Keyboard Key Detection Frequency for Password Guessability Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to effectively determine if a password is easily guessable by considering the ordered arrangement of characters on a keyboard, leading to a low probability of identifying easily guessable passwords.
Innovation Solution
A method that assesses passwords by determining the key detection frequency based on the physical arrangement of keys on a keyboard, comparing it to a threshold frequency to determine if the password utilizes characteristics of the keyboard arrangement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If prior art systems determine password guessability without considering keyboard arrangement, then the assessment process is simple, but the probability of identifying easily guessable passwords is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the password assessment process into distinct components: (1) extracting unique characters from the password, (2) mapping characters to keyboard key positions, (3) assigning flag values to keys, (4) computing key detection frequencies for key vectors, and (5) comparing against threshold. This segmentation allows the system to systematically evaluate keyboard arrangement patterns without overwhelming complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a spatial dimension by mapping password characters to their physical keyboard positions and analyzing key vectors (horizontal and vertical arrangements). This transforms the assessment from purely character-based to position-aware, enabling detection of patterns like sequential key presses or geometric arrangements that prior art missed.
2Reliability
If the system analyzes key detection frequency based on physical keyboard arrangement, then password security assessment improves, but the computational process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining key vectors (horizontal and vertical sequences on the keyboard) and establishing flag assignment rules before password analysis. This preparation allows the actual password assessment to proceed efficiently by simply mapping characters to pre-defined key positions and summing flag values, rather than computing complex patterns during assessment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the keyboard's inherent physical structure (standard key layouts and positions) as the assessment criterion itself. The keyboard arrangement serves its own structural properties to identify vulnerable patterns, eliminating the need for external complex algorithms. The key detection frequency computation naturally leverages the keyboard's own geometry.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method and system for assessing a password based on characteristics of a physical arrangement of keys of a keyboard. A password including unique characters is stored. For each unique character of the password, a character key of the keyboard which denotes the unique character of the password is determined. A positive flag is assigned to each determined character key of the keyboard. A null flag is assigned to each key of the keyboard that is not one of the determined character keys. A key detection frequency is computed for each key vector of the keyboard. A maximum key detection frequency is determined from among the computed key detection frequencies of the key vectors. The maximum key detection frequency is compared with a threshold key detection frequency, from which it is ascertained whether the maximum key detection frequency is at least the threshold key detection frequency.