{"288671":{"#nid":"288671","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Personal Touch Signature Makes Mobile Devices More Secure","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPasswords, gestures and fingerprint scans are all helpful ways to keep a thief from unlocking and using a cell phone or tablet. Cybersecurity researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have gone a step further. They\u2019ve developed a new security system that continuously monitors how a user taps and swipes a mobile device. If the movements don\u2019t match the owner\u2019s tendencies, the system recognizes the differences and can be programmed to lock the device.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new system is called LatentGesture and was used during a Georgia Tech lab study using Android devices. The system was nearly 98 percent accurate on a smartphone and 97 percent correct on tablets. The research team will present the findings for the first time at the end of April.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe system learns a person\u2019s \u2018touch signature,\u2019 then constantly compares it to how the current user is interacting with the device,\u201d said Polo Chau, a Georgia Tech College of Computing assistant professor who led the study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo test the system, Chau and his team set up an electronic form with a list of tasks for 20 participants. They were asked to tap buttons, check boxes and swipe slider bars on a phone and tablet to fill out the form. The system tracked their tendencies and created a profile for each person.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter profiles were stored, the researchers designated one person\u2019s signature as the \u201cowner\u201d of the device and repeated the tests. LatentGesture successfully matched the owner and flagged everyone else as unauthorized users.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cJust like your fingerprint, everyone is unique when they use a touchscreen,\u201d said Chau. \u201cSome people slide the bar with one quick swipe. Others gradually move it across the screen. Everyone taps the screen with different pressures while checking boxes.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team also programmed the system to store five touch signatures on the same device \u2013 one \u201cowner\u201d and four authorized users. When someone other than the owner used the tablet, the system identified each with 98 percent accuracy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis feature could be used when a child uses her dad\u2019s tablet,\u201d said College of Computing sophomore Premkumar Saravanan. \u201cThe system would recognize her touch signature and allow her to use the device. But if she tried to buy an app, the system could prevent it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers say LatentGesture\u2019s biggest advantage is that the system is constantly running in the background. The user doesn\u2019t have to do anything different for added security and authentication.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s pretty easy for someone to look over your shoulder while you\u2019re unlocking your phone and see your password,\u201d said Samuel Clarke, another College of Computing student on the research team. \u201cThis system ensures security even if someone takes your phone or tablet and starts using it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChau is co-advising the project with Hongyuan Zha, a professor in the School of Computational Science and Engineering. The study will be presented in Toronto at ACM Chinese CHI 2014 from April 26 to 27.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was partially supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cem\u003Egrants \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIIS-1049694 and IIS-1116886\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cem\u003E.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cem\u003E Any conclusions expressed are those of the principal investigator and may not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"New system provides security by monitoring how user touches the screen"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Computing researchers have developed a new security system that continuously monitors how a user taps and swipes a mobile device. If the movements don\u2019t match the owner\u2019s tendencies, the system recognizes the differences and can be programmed to lock the device.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new security system continuously monitors how a user taps and swipes a mobile device."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2014-04-07 09:32:48","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:11","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"288771":{"id":"288771","type":"image","title":"LatentGesture","body":null,"created":"1449244254","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:50:54","changed":"1475894983","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:43","alt":"LatentGesture","file":{"fid":"199169","name":"latentgesture_study_tablet.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/latentgesture_study_tablet_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/latentgesture_study_tablet_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":188872,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/latentgesture_study_tablet_0.jpeg?itok=mbM0d0EO"}},"288681":{"id":"288681","type":"image","title":"Polo Chau","body":null,"created":"1449244254","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:50:54","changed":"1475894983","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:43","alt":"Polo Chau","file":{"fid":"199168","name":"polo_gray.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/polo_gray_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/polo_gray_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":50307,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/polo_gray_0.jpg?itok=aZe2vGOd"}}},"media_ids":["288771","288681"],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1404","name":"Cybersecurity"},{"id":"90991","name":"Touch Signature"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003EMedia Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}