Identity authentication based on keystroke latencies

Abstract

The variables that help make a handwritten signature a unique human identifier also provide a unique digital signature in the form of a stream of latency periods between keystrokes. This article describes a method of verifying the identity of a user based on such a digital signature, and reports results from trial usage of the system.

Keystroke dynamics as a biometric for authentication

“…It has already been shown (see [14,18,20]) that keystroke rhythm is a good sign of identity. Moreover, unlike other biometric systems which may be expensive to implement, keystroke dynamics is almost free -the only hardware required is the keyboard.…”

“…There has been some sporadic work done in this arena. Joyce and Gupta [14] present a comprehensive literature review of work related to keystroke dynamics prior to 1990. We briefly summarize these efforts and examine the research that has been undertaken since then.…”

“…A promising research effort in applying keystroke dynamics as a static authentication method is the work of Joyce and Gupta [14]. Their approach is relatively simple and yields impressive results.…”

“…The approaches described in the following paragraphs adhere to this model. The classification technique employed by Joyce and Gupta [14] represents the mean reference signature for a given user as M = {M username , M password , M firstname , M lastname }. Verification is performed by comparing the test signature T (acquired at login time) with M and determining the magnitude of difference between the two profiles.…”

“…This argument stems from observations that similar neuro-physiological factors that make written signatures unique, are also exhibited in a user's typing pattern [14]. When a person types, the latencies between successive keystrokes, keystroke durations, finger placement and applied pressure on the keys can be used to construct a unique signature (i.e., profile) for that individual.…”