Slashdot Mirror


Your Brain Waves Could Soon Replace Passwords Entirely (fastcompany.com)

Wenyao Xu and Feng Lin, assistant professors of Computer Science and Engineering at University at Buffalo and The State University of New York, write: Our team has been working with collaborators at other institutions for years, and has invented a new type of biometric that is both uniquely tied to a single human being and can be reset if needed. When a person looks at a photograph or hears a piece of music, her brain responds in ways that researchers or medical professionals can measure with electrical sensors placed on her scalp. We have discovered that every person's brain responds differently to an external stimulus, so even if two people look at the same photograph, readings of their brain activity will be different. This process is automatic and unconscious, so a person can't control what brain response happens. And every time a person sees a photo of a particular celebrity, their brain reacts the same way -- though differently from everyone else's.

We realized that this presents an opportunity for a unique combination that can serve as what we call a "brain password." It's not just a physical attribute of their body, like a fingerprint or the pattern of blood vessels in their retina. Instead, it's a mix of the person's unique biological brain structure and their involuntary memory that determines how it responds to a particular stimulus.

4 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Usernames, not passwords by enriquevagu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Biometrics replace usernames, not passwords.

    User names identify who you are. You are always the same person; that can never be changed.

    Passwords validate your credentials. Passwords may be changed when they are discovered by a third party; usernames (or brain waves, as discussed in the summary) cannot be changed.

  2. Soon replace? by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My main disagreement with this article is over the word "soon".

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  3. Re:Another alt-rightie tries to silence others by Mashiki · · Score: 1, Insightful

    It's almost like he's trying to completely dehumanize

    Sorry, you don't get to play this game. After the last decade of labeling people sexists, racists, misogynists, homophobes, transphobes, race traitors, uncle toms, house ni**ers, xenophobes, red necks, country hicks, and of course nazi's.

    I hope you enjoy the rule set you've created. Or maybe it's because the NPC meme just strikes too close to home, and you know you're simply spouting garbage, devaluing words, and simply don't care. Somethingsomething groupthink.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
  4. Re:Easy to Hack Trump's Twitter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why does everything have to turn political here on /. when the article is not even remotely related? People have no lives if all they do is worry about who is in the White House. I despised the BHO years, but I never once mentioned him or his cabinet in a tech forum when he was in office. I'm a conservative, and I don't think there is a single person in the current administration who supports my views or does what I think they should do, but I don't bring it up on tech forums where the isue at hand is not even political.