Color-Shape Pairing Authentication for High Entropy Access Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mobile platforms that derive keys from PINs suffer from low entropy, resulting in weak security, and require users to remember long PINs, which is inconvenient.
Innovation Solution
Implementing authentication and access control using multiple color-shape pairings, which provide higher entropy and are easier for users to remember, generating at least 128 bits for cryptographic keys.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional PINs are used for authentication, then the system is easy to operate, but the security entropy is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from one-dimensional numeric PINs to two-dimensional color-shape pairings. Users select colors from a color wheel and shapes from a shape set, creating pairings that exist in a different dimensional space. This dimensional change dramatically increases the entropy (from 10-17 bits for PINs to 128 bits or more for color-shape pairings) while maintaining ease of operation through visual selection interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameters of the authentication credential from numeric digits to visual attributes (color and shape). By changing the parameter space from 10 possible digits to combinations of multiple colors and multiple shapes, the system achieves higher entropy. The color wheel provides numerous color options and the shape set provides multiple shape options, creating a vast combination space that significantly improves security entropy.
2Reliability
If longer PINs are used to strengthen security, then the entropy increases, but the ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of extending the length of numeric PINs, the patent changes to a two-dimensional selection space of colors and shapes. A typical authentication uses 3-5 color-shape pairings, which provides 128 bits or more of entropy without requiring users to remember long sequences. The visual nature of colors and shapes makes them more memorable than numeric sequences of equivalent entropy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical act of typing numeric PINs with visual selection and tapping operations. Users tap on selected shapes within selected color segments rather than typing numbers, reducing the physical effort and cognitive load associated with remembering and entering long PINs while achieving higher entropy through the visual selection process.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique provides access control. The technique involves prompting a user to enter color-shape pairings, and receiving multiple color-shape pairings from the user. Each color-shape pairing includes (i) a color selection from multiple selectable colors and (ii) a shape selection from multiple selectable shapes. The technique further involves generating an access control result based on the received multiple color-shape pairings, the access control result controlling access to a set of protected resources. For example, color segments can be displayed on a touch screen in the form of a color wheel, and multiple shapes can be rendered within each color segment. Alternatively, (i) a color palette including the multiple selectable colors and (ii) a shape menu including the multiple selectable shapes can be rendered on the touch screen to prompt the user to provide drag and drop gestures over the touch screen. Other configurations are suitable for use as well.