Using System-Generated Mnemonics to Improve the Usability and Security of Password Authentication

Abstract

Due to fundamental human nature, it is exceedingly difficult for people to generate secure passwords on their own. System-generated random passwords can be secure but are often unusable, which is why most passwords are still created by humans. Research has been done to try to leverage the security of system-generated passwords but improve their usability through the use of mnemonics, or memory aids. We developed a simple system for automatically generating mnemonics and conducted a study to compare it with user-generated mnemonic and no mnemonic conditions. We found that participants remembered their passwords significantly better using the system-generated mnemonic condition compared to the other conditions. We also found that participants gave our system the highest overall usability ratings.