Leveraging bluetooth as a second factor in two-factor authentication

Thumbnail Image
Date
2017-01-01
Authors
Wright-Hamor, Cimone
Major Professor
Advisor
Zhenqiang (Neil) Gong
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Abstract

Passwords have been the dominant single-factor authentication method for decades but are no longer sufficient to validate a user's identity. The simplistic nature of passwords perpetuate their existence and makes them an easy attack vector. However, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) augments passwords and adds a layer of security. Although 2FA has the potential to increase security, traditional second factors require user interaction at every login attempt, which may contribute to slow adaptation. Traditional second factors drastically alter the user authentication experience and typically require the user to navigate away from the login screen. Therefore, we present a new second-factor method that leverages Bluetooth technology called Ambient-Discovery. Our protocol is designed to provide security assurances comparable to or greater than the traditional second factors while keeping the user experience the same as password-based authentication. There is no user interaction, as the second factor restricts communication between a mobile application and a computer browser. Therefore, Ambient-Discovery provides an additional layer of security while limiting user interaction.

Comments
Description
Keywords
Citation
DOI
Source
Copyright
Tue May 01 00:00:00 UTC 2018