FlexPass: Symbiosis of Seamless User Authentication Schemes in IoT

Abstract

This paper presents a new user authentication paradigm which is based on a flexible user authentication method, namely FlexPass. FlexPass relies on a single, user-selected secret that can be reflected in both textual and graphical authentication secrets. Such an approach facilitates adaptability in nowadays ubiquitous user interaction contexts within the Internet of Things (IoT), in which end-users authenticate multiple times per day through a variety of interaction device types. We present an initial evaluation of the new authentication method based on an in-lab experiment with 32 participants. Analysis of results reveal that the FlexPass paradigm is memorable and that users like the adaptable perspective of the new approach. Findings are expected to scaffold the design of more user-centric knowledge-based authentication mechanisms within nowadays ubiquitous computation realms.