Keystroke Dynamics Anonymization via Pseudorandom Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Keystroke dynamics systems face security vulnerabilities as logged keystroke data can be accessed by attackers, exposing sensitive information such as passwords and personally-identifiable information, which can be used to impersonate users.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a pseudorandom mapping function to anonymize keystrokes before they are processed by a keystroke dynamics algorithm, ensuring consistent anonymization across sessions for a user while maintaining uniqueness between users, and preventing storage of keystrokes to enhance security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If keystroke data is logged for authentication, then authentication accuracy is improved, but security is worsened due to exposure of sensitive information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary anonymization layer that transforms original keystroke data into anonymized keystroke data before storage and processing. This intermediary representation maintains the temporal and sequential characteristics needed for authentication while removing direct links to sensitive information, thus resolving the contradiction between authentication reliability and security
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the keystroke data in anonymized form that preserves the essential authentication features (timing, sequence, duration) while eliminating sensitive information. This copy serves as a surrogate for the original data, enabling authentication without exposing security vulnerabilities
2Measurement precision
If original keystrokes are stored for model training, then model accuracy is improved, but risk of information exposure is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The anonymization process acts as an intermediary transformation that converts original keystroke data into a form suitable for model training without exposing sensitive information. The anonymized data retains the temporal patterns and user-specific characteristics needed for accurate modeling while preventing information exposure
3Object-affected harmful factors
If keystroke data is anonymized, then security is improved, but data processing complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies anonymization as a preliminary action before data storage and processing. By transforming the data upfront into anonymized form, the system avoids the need for complex real-time anonymization during processing, thereby improving security without excessively increasing processing complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A keystroke dynamics anonymization technique that includes: receiving a plain-text password from a computer user; providing at least the plain-text password as a seed to a pseudorandom mapping function; applying the pseudorandom mapping function to keycodes that are produced by the computer responsive to keystrokes of the computer user, to map the keycodes to a set of mapped, anonymized keycodes; and providing the set of mapped, anonymized keycodes to a keystroke dynamics algorithm, to enable the keystroke dynamics algorithm to (a) learn a keystroke dynamics model of the computer user, and (b) authenticate an identity of the computer user.