Design and Analysis of Shoulder Surfing Resistant PIN Based Authentication Mechanisms on Google Glass

Abstract

This paper explores options to the built-in authentication mechanism of the Google Glass which is vulnerable to shoulder surfing attacks. Two simple PIN-based authentication techniques are presented, both of which provide protection against shoulder surfing. The techniques employ two interfaces for entering the PIN, namely, voice (Voice-based PIN) and touchpad (Touch-based PIN). To enter the same PIN, user has the freedom to choose either technique and thereby interface, as per the environment in which authentication is being performed. A user study was conducted with 30 participants to compare the performance of the proposed methods with the built-in technique. The results show that the proposed mechanisms have a significantly better login success rate than the built-in technique. Interestingly, although the average authentication times of the proposed methods are higher than that of the built-in one, the users perceived them as being faster. The results also indicate that the proposed methods have better perceived security and usability than the built-in method. The study reveals that when it comes to authentication on augmented reality devices, there is a need for authentication mechanisms that complement each other as users tend to prefer a different interface in different contexts.