53,629 research outputs found
Naturally Rehearsing Passwords
We introduce quantitative usability and security models to guide the design
of password management schemes --- systematic strategies to help users create
and remember multiple passwords. In the same way that security proofs in
cryptography are based on complexity-theoretic assumptions (e.g., hardness of
factoring and discrete logarithm), we quantify usability by introducing
usability assumptions. In particular, password management relies on assumptions
about human memory, e.g., that a user who follows a particular rehearsal
schedule will successfully maintain the corresponding memory. These assumptions
are informed by research in cognitive science and validated through empirical
studies. Given rehearsal requirements and a user's visitation schedule for each
account, we use the total number of extra rehearsals that the user would have
to do to remember all of his passwords as a measure of the usability of the
password scheme. Our usability model leads us to a key observation: password
reuse benefits users not only by reducing the number of passwords that the user
has to memorize, but more importantly by increasing the natural rehearsal rate
for each password. We also present a security model which accounts for the
complexity of password management with multiple accounts and associated
threats, including online, offline, and plaintext password leak attacks.
Observing that current password management schemes are either insecure or
unusable, we present Shared Cues--- a new scheme in which the underlying secret
is strategically shared across accounts to ensure that most rehearsal
requirements are satisfied naturally while simultaneously providing strong
security. The construction uses the Chinese Remainder Theorem to achieve these
competing goals
Usability of Humanly Computable Passwords
Reusing passwords across multiple websites is a common practice that
compromises security. Recently, Blum and Vempala have proposed password
strategies to help people calculate, in their heads, passwords for different
sites without dependence on third-party tools or external devices. Thus far,
the security and efficiency of these "mental algorithms" has been analyzed only
theoretically. But are such methods usable? We present the first usability
study of humanly computable password strategies, involving a learning phase (to
learn a password strategy), then a rehearsal phase (to login to a few
websites), and multiple follow-up tests. In our user study, with training,
participants were able to calculate a deterministic eight-character password
for an arbitrary new website in under 20 seconds
Experimental Case Studies for Investigating E-Banking Phishing Techniques and Attack Strategies
Phishing is a form of electronic identity theft in which a combination of social engineering and web site spoofing techniques are used to trick a user into revealing confidential information with economic value. The problem of social engineering attack is that there is no single solution to eliminate it completely, since it deals largely with the human factor. This is why implementing empirical experiments is very crucial in order to study and to analyze all malicious and deceiving phishing website attack techniques and strategies. In this paper, three different kinds of phishing experiment case studies have been conducted to shed some light into social engineering attacks, such as phone phishing and phishing website attacks for designing effective countermeasures and analyzing the efficiency of performing security awareness about phishing threats. Results and reactions to our experiments show the importance of conducting phishing training awareness for all users and doubling our efforts in developing phishing prevention techniques. Results also suggest that traditional standard security phishing factor indicators are not always effective for detecting phishing websites, and alternative intelligent phishing detection approaches are needed
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Forensically-Sound Analysis of Security Risks of using Local Password Managers
Password managers have been developed to address the human challenges associated with password security, i.e., to solve usability issues in a secure way. They offer, e.g., features to create strong passwords, to manage the increasing number of passwords a typical user has, and to auto-fill passwords, sparing users the hassle of not only remembering but also typing them. Previous studies have focused mainly on the security analysis of cloud-based and browser-based password managers; security of local password managers remains mostly under-explored. This paper takes a forensic approach and reports on a case study of three popular local password managers: KeePass (v2.28), Password Safe (v3.35.1) and RoboForm (v7.9.12). Results revealed that either the master password or the content of the password database could be found unencrypted in Temp folders, Page files or Recycle bin, even after the applications had been closed. Therefore, an attacker or malware with temporary access to the computer on which the password managers were running may be able to steal sensitive information, even though these password managers are meant to keep the databases encrypted and protected at all times
Securing library information system: Vulnerabilities and threats
Threats and vulnerabilities in computers and networks are common nowadays since computers are widely used by the
public. The risks of computer threats and vulnerabilities are high since most computers are connected to the internet.
Library Information Systems is also vulnerable to attack since it is a public access institution. Majority of users are naive when it comes to computer and network securities. Some breaches in Library Information System are intentional and some are unintentional. Risks analysis should be done to find the threats and risks in designing the Library Information System. Threats are made possible due to lack of proper procedures, software flaws and policies. The administrators should anticipate all the possible attacks and their mitigation techniques. In this paper, we will try to address various issues arise from this vulnerabilities and threats. We will also describe how we can reduce and overcome this vulnerabilities and threats
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