Abstract:
Techniques for user authentication are disclosed. In one embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method including during registration of a user, receiving a first captured image of a physical key having a blade; identifying from the captured image a plurality of features associated with the blade of the physical key; associating the identified plurality of features with the user as key feature data; in response to a subsequent access request by the user requiring authorization of the user, prompting the user to present the physical key; receiving a second captured image in response to prompting the user; analyzing the second image to determine if the key feature data is represented in the second image; and in response to determining that the key feature data is represented in the second image, authorizing the user&#39;s access request.

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure relates generally to system security and, more specifically, to techniques for user authentication. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     More and more, user personal private data migrates to the cloud. For example, photos may be stored on file sharing sites. A user&#39;s credit card and account info may be stored in online vaults associated with various security programs. Personal emails are often stored in cloud mail boxes. A user is typically required to log into cloud accounts using a username and password. 
     Unfortunately, usernames and passwords are prone to phishing attacks and other potential security breaches. Many people pick their passwords using identifiable personal information that can be easily obtained through public search, thus allowing third parties to compromise a user&#39;s account. Also, a user often uses the same password across multiple cloud accounts, so in compromising the least secure cloud service account, more secure and high-valued accounts can also be compromised. 
     Certain methods of multi-factor authentication have been introduced in an attempt to address the above issues, but these types of solutions usually require specialized devices that the user has to maintain and keep track of. Currently, there is no good mechanism for authenticating a user in the cloud that is secure, is intuitive to use, and relies on a non-digital device that the user already possesses. 
     In view of the foregoing, it may be understood that there may be significant problems and shortcomings associated with existing authentication methods. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Techniques for user authentication are disclosed. In one embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method including during registration of a user, receiving a first captured image of a physical key having a blade; identifying from the captured image a plurality of features associated with the blade of the physical key; associating the identified plurality of features with the user as key feature data; in response to a subsequent access request by the user requiring authorization of the user, prompting the user to present the physical key; receiving a second captured image in response to prompting the user; analyzing the second image to determine if the key feature data is represented in the second image; and in response to determining that the key feature data is represented in the second image, authorizing the user&#39;s access request. 
     In accordance with other aspects of this embodiment, analyzing the second image includes applying at least one image processing technique to the second image in order to accommodate differences between the first and second images. 
     In accordance with other aspects of this embodiment, at least one additional authorization vector can be required to authorize the user&#39;s access request in addition to presenting the physical key. 
     In accordance with other aspects of this embodiment, the user can prompted to present the physical key after the user fails another authorization vector. The user can prompted to present the physical key after the user submits that the user has forgotten a password associated with the user, or after the user submits that the user has forgotten to bring a device used to electronically authorize the user. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the techniques may be realized as an article of manufacture including at least one processor readable storage medium and instructions stored on the at least one medium. The instructions may be configured to be readable from the at least one medium by at least one processor and thereby cause the at least one processor to operate so as to carry out any and all of the steps in the above-described method. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a system comprising one or more processors communicatively coupled to a network; wherein the one or more processors are configured to carry out any and all of the steps described with respect to any of the above embodiments. 
     In accordance with other aspects of this embodiment, the system can further comprise a video recording device configured to capture the first and second images. 
     The present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to particular embodiments thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings. While the present disclosure is described below with reference to particular embodiments, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Those of ordinary skill in the art having access to the teachings herein will recognize additional implementations, modifications, and embodiments, as well as other fields of use, which are within the scope of the present disclosure as described herein, and with respect to which the present disclosure may be of significant utility. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are referenced with like numerals. These drawings should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure, but are intended to be illustrative only. 
         FIG. 1  shows a block diagram depicting a network architecture in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  shows a block diagram depicting a computer system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  shows a method for authentication in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a key blade with identifiable features in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     During registration, an authentication system receives an image of a physical key from a user. The system extracts various features of the blade of the key and securely associates the key features with the user. 
     Subsequently, the system can require the user to present the key to an imaging device as a user authentication method. Features of the key blade are extracted from the submitted image and compared to the features securely associated with the user. Authentication is confirmed if the features match. 
       FIG. 1  shows a block diagram depicting a network architecture  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 1  is a simplified view of network architecture  100 , which may include additional elements that are not depicted. Network architecture  100  may contain client systems  110 ,  120  and  130 , as well as servers  140 A- 140 N (one or more of each of which may be implemented using computer system  200  shown in  FIG. 2 ). Client systems  110 ,  120  and  130  may be communicatively coupled to a network  150 . Server  140 A may be communicatively coupled to storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N), and server  140 B may be communicatively coupled to storage devices  160 B( 1 )-(N). Servers  140 A and  140 B may be communicatively coupled to a SAN (Storage Area Network) fabric  170 . SAN fabric  170  may support access to storage devices  180 ( 1 )-(N) by servers  140 A and  140 B, and by client systems  110 ,  120  and  130  via network  150 . 
     With reference to computer system  200  of  FIG. 2 , modem  247 , network interface  248 , or some other method may be used to provide connectivity from one or more of client systems  110 ,  120  and  130  to network  150 . Client systems  110 ,  120  and  130  may access information on server  140 A or  140 B using, for example, a web browser or other client software (not shown). Such a client may allow client systems  110 ,  120  and  130  to access data hosted by server  140 A or  140 B or one of storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N). 
     Networks  150  and  190  may be local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), the Internet, cellular networks, satellite networks, or other networks that permit communication between clients  110 ,  120 ,  130 , servers  140 , and other devices communicatively coupled to networks  150  and  190 . Networks  150  and  190  may further include one, or any number, of the exemplary types of networks mentioned above operating as a stand-alone network or in cooperation with each other. Networks  150  and  190  may utilize one or more protocols of one or more clients or servers to which they are communicatively coupled. Networks  150  and  190  may translate to or from other protocols to one or more protocols of network devices. Although networks  150  and  190  are each depicted as one network, it should be appreciated that according to one or more embodiments, networks  150  and  190  may each comprise a plurality of interconnected networks. 
     Storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N) may be network accessible storage and may be local, remote, or a combination thereof to server  140 A or  140 B. Storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N) may utilize a redundant array of inexpensive disks (“RAID”), magnetic tape, disk, a storage area network (“SAN”), an internet small computer systems interface (“iSCSI”) SAN, a Fibre Channel SAN, a common Internet File System (“CIFS”), network attached storage (“NAS”), a network file system (“NFS”), optical based storage, or other computer accessible storage. Storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N) may be used for backup or archival purposes. Further, storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N) may be implemented as part of a multi-tier storage environment. 
     According to some embodiments, clients  110 ,  120 , and  130  may be smartphones, PDAs, desktop computers, laptop computers, servers, other computers, or other devices coupled via a wireless or wired connection to network  150 . Clients  110 ,  120 , and  130  may receive data from user input, a database, a file, a web service, and/or an application programming interface. In some implementations, clients  110 ,  120 , and  130  may specifically be network-capable mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. 
     Servers  140 A and  140 B may be application servers, archival platforms, backup servers, network storage devices, media servers, email servers, document management platforms, enterprise search servers, or other devices communicatively coupled to network  150 . Servers  140 A and  140 B may utilize one of storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N) for the storage of application data, backup data, or other data. Servers  140 A and  140 B may be hosts, such as an application server, which may process data traveling between clients  110 ,  120 , and  130  and a backup platform, a backup process, and/or storage. According to some embodiments, servers  140 A and  140 B may be platforms used for backing up and/or archiving data. One or more portions of data may be backed up or archived based on a backup policy and/or an archive applied, attributes associated with the data source, space available for backup, space available at the data source, or other factors. 
     According to some embodiments, clients  110 ,  120 , and  130  may contain one or more portions of software for implementation of system security such as, for example, authentication module  154 . Further, one or more portions of the authentication module  154  may reside at a network centric location, such as server  140 A and/or server  140 B. For example, server  140 A may be a server, a firewall, a gateway, or other network element that may perform one or more actions to support management of system and network security elements. According to some embodiments, network  190  may be an external network (e.g., the Internet) and server  140 A may be a gateway or firewall between one or more internal components and clients and the external network. According to some embodiments, secure management of system access and availability of resources including the authentication module  154  may be implemented as part of a cloud computing environment. 
       FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of a computer system  200  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Computer system  200  is suitable for implementing techniques in accordance with the present disclosure. Computer system  200  may include a bus  212  which may interconnect major subsystems of computer system  200 , such as a central processor  214 , a system memory  217  (e.g. RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash RAM, or the like), an Input/Output (I/O) controller  218 , an external audio device, such as a speaker system  220  via an audio output interface  222 , an external device, such as a display screen  224  via display adapter  226 , serial ports  228  and  230 , a keyboard  232  (interfaced via a keyboard controller  233 ), a storage interface  234 , a printer  237  operative to receive data and/or images for printing, a host bus adapter (HBA) interface card  235 A operative to connect with a Fibre Channel network  290  and a host bus adapter (HBA) interface card  235 B operative to connect to a SCSI bus  239 . Also included may be a mouse  246  (or other point-and-click device, coupled to bus  212  via serial port  228 ), a modem  247  (coupled to bus  212  via serial port  230 ), network interface  248  (coupled directly to bus  212 ), power manager  250 , and battery  252 . A video recorder  240  may allow for capture of still images and/or moving video data. 
     Bus  212  allows data communication between central processor  214  and system memory  217 , which may include read-only memory (ROM) or flash memory (neither shown), and random access memory (RAM) (not shown), as previously noted. The RAM may be the main memory into which the operating system and application programs may be loaded. The ROM or flash memory can contain, among other code, the Basic Input-Output system (BIOS) which controls basic hardware operation such as the interaction with peripheral components. Applications resident with computer system  200  may be stored on and accessed via a computer readable medium, such as a hard disk drive (e.g., fixed disk  244 ), an optical drive (e.g., optical drive  240 ), a printer  237 , a removable disk unit (e.g., Universal Serial Bus drive), or other storage medium. According to some embodiments, authentication module  154  may be resident in system memory  217 . 
     Storage interface  234 , as with the other storage interfaces of computer system  200 , can connect to a standard computer readable medium for storage and/or retrieval of information, such as a fixed disk drive  244 . Fixed disk drive  244  may be a part of computer system  200  or may be separate and accessed through other interface systems. Modem  247  may provide a direct connection to a remote server via a telephone link or to the Internet via an internet service provider (ISP). Network interface  248  may provide a direct connection to a remote server via a direct network link to the Internet via a POP (point of presence). Network interface  248  may provide such connection using wireless techniques, including digital cellular telephone connection, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) connection, digital satellite data connection or the like. 
     Many other devices or subsystems (not shown) may be connected in a similar manner (e.g., document scanners, digital cameras and so on). Conversely, all of the devices shown in  FIG. 2  need not be present to practice the present disclosure. The devices and subsystems can be interconnected in different ways from that shown in  FIG. 2 . Code to implement the present disclosure may be stored in computer-readable storage media such as one or more of system memory  217 , fixed disk  244  or optical disk  242 . Code to implement the present disclosure may also be received via one or more interfaces and stored in memory. The operating system provided on computer system  200  may be MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, OS X®, UNIX®, Linux®, or another known operating system. 
     Power manager  250  may monitor a power level of battery  252 . Power manager  250  may provide one or more APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to allow determination of a power level, of a time window remaining prior to shutdown of computer system  200 , a power consumption rate, an indicator of whether computer system is on mains (e.g., AC Power) or battery power, and other power related information. According to some embodiments, APIs of power manager  250  may be accessible remotely (e.g., accessible to a remote backup management module via a network connection). According to some embodiments, battery  252  may be an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) located either local to or remote from computer system  200 . In such embodiments, power manager  250  may provide information about a power level of an UPS. 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating a method  300  for user authentication in accordance with the present disclosure. 
     As part of registering for authorization, a user presents a physical key having a shaped blade designed for use in a physical lock ( 302 ). An image is captured of the physical key ( 304 ), such as by means of a recording device associated with the user&#39;s client device, and a plurality of blade features are identified from the image ( 306 ). 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an example of a key  400  with a blade  402  including features which can be identified and used for authentication as described. For example, in one implementation, the length and angle of each straight region  412  of the blade between each corner  410  can be recorded. In some implementations, the distance between each corner  410  can be recorded disregarding the angles of the straight regions  412 . In some implementations, only a portion of the blade features may be considered; for instance, starting from the tip  410   a , the length and angles of the first four straight regions  412   a ,  412   b ,  412   c , and  412   d  can be recorded but not the remaining regions  412   e - i . Similarly, corners representing local maxima such as  410   b ,  410   c ,  410   e ,  410   f , and  410   h  might be recorded but not corners representing local minima such as  410   a ,  410   d ,  410   g , and  410   i . Various image compression techniques for storing edge data are known and may be used by one skilled in the art to reduce the key blade features to an appropriate data set. 
     The identified features are associated with the user ( 308 ). However the features are identified and in whatever format they are stored, the resulting key data may be further processed in order to be securely stored as authentication data, including whatever security procedures are in place for passwords, answers to security questions, personally identifying information, and the like. The information may be encrypted and stored in a secure location as appropriate. 
     Subsequently, the system may receive a request to grant the same user access ( 310 ). It will be understood that the following procedures involving the key information may in some implementations be used routinely as part of system access, and in other implementations the key information may be used as a secondary process when further authentication is required or necessary (such as when primary credentials such as a password are forgotten by a user or have been input incorrectly, when a user has forgotten an electronic keycard or other device used for authentication, or for access to particular system resources which are deemed to require heightened security). 
     In response to the access request, the system prompts the user to produce their physical key for authorization ( 312 ). Presumably, this involves the use of a video recording device in order to capture an image of the key ( 314 ). In some implementations, an authorization module responsible for assuring these authentication steps may take direct control of a recording device to assure that the resulting image is captured concurrent with the request and not a recycled, older image captured at an earlier time. Other safeguards may be put in place to assure the authenticity of the image. 
     The newly submitted image is then examined to determine if it includes features that match the features associated with the user&#39;s record ( 316 ). Various image processing techniques may be used to account for the fact that the orientation and facing of the present image may be different from that of the original registration image; for instance, the key may be “flipped over” such that the blade features are mirrored to what they were. Similarly, the key may be held at a slight angle or at a different distance from the video recorder, which could change any length or angle measurements of the features in predictable ways. Variations in lighting may also pose a challenge. In some implementations, a user may be asked to adjust the position of the key relative to the video recorder in some way before capturing another image due to concerns regarding the clarity of the received image. 
     If the key matches, then the user is authenticated ( 318 ). It will be understood that this may be only one of multiple vectors used at a given time to authenticate the user, and that its use may be modified to accommodate available resources and previous or subsequent additional authentication vectors. 
     One of ordinary skill will recognize opportunities to include the physical key as one of a number of available authentication tools. For example, security devices exist that periodically present the user with a unique authentication code based both on a commonly seeded value and a window of time, such that the authentication code changes over time. Typically, if a user loses or breaks the device, new device with a new seed must be generated and the system reset to accommodate the new seed. However, in some implementations, the seeded value could be based on a numeric representation of the user&#39;s key blade features (using numbers to represent lengths, angles, and corners as illustrated above). In this case, a new device could be created using the same seed by the user producing the key. Similar opportunities may be available with other encoding schemes and multi-factor authentication environments as known in the art. 
     At this point it should be noted that techniques for user authentication in accordance with the present disclosure as described above may involve the processing of input data and the generation of output data to some extent. This input data processing and output data generation may be implemented in hardware or software. For example, specific electronic components may be employed in authentication modules or similar or related circuitry for implementing the functions associated with user authentication in accordance with the present disclosure as described above. Alternatively, one or more processors operating in accordance with instructions may implement the functions associated with user authentication in accordance with the present disclosure as described above. If such is the case, it is within the scope of the present disclosure that such instructions may be stored on one or more non-transitory processor readable storage media (e.g., a magnetic disk or other storage medium), or transmitted to one or more processors via one or more signals embodied in one or more carrier waves. 
     The present disclosure is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Indeed, other various embodiments of and modifications to the present disclosure, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Thus, such other embodiments and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, although the present disclosure has been described herein in the context of at least one particular implementation in at least one particular environment for at least one particular purpose, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto and that the present disclosure may be beneficially implemented in any number of environments for any number of purposes. Accordingly, the claims set forth below should be construed in view of the full breadth and spirit of the present disclosure as described herein.