ImagePass - Designing graphical authentication for security

Abstract

Researchers have developed various graphical authentication mechanisms, with varied results in different environments. However, it has been difficult to get users to abandon traditional text-passwords in favor of something unfamiliar, therefore limiting graphical passwords to isolated environments rather than mass market solutions. Current studies show that while dominant on the usability side, because of their intuitiveness and potential password space, graphical authentication mechanisms are not necessarily more secure. This paper presents the development of a graphical authentication prototype by following usable security guidelines. Codenamed ImagePass, the prototype is a mechanism that uses image recognition as the basis for the authentication process.