Abstract
Security mechanisms based on patterns, such as Pattern Lock, are commonly used to prevent unauthorized access. They introduce several benefits, such as ease of use, an additional layer of security, convenience, and versatility. However, many users tend to create simple and easily predictable patterns. To address this issue, we propose a data-driven real-time assistant approach called RePaLM. RePaLM is a neural network-based assistant that provides users with information about less commonly used pattern points, aiming to help users to make stronger, less predictable pattern choices. Our user study shows that RePaLM can effectively nudge users towards using less predictable patterns without compromising memorability. Overall, RePaLM is a promising solution for enhancing the security of pattern-based authentication systems.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
We use the term “Pattern Lock” to describe securing a device by creating a custom pattern in a 3\(\,\times \,\)3 grid. In literature, similar terms are “unlock pattern”, “unlock gesture”, “Android password pattern” and “Android unlock pattern”.
References
Abdelrahman, Y., Khamis, M., Schneegass, S., Alt, F.: Stay Cool! Understanding thermal attacks on mobile-based user authentication. In: Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 3751–3763. CHI 2017, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2017). https://doi.org/10.1145/3025453.3025461
Alotaibi, N., Williamson, J., Khamis, M.: ThermoSecure: investigating the effectiveness of AI-driven thermal attacks on commonly used computer keyboards. ACM Trans. Priv. Secur. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1145/3563693
Alt, F., Mikusz, M., Schneegass, S., Bulling, A.: Memorability of cued-recall graphical passwords with saliency masks. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, pp. 191–200. MUM 2016, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2016). https://doi.org/10.1145/3012709.3012730
Andriotis, P., Kirby, M., Takasu, A.: Bu-Dash: a universal and dynamic graphical password scheme. Int. J. Inf. Secur. 22, 1–21 (2022)
Anwar, M., Imran, A.: A comparative study of graphical and alphanumeric passwords for mobile device authentication. In: Modern Artificial Intelligence & Cognitive Science Conference (MAICS), pp. 13–18 (2015)
Arias-Cabarcos, P., Krupitzer, C., Becker, C.: A survey on adaptive authentication. ACM Comput. Surv. 52(4), 1–30 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1145/3336117
Aviv, A.J., Dürmuth, M.: A survey of collection methods and cross-data set comparison of Android Unlock patterns. arXiv preprint arXiv:1811.10548 (2018)
Aviv, A.J., Gibson, K., Mossop, E., Blaze, M., Smith, J.M.: Smudge attacks on smartphone touch screens. In: 4th USENIX Workshop on Offensive Technologies (WOOT 10) (2010)
De Luca, A., et al.: Now you see me, now you don’t: protecting smartphone authentication from shoulder surfers. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 2937–2946. CHI 2014, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2014). https://doi.org/10.1145/2556288.2557097
Forman, T.J., Roche, D.S., Aviv, A.J.: Twice as nice? A preliminary evaluation of double Android Unlock patterns. In: Extended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1–7. CHI EA 2020, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2020). https://doi.org/10.1145/3334480.3382922
Furnell, S.: Assessing website password practices - unchanged after fifteen years? Computers & Security (2022)
Golla, M., Rimkus, J., Aviv, A.J., Dürmuth, M.: On the in-accuracy and influence of Android pattern strength meters. In: Workshop on Usable Security, USEC. vol. 19 (2019)
Guerar, M., Merlo, A., Migliardi, M.: ClickPattern: a pattern lock system resilient to smudge and side-channel attacks. J. Wirel. Mob. Networks Ubiquitous Comput. Dependable Appl. 8(2), 64–78 (2017)
Gugenheimer, J., De Luca, A., Hess, H., Karg, S., Wolf, D., Rukzio, E.: ColorSnakes: using colored decoys to secure authentication in sensitive contexts. In: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services, pp. 274–283. MobileHCI 2015, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2015). https://doi.org/10.1145/2785830.2785834
Hartwig, K., Englisch, A., Thomson, J.P., Reuter, C.: Finding secret treasure? Improving memorized secrets through gamification. In: Proceedings of the 2021 European Symposium on Usable Security, pp. 105–117. EuroUSEC 2021, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2021). https://doi.org/10.1145/3481357.3481509
Katsini, C., Abdrabou, Y., Raptis, G.E., Khamis, M., Alt, F.: The role of eye gaze in security and privacy applications: survey and future HCI research directions. In: Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1–21. CHI 2020, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2020). https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376840
Loge, M., Duermuth, M., Rostad, L.: On user choice for Android Unlock patterns. In: European Workshop on Usable Security, ser. EuroUSEC. vol. 16 (2016)
Melicher, W., et al.: Fast, lean, and accurate: Modeling password guess ability using neural networks. In: 25th USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 16), pp. 175–191 (2016)
Munyendo, C.W., Grant, M., Markert, P., Forman, T.J., Aviv, A.J.: Using a blocklist to improve the security of user selection of Android patterns. In: Seventeenth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2021), pp. 37–56 (2021)
Raptis, G.E., Katsini, C., Cen, A.J.l., Arachchilage, N.A.G., Nacke, L.E.: Better, funner, stronger: A gameful approach to nudge people into making less predictable graphical password choices. In: Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. CHI 2021, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2021). https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445658
Schneegass, S., Steimle, F., Bulling, A., Alt, F., Schmidt, A.: SmudgeSafe: geometric image transformations for smudge-resistant user authentication. In: Proceedings of the 2014 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing, pp. 775–786. UbiComp 2014, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2014). https://doi.org/10.1145/2632048.2636090
Song, Y., Cho, G., Oh, S., Kim, H., Huh, J.H.: On the effectiveness of pattern lock strength meters: measuring the strength of real world pattern locks. In: Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 2343–2352. CHI 2015, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2015). https://doi.org/10.1145/2702123.2702365
Sun, C., Wang, Y., Zheng, J.: Dissecting pattern unlock: the effect of pattern strength meter on pattern selection. J. Inf. Secur. Appl. 19(4–5), 308–320 (2014)
Ur, B., et al.: Design and evaluation of a data-driven password meter. In: Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 3775–3786. CHI 2017, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2017). https://doi.org/10.1145/3025453.3026050
Ye, G., et al.: Cracking Android Pattern Lock in five attempts. In: Proceedings of the 2017 Network and Distributed System Security Symposium 2017 (NDSS 17). Internet Society (2017)
von Zezschwitz, E., et al.: On quantifying the effective password space of grid-based unlock gestures. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, pp. 201–212. MUM 2016, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, USA (2016). https://doi.org/10.1145/3012709.3012729
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Milousi, C., Raptis, G.E., Katsini, C., Katsanos, C. (2023). RePaLM: A Data-Driven AI Assistant for Making Stronger Pattern Choices. In: Abdelnour Nocera, J., Kristín Lárusdóttir, M., Petrie, H., Piccinno, A., Winckler, M. (eds) Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2023. INTERACT 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14144. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42286-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42286-7_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-42285-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-42286-7
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)