Discovery Channel :: News : Photos as Passwords Foil Hackers
March 08, 2006

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Discovery News Brief
Photos as Passwords Foil Hackers
By Tracy Staedter, Discovery News

expandMarch 7, 2006— A password that uses
images instead of numbers could give somepeople access to secure information on
personal electronic devices or at ATMs within
the next year.
The image authentication system uses a pair ofdigital images instead of a string of numbers tomake logging in simple for the legitimate user,
but difficult for impersonators.
"It is expected that many of the conventionaluser authentication systems would be able tobe replaced with our scheme, since recognitionof images is significantly easier for humanbeings than precise recall of passwords," saidteam leader Masakatsu Nishigaki, a professorof informatics at Shizuoka University in Japan,
where the system is being developed.

Clear/Unclear Image

According to Nishigaki, people often use four-digit number passwords or easy-toremember passwords, such as a name or birthday, to access information on cellphones, PDAs, Web sites, and financial accounts at ATMs.

What's more, they often use the same
password to gain access to several different
location and rarely do they change the secretstring of numbers.

expandThat makes an otherwise secure systemvulnerable to password cracking programs,
which are designed to retrieve lost passwords
but are also used by thieves to gain
unauthorized access to accounts.
Nishigaki and his team propose a system thatuses one clear and easily recognizable image
and another that is a highly pixilated, unclear
version of the original.
When creating a new password or changing an
old one, the system provides the legitimate
user with the clear image. But during theauthentication phase, the system shows theuser the unclear image, along with a numberof decoy images.
To the user who holds the clear version, theunclear image is easy to pick out. But to animpersonator, finding the correct image
becomes difficult.

Seen from Above

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Depending on the security level and to avoid
an unauthorized person from clicking on thecorrect image by chance, the system can be
designed to display a higher number of decoy
images or to present the user with more thanHackers: ComputerOutlaws
Computer Screen Made

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Discovery Channel :: News : Photos as Passwords Foil Hackers
one round of image selection.

From Fog

That security measure could also be a flaw inthe unclear image system, said Tetsuji Takada,a researcher at the National Institute ofAdvanced Industrial Science and Technology inTokyo whose team is also working on a photobased authentication system.

Computer Pad Could
Supplant Mouse"The solution significantly decreases the memorability of pass-images," said Takada.
"There is a problem getting a better balance between security and usability in user
authentication."
Takada's solution is to allow users to use their own photos, which would increase
the chances that they would remember it. That photo is displayed among otherdecoy images in a group randomly selected by the computer.
For added security, the computer may display a group of photos that does notcontain the pass-image. In that case, the user can answer "no pass-image."
An unauthorized person might continue to guess at the correct photo and give
himself away.
Both groups are working toward an effective system. Takada's team will present
new research findings at a conference this May.
Nishigaki's team recently filed for a patent and has been approached by at least one
Japanese company that has expressed an interest in applying the system to theirproduct.

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Pictures: Courtesy of Masakatsu Nishigaki/Shizuoka University | Courtesy of Tetsuji Takada |Contributers: Tracy Staedter |By visiting this site, you agree to the terms and conditionsof our Visitor Agreement. Please read. Privacy Policy.
Copyright © 2006 Discovery Communications Inc.
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