User Authentication in the IoE Era: Attacks, Challenges, Evaluation, and New Designs
Ding Wang, Shujun Li, Qi Gang Jiang · Security and Communication Networks · 2018
We are venturing into the new era of Internet of Everything (IoE) where smaller and smarter computing devices have begun to be integrated into our environments.Despite its great potential, IoE also exposes devices to new security and privacy threats, such as the exposure of devices to attacks emanating from the Internet.User authentication, as a first line of defense, has been widely deployed to prevent unauthorized access, and, in many cases, it is also the primary line of defense.However, conventional user authentication mechanisms are not capable of dealing with this new situation.Firstly, it is not possible to directly utilize Internet-centric security solutions because of the inherently heterogeneous characteristics of IoE devices (e.g., the limited computational capabilities and power supply).Secondly, constrained devices may lack conventional user interfaces, such as keyboard, mice, and touch screen.In summary, the subjects of authentication in IoE are compelling yet largely unexploited, as well as unexplored topics that are in need of more intense interest and research from both the industry and academia.This special issue aims to provide a forum for researchers to publish and exchange their recent research ideas and results about authentication in IoE.In response to the call for papers, after rigorous review and careful revision, the following 5 papers were included in this special issue, ranging from novel understanding of traditional textual passwords, new cryptographic primitives for user authentication, and privacy-preserving biometric authentication to interesting contemporary key users authentication in microblogging.