IME Password Reuse Detection via Keystroke Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users often reuse passwords across multiple systems due to password management challenges, posing a security risk as compromised passwords can grant access to sensitive business data.
Innovation Solution
An approach utilizing an Input Method Editor (IME) analysis to identify potential new passwords by comparing keystrokes with existing password data stored on the system, triggering a notification if a match is found, without revealing the actual password.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users are required to remember multiple unique passwords for different systems, then security is improved by preventing password reuse, but user convenience deteriorates and users may resort to reusing passwords
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of password entry by monitoring keystrokes at the IME level before the password is actually submitted. This allows the system to identify potential password reuse patterns in advance and issue warnings to users before they compromise security, thus maintaining both security and user convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback to users by displaying visual indicators (such as changing cursor colors) when a reused password is detected. This immediate feedback allows users to adjust their behavior and choose different passwords, resolving the contradiction between security requirements and user convenience through continuous interaction.
2Measurement precision
If the system monitors and analyzes all keystrokes to detect password reuse, then detection accuracy is improved, but system complexity and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the Input Method Editor (IME) as an intermediary component to capture and analyze keystrokes. By leveraging the existing IME infrastructure that is already present in the operating system, the solution achieves high detection accuracy without adding significant system complexity, as the IME serves as a natural mediation point for all text input.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of implementing a completely new keystroke monitoring system, the patent copies and leverages the existing IME architecture and its keystroke handling mechanisms. This approach maintains detection accuracy while minimizing additional system complexity by reusing established components rather than building new ones from scratch.
3Reliability
If the system stores and compares all existing passwords to detect reuse, then password reuse detection capability is improved, but data storage requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary hashing and storage of passwords as they are created or changed, converting them to a compact hash format in advance. When detecting potential reuse, the system compares new input against this pre-prepared hash database, significantly reducing processing time during actual detection operations while maintaining comprehensive coverage of all passwords.
Data Source
AI summary
An approach is provided for password re-usage identification based on an Input Method Editor (IME) analysis. The approach analyzes a number of keystrokes received from a user at the IME that is running on the information handling system. A set of keystrokes received at the IME are identified as a possible new password that is being established by the user. A set of existing password data is searched with the search being based on the possible new password. The set of existing passwords are stored in a data store accessible from at least one of the processors of the information handling system. In response to the searching identifying that one of the existing passwords matches the possible new password, a notification, or warning, is displayed to the user.