“If you handed me your cellphone, I could probably unlock it with only your face or your password,” said United States Military Academy Cadet Tobias Hild. “Our research seeks to identify more comprehensive authentication requirements without overburdening the user.”
Cadet Hild has been working on a project with his mentors, Army Lt. Col. Mike Powell from the Department of Mathematical Sciences and Patrick Moore from Striveworks US, and in collaboration with the United States Special Operations Command. His work improves electronic authentication methods for securing sensitive systems and facilities. The team proposes a multimodal approach to authentication that is both resistant to cyberattacks and is user-friendly.
Having the opportunity to conduct this advanced research has been an excellent developmental opportunity for Cadet Hild.
“I learned how to break down complicated problems and make progress on sub-problems while maintaining focus on the project’s end state. I also learned technical skills in data analysis and coding as well as the confidence to communicate solutions,” Hild said.
His team’s proposal features a security system that leverages face identification, voice recognition, automated speech-to-text, and audio-video compatibility in response to a randomly generated passphrase. During authentication, the system performs a check to ensure that the credentials provided are from an authorized person who is present in real time, and not a recorded video or sound. In this way, the authenticator defeats presentation and replay attacks while simultaneously retaining ease of access for authorized users.
Cadet Hild and the team developed this solution after recognizing that known cyberattack methods exploit authenticators that rely only on an image, a password, or a physical key but not multiple factors together. With cyberattacks and security breaches presenting a particularly salient threat, Cadet Hild and his team hope that this project could provide opportunities to increase security at Army installations.
“Authentication is key to securing many aspects of our lives; the sophistication of [cyber] attacks will continue to increase. We need to continue to develop new approaches to stay ahead of emerging vulnerabilities,” Hild said.
This project is part of West Point's 25th annual Projects Day Research Symposium that showcases more than 450 cadet-led research projects. Learn more about the Department of Mathematical Sciences at https://bit.ly/WP_Math and check out more project features at https://www.westpoint.edu/werx.
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