Insights

From University of Surrey:

A team of scientists at the University of Surrey has created a mobile phone authentication system called TIM (Transparent Image Moving) to help prevent shoulder surfing attacks. TIM requires users to select and move predefined images to a designated position for authentication purposes, similar to the process used for online shopping. In a proof-of-concept study, 85% of TIM users believed it could prevent password guessing and shoulder surfing attacks, and 71% thought it was a more usable image-based solution than others on the market.

Shoulder surfing is a type of security attack in which a perpetrator records sensitive information such as passwords or credit card numbers by looking over the victim’s shoulder or from a distance. The study suggests that image-based and interactive authentication processes such as TIM could be a step in the right direction in enhancing mobile security. The research has been published in the Journal of Information Security and Applications.

To learn more about TIM and its potential to improve mobile security, read the full article on the University of Surrey’s website.

Read The Full Article