Pick location security: Seamless integrated multi-factor authentication

摘要

Authentication is one of the key aspects of securing applications and systems alike. While in most existing systems this is achieved using usernames and passwords it has been continuously shown that this authentication method is not secure. Studies that have been conducted have shown that these systems have vulnerabilities which lead to cases of impersonation and identity theft thus there is need to improve such systems to protect sensitive data. In this research, we explore the combination of the user's location together with traditional usernames and passwords as a multi factor authentication system to make authentication more secure. The idea involves comparing a user's mobile device location with that of the browser and comparing the device's Bluetooth key with the key used during registration. We believe by leveraging existing technologies such as Bluetooth and GPS we can reduce implementation costs whilst improving security.