Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Accelerator Supplements

The general area of the research program is computer security and usability, or more concisely, usable security. The main focus is on selected problems related to authentication and identity management in computer systems. End-users (humans) need to identify themselves so that they may gain access, as authorized users, to computer resources and online services. All others who are unauthorized, such as those attempting to fraudulently gain such access, should be unable to do so. Problems of specific interest include authentication mechanisms which are usable for everyday tasks and ordinary people (vs. security or computer experts) using the Internet, for example for online banking or access to personal web sites. Mechanisms for authentication must be easy to use, otherwise they are bypassed by everyday users for whom security is not the primary goal; they must also be secure. However such "usable security" mechanisms have remained elusive, and only in the past few years is this beginning to be a significant focus of academic research. Practical problems that usable security mechanisms directly address, with respect to authentication and identification, include identity theft (which can result in significant personal losses in terms of time and dollars, and large collective economic losses), and loss of privacy (e.g., others may gain access to personal details intended to be available only to selected personal acquaintances). As one specific example, widespread use of social networking sites, without proper access controls, has lead to loss of privacy with serious implications. Similarly, dangers exist for other remotely accessed information, such as databases containing medical histories of patients. Usable authentication or access control mechanisms to address this will be explored and designed, as one example. The overall goal is to narrow the gap between usability and security, so that rather than having a choice between the two, convenient mechanisms can be employed which provide both simultaneously. The research involves analysis of existing mechanisms, identification of problems they exhibit, proposals of new mechanisms, and analysis thereof.