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Think Harder! Investigating the Effect of Password Strength on Cognitive Load during Password Creation

Published: 08 May 2021 Publication History
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  • Abstract

    Strict password policies can frustrate users, reduce their productivity, and lead them to write their passwords down. This paper investigates the relation between password creation and cognitive load inferred from eye pupil diameter. We use a wearable eye tracker to monitor the user’s pupil size while creating passwords with different strengths. To assess how creating passwords of different strength (namely weak and strong) influences users’ cognitive load, we conducted a lab study (N = 15). We asked the participants to create and enter 6 weak and 6 strong passwords. The results showed that passwords with different strengths affect the pupil diameter, thereby giving an indication of the user’s cognitive state. Our initial investigation shows the potential for new applications in the field of cognition-aware user interfaces. For example, future systems can use our results to determine whether the user created a strong password based on their gaze behavior, without the need to reveal the characteristics of the password.

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    • (2024)Uncovering and Addressing Blink-Related Challenges in Using Eye Tracking for Interactive SystemsProceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642086(1-23)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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    • (2022)”Your Eyes Tell You Have Used This Password Before”: Identifying Password Reuse from Gaze and Keystroke DynamicsProceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3491102.3517531(1-16)Online publication date: 29-Apr-2022
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        cover image ACM Conferences
        CHI EA '21: Extended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
        May 2021
        2965 pages
        ISBN:9781450380959
        DOI:10.1145/3411763
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        Published: 08 May 2021

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        Author Tags

        1. Cognition-Aware User Interfaces
        2. Cognitive Load
        3. Eye Tracking
        4. Passwords Strength
        5. Pupillometry

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        • Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation
        • Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE)
        • EPSRC
        • dtec.bw ? Digitalization and Technology Research Center of the Bundeswehr (Voice of Wisdom)

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        View all
        • (2024)Uncovering and Addressing Blink-Related Challenges in Using Eye Tracking for Interactive SystemsProceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642086(1-23)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
        • (2023)Reviewing the Usability of Web Authentication Procedures: Comparing the Current Procedures of 20 WebsitesSustainability10.3390/su15141104315:14(11043)Online publication date: 14-Jul-2023
        • (2022)”Your Eyes Tell You Have Used This Password Before”: Identifying Password Reuse from Gaze and Keystroke DynamicsProceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3491102.3517531(1-16)Online publication date: 29-Apr-2022
        • (2022)Towards Practical Personalized Security Nudge Schemes: Investigating the Moderation Effects of Behavioral Features on Nudge EffectsScience of Cyber Security10.1007/978-3-031-17551-0_33(505-521)Online publication date: 10-Aug-2022
        • (2021)Top Reported Data Security Risks in the Age of COVID-192021 IEEE 12th Annual Ubiquitous Computing, Electronics & Mobile Communication Conference (UEMCON)10.1109/UEMCON53757.2021.9666573(0204-0208)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2021

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