The reliability of user authentication through keystroke dynamics
Douhou,S. Magnus,J.R.
Douhou,S.
Magnus,J.R.
Abstract
When typing on a keyboard a user can be authenticated through what he/she types (username, password), but also through how he/she types, that is, through keystroke dynamics. We study whether authentication through keystroke dynamics is sufficiently reliable as a security instrument to be used together with the more standard instruments. Based on a data set of 1254 participants who typed the same username and password, 20 times each, we develop a test statistic and obtain the power of our test. We conclude that keystroke dynamics can be a reliable security instrument for authentication, if used together with other instruments. It seems more suitable for authentication (verification) than for identification. Dwell times (how long a key is held pressed) are more discriminatory and therefore more powerful than flight times (time between consecutive press times).
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Date
2009
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Research Projects
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Citation
Douhou, S & Magnus, J R 2009, 'The reliability of user authentication through keystroke dynamics', Statistica Neerlandica, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 432-449.