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Design and evaluation of a shoulder-surfing resistant graphical password scheme
Conference proceeding

Design and evaluation of a shoulder-surfing resistant graphical password scheme

Susan Wiedenbeck, Jim Waters, Leonardo Sobrado and Jean-Camille Birget
Proceedings of the working conference on advanced visual interfaces, v 2006, pp 177-184
23 May 2006
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1133265.1133303

Abstract

authentication convex hull click scheme graphical passwords password security shoulder-surfing usable security
When users input their passwords in a public place, they may be at risk of attackers stealing their password. An attacker can capture a password by direct observation or by recording the individual's authentication session. This is referred to as shoulder-surfing and is a known risk, of special concern when authenticating in public places. Until recently, the only defense against shoulder-surfing has been vigilance on the part of the user. This paper reports on the design and evaluation of a game-like graphical method of authentication that is resistant to shoulder-surfing. The Convex Hull Click (CHC) scheme allows a user to prove knowledge of the graphical password safely in an insecure location because users never have to click directly on their password images. Usability testing of the CHC scheme showed that novice users were able to enter their graphical password accurately and to remember it over time. However, the protection against shoulder-surfing comes at the price of longer time to carry out the authentication.

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