Faculty Mentor Information
Jerry Alan Fails, Boise State University
Additional Funding Sources
This work was conducted at Boise State University and supported by the National Science Foundation under grant REU 2244596.
Presentation Date
7-2023
Abstract
Online applications are responsible for storing people’s important and personal information. A common way to keep this safe is the use of an authentication mechanism like a username and password. Children upload their information and use authentication mechanisms but they have a harder time creating and remembering their passwords compared to adults, leading to weak passwords that are vulnerable to malicious attacks. Alphanumeric passwords are the most common security method but it has been shown that children are better at remembering graphical information (images) compared to texts and numbers. KidsPic is a way to facilitate the creation of passwords for children between the ages of 6 to 11 years for them to use on online applications, as well as improve on their creativity. In my poster, I will present an adaptation of KidsPic, along with an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of this new approach.
Authentication Method for Kids
Online applications are responsible for storing people’s important and personal information. A common way to keep this safe is the use of an authentication mechanism like a username and password. Children upload their information and use authentication mechanisms but they have a harder time creating and remembering their passwords compared to adults, leading to weak passwords that are vulnerable to malicious attacks. Alphanumeric passwords are the most common security method but it has been shown that children are better at remembering graphical information (images) compared to texts and numbers. KidsPic is a way to facilitate the creation of passwords for children between the ages of 6 to 11 years for them to use on online applications, as well as improve on their creativity. In my poster, I will present an adaptation of KidsPic, along with an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of this new approach.