EAPSI: A Cross-Cultural Exploration and Evaluation of Group-Centric Authentication

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Authentication is a process by which computer systems regulate access to protected data. However, authentication is often designed ignorant of the social context in which those systems are embedded. Accordingly, the case of a child accessing her father's tablet is treated the same as that of a stranger trying to access the father's bank account: It is an equally fundamental violation of the security of the system if either is granted access. As digital devices and services touch more of our lives, there is a growing and underserved need for group-centric authentication: authentication designed for shared access to group-owned digital resources. In these cases, requiring strict security for individual accounts along with traditional access control policies is socially inappropriate. To address this need, the PI will work with Dr. Koji Yatani at the University of Tokyo, an expert in creating novel interactive systems, to develop and evaluate a number of group-centric authenticators. This research will strengthen understanding how social factors affect security behaviors and how they can be leveraged to improve security sensitivity.Robust authentication is essential for secure systems. However, recent work highlights a need to uncover and meet the authentication needs of small groups who collectively share resources and largely trust each other (e.g., families and small work groups). Moreover, this work should consider cultural influences on group norms and risk perception as these factors should affect group authentication practices and needs. In this work, I will bridge these gaps in theory and practice by exploring and evaluating group-centric authentication in a cross-cultural setting. I will develop and deploy one or more prototype group-centric authenticators with small groups in Japan who share space or resources. These small groups will use my prototypes in realistic scenarios for several days and report on their experiences. Through these efforts, I intend to better understand local group authentication needs and how cultural influences directly or indirectly affect those needs.This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.