Touch-based continuous mobile device authentication: State-of-the-art, challenges and opportunities. (1st October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zaidi, Ahmad Zairi; Chong, Chun Yong; Jin, Zhe; Parthiban, Rajendran; Sadiq, Ali Safaa
• Is Part Of: Journal of network and computer applications. Volume 191(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10-01
• Subjects: Biometrics -- Mobile device security -- Continuous authentication -- Touch biometric; Microcomputers -- Periodicals; Computer networks -- Periodicals; Application software -- Periodicals; Micro-ordinateurs -- Périodiques; Réseaux d'ordinateurs -- Périodiques; Logiciels d'application -- Périodiques; Application software; Computer networks; Microcomputers; Periodicals; 004.05; 004
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnca.2021.103162
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1084-8045

Abstract

Abstract: The advancement in the computational capability and storage size of a modern mobile device has evolved it into a multi-purpose smart device for individual and business needs. The increasing usage of this device has led to the need for a secure and efficient authentication mechanism. For securing mobile devices, password, PIN, and swipe patterns are commonly used for user authentication. Entry-point face and fingerprint recognition have also gained traction in the past years. However, these authentication schemes cannot authenticate a user after the initial-login session. This limitation might put the device exposed to information theft and leakage if an illegitimate user could bypass the initial-login session. Therefore, a mobile device needs a continuous authentication mechanism that can protect a user throughout the entire working session, which complements the initial-login authentication to provide more comprehensive security protection. Touch biometric is a behavioural biometric that represents the touch behaviour pattern of a user when interacting with the touchscreen of the device. Touch biometric has been proposed as a continuous authentication mechanism, where the device can collect touch biometric data transparently while a user is using the device. However, there are still plenty of challenges and obstacles in touch-based continuous mobile device authentication due to its challenges as a biometric modality. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of fundamental principles that underpin touch-based continuous mobile device authentication. Our work discusses state-of-the-art methods in touch data acquisition, behavioural feature extraction, user classification, and evaluation methods. This paper also discusses some challenges and opportunities in the current touch-based continuous mobile device authentication domain to obtain a broad research community and market acceptance.