Authentication: Non-Visual Cues PIN Code Entry
- Two South Korean and Portuguese research institutes have joined forces to design Phone Lock: authentication software based on a virtual wheel enabling PIN code insertion “solely based on auditory or tactile stimuli”.
- The virtual wheel is devised into segments representing numbers ranging from 0 to 9, on which the PIN code can be entered. Each cue triggers either a sound or a series of more or less lasting vibrations to check on the entered number.
- The position of the figures can be altered to allow random eye-free input.
- This device can be adapted to mobile phones or any other screens (ATMs, computers, etc.); it is meant to provide for observation-resistance.
- When dialing PIN codes at ATMs or on POS devices, shoulder surfing remains the main threat. This device makes it impossible for malicious third parties to see the input figures as they have been replaced with sounds or vibrations.
- This technology is still to be deployed, but passed the experiment phase with success. According to researchers, it could be set up to secure m-banking transactions or shared computers.