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Typing Patterns for Authentication

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the no-one-touches-like-you dept.

Kelson writes "NPR's Marketplace is reporting on a new authentication scheme. BioPassword tracks the way you type your password: how long each key is depressed, the time between keystrokes, and overall speed. When someone tries to log into your account, it compares the pattern to what it has on file. It only allows you in if both the password and patterns match. The technique has been around a while. World War II Morse code operators used it to determine whether a message was sent by an ally or an impostor."

3 of 259 comments (clear)

  1. This is very old news by BillGatesLoveChild · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I heard this first discussed in the 1980s.

  2. Re:No Soup For ... me? by Zadaz · · Score: 0, Redundant

    That's pretty much the list that I made before I got to your post.

    And what happens when you change your password?

    Have a drink with dinner?

    Are distracted by [child/tv/phone call/pron/cat/meteor shower]?

    Are in a hurry because someone has a gun to your head or a hand down your pants?

    I'm absolutely sure that my typing changes based on the time of day.

    I'm sure this works in controlled experiments, but not worth paying any attention to outside of a academic paper.

  3. very old method by kharchenko · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Keystroke patterns is a well-established method for intrusion detection. In fact it predates computers, as in the old days of Morse code an operator would typically have a recognizable signature.