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Passthoughts, Not Passwords: Authentication Via Brainwaves

Posted by samzenpus on from the get-your-thinking-straight dept.

CowboyRobot writes "A new study by researchers from the U.C. Berkeley School of Information examined the brainwave signals of individuals performing specific actions to see if they can be consistently matched to the right individual. To measure the subjects' brainwaves, the team utilized the NeuroSky Mindset, a Bluetooth headset that records Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. In the end, the team was able to match the brainwave signals with 99% accuracy (pdf). 'We are not trying to trace back from a brainwave signal to a specific person,' explains Prof. John Chuang, who led the team. 'That would be a much more difficult problem. Rather, our task is to determine if a presented brainwave signal matches the brainwave signals previously submitted by the user when they were setting up their pass-thought.'"

5 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Walk by lockouts by jbmartin6 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Great, now anyone walking by can lock out my account with failed auth attempts

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    1. Re:Walk by lockouts by ByOhTek · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'm more worried about them realizing I'm not human, from my brain waves. I don't want to go back to my homeworld! Also, how much testing did they do to ensure there aren't issues with emotional state or distraction? If I had a family even and was stuck listening to Beyonce or Katy Perry thanks to my sister's atrocious taste in "music"... Is having that crap stuck in my head going to prevent a login?

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      Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
  2. Talk about forgetting your password! by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "I thought my passthought. But maybe I didn't think it the right way. Let me try again..."

    Just what we need, an even more complicated and harder to use apparatus with a reduced probability of correctly identifying the right user.

    Since when is "works correctly 99% of the time" good enough for an authentication system?

    1. Re:Talk about forgetting your password! by jouassou · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Since when is "works correctly 99% of the time" good enough for an authentication system?

      It isn't. But it is an interesting proof-of-concept, which shows that using passthoughts as identification is actually possible.

      One interesting thought would be to combine passthoughts with other authentication technologies. Imagine walking up to a door that first performs face recognition and retina scans to determine who you appear to be. The system then accesses a database of passphrases associated with your user, displays a random one on a screen, and asks you to read it out loud. The system then uses a combination of voice recognition and brainwave scans to check if you're really who you appear to be.

      Although all these technologies currently have suboptimal success rates, they might yield good security if you combine them.

    2. Re:Talk about forgetting your password! by David_Hart · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "I thought my passthought. But maybe I didn't think it the right way. Let me try again..."

      Just what we need, an even more complicated and harder to use apparatus with a reduced probability of correctly identifying the right user.

      Since when is "works correctly 99% of the time" good enough for an authentication system?

      And what happens to the success rate if your brain chemistry and/or thought patterns change?

      We know that changes take place in the brain during puberty, pregnancy, when in love, stress, medical conditions, etc. I'm curious if their testing included these scenarios. Granted, it would prevent drive-by tweeting if people would have to calm down before they could login... (grin)