% and FMR = 0.025%. The results clearly
demonstrate the authentication capabilities of this novel biometric approach and the
contribution this new work can make to the protection of subscriber data in next
generation mobile networks.Orange Personal Communication Services Lt
User Authentication and Supervision in Networked Systems
This thesis considers the problem of user authentication and supervision in networked
systems. The issue of user authentication is one of on-going concern in modem IT systems
with the increased use of computer systems to store and provide access to sensitive
information resources. While the traditional username/password login combination can be
used to protect access to resources (when used appropriately), users often compromise the
security that these methods can provide. While alternative (and often more secure)
systems are available, these alternatives usually require expensive hardware to be
purchased and integrated into IT systems. Even if alternatives are available (and
financially viable), they frequently require users to authenticate in an intrusive manner (e.g.
forcing a user to use a biometric technique relying on fingerprint recognition). Assuming
an acceptable form of authentication is available, this still does not address the problem of
on-going confidence in the users’ identity - i.e. once the user has logged in at the
beginning of a session, there is usually no further confirmation of the users' identity until
they logout or lock the session in which they are operating. Hence there is a significant
requirement to not only improve login authentication but to also introduce the concept of
continuous user supervision.
Before attempting to implement a solution to the problems outlined above, a range of
currently available user authentication methods are identified and evaluated. This is
followed by a survey conducted to evaluate user attitudes and opinions relating to login
and continuous authentication. The results reinforce perceptions regarding the weaknesses
of the traditional username/password combination, and suggest that alternative techniques
can be acceptable. This provides justification for the work described in the latter part o f
the thesis.
A number of small-scale trials are conducted to investigate alternative authentication
techniques, using ImagePIN's and associative/cognitive questions. While these techniques
are of an intrusive nature, they offer potential improvements as either initial login
authentication methods or, as a challenge during a session to confirm the identity of the
logged-in user.
A potential solution to the problem of continuous user authentication is presented through
the design and implementation o f a system to monitor user activity throughout a logged-in
session. The effectiveness of this system is evaluated through a series of trials
investigating the use of keystroke analysis using digraph, trigraph and keyword-based
metrics (with the latter two methods representing novel approaches to the analysis of
keystroke data). The initial trials demonstrate the viability of these techniques, whereas
later trials are used to demonstrate the potential for a composite approach. The final trial
described in this thesis was conducted over a three-month period with 35 trial participants
and resulted in over five million samples. Due to the scope, duration, and the volume of
data collected, this trial provides a significant contribution to the domain, with the use of a
composite analysis method representing entirely new work. The results of these trials
show that the technique of keystroke analysis is one that can be effective for the majority
of users. Finally, a prototype composite authentication and response system is presented,
which demonstrates how transparent, non-intrusive, continuous user authentication can be
achieved
Review of personal identification systems
The growth of the use of biometric personal identification systems has been relatively steady over the last 20 years. The expected biometric revolution which was forecast since the mid 1970\u27s has not yet occurred. The main factor for lower than expected growth has been the cost and user acceptance of the systems. During the last few years, however, a new generation of more reliable, less expensive and better designed biometric devices have come onto the market. This combined with the anticipated expansion of new reliable, user friendly inexpensive systems provides a signal that the revolution is about to begin. This paper provides a glimpse into the future for personal identification systems and focuses on research directions, emerging applications and significant issues of the future
Behaviour Profiling for Mobile Devices
With more than 5 billion users globally, mobile devices have become ubiquitous in our daily life.
The modern mobile handheld device is capable of providing many multimedia services through a
wide range of applications over multiple networks as well as on the handheld device itself. These
services are predominantly driven by data, which is increasingly associated with sensitive
information. Such a trend raises the security requirement for reliable and robust verification
techniques of users.This thesis explores the end-user verification requirements of mobile devices and proposes a novel
Behaviour Profiling security framework for mobile devices. The research starts with a critical
review of existing mobile technologies, security threats and mechanisms, and highlights a broad
range of weaknesses. Therefore, attention is given to biometric verification techniques which have
the ability to offer better security. Despite a large number of biometric works carried out in the
area of transparent authentication systems (TAS) and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), each have
a set of weaknesses that fail to provide a comprehensive solution. They are either reliant upon a
specific behaviour to enable the system to function or only capable of providing security for
network based services. To this end, the behaviour profiling technique is identified as a potential
candidate to provide high level security from both authentication and IDS aspects, operating in a
continuous and transparent manner within the mobile host environment.This research examines the feasibility of a behaviour profiling technique through mobile users
general applications usage, telephone, text message and multi-instance application usage with the
best experimental results Equal Error Rates (EER) of 13.5%, 5.4%, 2.2% and 10% respectively.
Based upon this information, a novel architecture of Behaviour Profiling on mobile devices is
proposed. The framework is able to provide a robust, continuous and non-intrusive verification
mechanism in standalone, TAS or IDS modes, regardless of device hardware configuration. The
framework is able to utilise user behaviour to continuously evaluate the system security status of
the device. With a high system security level, users are granted with instant access to sensitive
services and data, while with lower system security levels, users are required to reassure their
identity before accessing sensitive services.The core functions of the novel framework are validated through the implementation of a
simulation system. A series of security scenarios are designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of
the novel framework to verify legitimate and imposter activities. By employing the smoothing
function of three applications, verification time of 3 minutes and a time period of 60 minutes of
the degradation function, the Behaviour Profiling framework achieved the best performance with
False Rejection Rate (FRR) rates of 7.57%, 77% and 11.24% for the normal, protected and overall
applications respectively and with False Acceptance Rate (FAR) rates of 3.42%, 15.29% and 4.09%
for their counterparts
Securing Our Future Homes: Smart Home Security Issues and Solutions
The Internet of Things, commonly known as IoT, is a new technology transforming businesses, individuals’ daily lives and the operation of entire countries. With more and more devices becoming equipped with IoT technology, smart homes are becoming increasingly popular. The components that make up a smart home are at risk for different types of attacks; therefore, security engineers are developing solutions to current problems and are predicting future types of attacks. This paper will analyze IoT smart home components, explain current security risks, and suggest possible solutions. According to “What is a Smart Home” (n.d.), a smart home is a home that always operates in consideration of security, energy, efficiency and convenience, whether anyone is home or not
Biometrics: Effectiveness and Applications within the Blended Learning Environment
Learning methods have been benefited by a large act of recent systems based on the merging of several models of teaching. Blended learning philosophy has undergone a deep change with the internalization of new engineering sciences such as biometric. While it is known that passwords or PIN should never be stored in the clear, biometric technologies are becoming the foundation of an all-inclusive array of highly secure identification and personal verification solutions. In this paper, we present an in depth discussion the effectiveness of applying different types of biometrics in blended learning environments. We outline an implementation and report the effectiveness of the fingerprint model as a secure biometric method on a database consisting of 13000 students. Keywords: Blended learning, biometrics, e-learning, fingerprint matching, information technology
Dynamic Biometric Signature - an Effective Alternative for Electronic Authentication
The use of dynamic biometric methods for the authentication of people provides significantly greater security than the use of the static ones. The variance of individual dynamic properties of a person, which protects biometric methods against attacks, can be the weak point of these methods at the same time.This paper summarizes the results of a long-term research, which shows that a DBS demonstrates practically absolute resistance to forging and that the stability of signatures provided by test subjects in various situations is high. Factors such as alcohol and stress have no influence on signature stability, either. The results of the experiments showed that the handwritten signature obtained through long practice and the consolidation of the dynamic stereotype, is so automated and stored so deep in the human brain, that its involuntary performance also allows other processes to take place in the cerebral cortex. The dynamic stereotype is composed of psychological, anatomical and motor characteristics of each person. It was also proven to be true that the use of different devices did not have a major impact on the stability of signatures, which is of importance in the case of a blanket deployment.The carried out experiments conclusively showed that the aspects that could have an impact on the stability of a signature did not manifest themselves in such a way that we could not trust these methods even used on commercially available devices. In the conclusion of the paper, the possible directions of research are suggested
Dynamic Biometric Signature - an Effective Alternative for Electronic Authentication
The use of dynamic biometric methods for the authentication of people provides significantly greater security than the use of the static ones. The variance of individual dynamic properties of a person, which protects biometric methods against attacks, can be the weak point of these methods at the same time.
This paper summarizes the results of a long-term research, which shows that a DBS demonstrates practically absolute resistance to forging and that the stability of signatures provided by test subjects in various situations is high. Factors such as alcohol and stress have no influence on signature stability, either. The results of the experiments showed that the handwritten signature obtained through long practice and the consolidation of the dynamic stereotype, is so automated and stored so deep in the human brain, that its involuntary performance also allows other processes to take place in the cerebral cortex. The dynamic stereotype is composed of psychological, anatomical and motor characteristics of each person. It was also proven to be true that the use of different devices did not have a major impact on the stability of signatures, which is of importance in the case of a blanket deployment.
The carried out experiments conclusively showed that the aspects that could have an impact on the stability of a signature did not manifest themselves in such a way that we could not trust these methods even used on commercially available devices. In the conclusion of the paper, the possible directions of research are suggested
Continuous User Authentication Using Multi-Modal Biometrics
It is commonly acknowledged that mobile devices now form an integral part of an individual’s everyday life. The modern mobile handheld devices are capable to provide a wide range of services and applications over multiple networks. With the increasing capability and accessibility, they introduce additional demands in term of security.
This thesis explores the need for authentication on mobile devices and proposes a novel mechanism to improve the current techniques. The research begins with an intensive review of mobile technologies and the current security challenges that mobile devices experience to illustrate the imperative of authentication on mobile devices. The research then highlights the existing authentication mechanism and a wide range of weakness. To this end, biometric approaches are identified as an appropriate solution an opportunity for security to be maintained beyond point-of-entry. Indeed, by utilising behaviour biometric techniques, the authentication mechanism can be performed in a continuous and transparent fashion.
This research investigated three behavioural biometric techniques based on SMS texting activities and messages, looking to apply these techniques as a multi-modal biometric authentication method for mobile devices. The results showed that linguistic profiling; keystroke dynamics and behaviour profiling can be used to discriminate users with overall Equal Error Rates (EER) 12.8%, 20.8% and 9.2% respectively. By using a combination of biometrics, the results showed clearly that the classification performance is better than using single biometric technique achieving EER 3.3%. Based on these findings, a novel architecture of multi-modal biometric authentication on mobile devices is proposed. The framework is able to provide a robust, continuous and transparent authentication in standalone and server-client modes regardless of mobile hardware configuration. The framework is able to continuously maintain the security status of the devices. With a high level of security status, users are permitted to access sensitive services and data. On the other hand, with the low level of security, users are required to re-authenticate before accessing sensitive service or data
The State of the Electronic Identity Market: Technologies, Infrastructure, Services and Policies
Authenticating onto systems, connecting to mobile networks and providing identity data to access services is common ground for most EU citizens, however what is disruptive is that digital technologies fundamentally alter and upset the ways identity is managed, by people, companies and governments. Technological progress in cryptography, identity systems design, smart card design and mobile phone authentication have been developed as a convenient and reliable answer to the need for authentication. Yet, these advances ar enot sufficient to satisfy the needs across people's many spheres of activity: work, leisure, health, social activities nor have they been used to enable cross-border service implementation in the Single Digital Market, or to ensure trust in cross border eCommerce. The study findings assert that the potentially great added value of eID technologies in enabling the Digital Economy has not yet been fulfilled, and fresh efforts are needed to build identification and authentication systems that people can live with, trust and use. The study finds that usability, minimum disclosure and portability, essential features of future systems, are at the margin of the market and cross-country, cross-sector eID systems for business and public service are only in their infancy. This report joins up the dots, and provides significant exploratory evidence of the potential of eID for the Single Digital Market. A clear understanding of this market is crucial for policy action on identification and authentication, eSignature and interoperability.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ
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