Thinking your Passwords

[Pete_Zahut]

What if you could one day unlock your door or access your bank account by simply "thinking" your password? Too far out? Perhaps not.

Researchers at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, are exploring the possibility of a biometric security device that will use a person's thoughts to authenticate her or his identity.

Their idea of utilizing brain-wave signatures as "pass-thoughts" is based on the premise that brain waves are unique to each individual. Even when thinking of the same thing, the brain's measurable electrical impulses vary slightly from person to person. Some researchers believe the difference might just be enough to create a system that allows you to log in with your thoughts.

A pass-thought could be anything from a snatch of song, the memory of your last birthday or even the image of your favorite painting. A more achievable alternative might present you with predetermined pictures, music or video clips, to which you would think "yes" or "no" while the machine monitors your brain activity.

"It is known there are differences between people's brains and their signals," says Carleton researcher Julie Thorpe, who's working on the project with Anil Somayaji and Adrian Chan. "Can we observe a user-controllable signal encoding hundreds or thousands of bits of information in a repeatable fashion? That's the real question. We think it may be possible."

The system has the potential to become a new kind of biometric security tool that -- in contrast to fingerprint readers, iris scanners or facial recognition -- would allow users to change their pass codes periodically.

But is it really feasible, or is it just another pie-in-the-sky idea?

The research is an outgrowth of efforts to build a brain-computer interface, or BCI, by trying to extract the meaningful parts of brain-wave signals measured by an electroencephalogram, or EEG, and translate them into recognizable computer commands that allow disabled people to control and manipulate prosthetic devices. A chief challenge facing BCI technology is that brain-wave signatures are unique, so a system trained to recognize a particular user can be quite difficult for another to manipulate.

"Brain-wave signatures, represented as the EEG signals of a person ... are different from one individual to another, even when they perform the same thought or task," says professor Touradj Ebrahimi at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

But the very distinctiveness of brain waves that works against researchers in developing universal tools is an asset when building an authentication system. A security device wouldn't need to interpret or understand the thought, but simply extract the repeatable features of the pattern and recognize a match. "A brain-based biometric can be as strong as DNA-based biometric," says Ebrahimi.

However, some researchers are skeptical that a computer will ever be able to passively recognize a particular mental image in a person's head.

I thought this was really interesting we might have passwords that are uncrackable.

Read ore at http://www.wired.com/news/technology...logy_medtech_2

[Mookster]

I'd guess those electrical impulses would change as a persons interpretation of the password changes. You may begin as thinking of your password as a song you like, but as time goes on you'd begin to identify with the song as more of a password than a song. That should be enough to change the signature of the electrical impulses recorded.

I've heard each thought that takes place in the ego is actually vocalized to a very small degree, though.

[han_han]

This sounds really far-off. I don't think this'll be integrated at all but it sounds like a neat idea.

[EyeOfFire]

What mook said. Electrical impulses from thoughts would change, just like those thoughts do, over time, therefore I think it's pretty unfeasible. Would be cool if it worked but I don't think it will.

[BloodyBlade]

It might work if what you thought of were more simple. Maybe something like thinking of a word or a code?

[Pete_Zahut]

Yea thats more simple then a a phrase from a song

[Mad3711]

They should focus on making eye scanners.

[DUI_]

As long as being under the influence would not affect "thinking" your password its a great idea. But there are still so many variables that could mess it up. At least I would think.

[Mr. Hetero]

Have you guys ever seen the music man? Use the "think system". That's Great. Kinda on the same lines.

[Dr. Silence]

Originally Posted by Mad3711

They should focus on making eye scanners.

Retinal identification exists and is in common use.

As for the article, the idea of waves is terribly old. Researches within Day, R. H., & Dickinson, R. G. Following the muller-lyer experiment in 1976, shortly after in 84 The idea of a computer recognizing distinct patterns or waves was already thought of, yet those trying to put some sense in the hypothesis ran into copious amounts of errors. There is no machine in existence (yet anyway) that can accurately match a certain wave to a feeling, thought or “a picture”, it is extremely skewed. If someone decided to think of a tragic accident or something that would trigger certain waves (neurophysiologic measurement if you want to get technical) It would take a matter of minutes for someone else to “guess” someone else’s password, and I love how they mentioned the uniqueness of everyone’s brain patterns, sure true in theory but for example say the password recorded was a measurement of either a thought or memory which our sympathetic nervous system has a overhaul of. Now me being scared of someone trying to shoot me with a gun could be the same as a child being scared for a spider, bingo, password accepted. Now what these Canadians are trying to do is test and assess millions of options in how to cheat the system, this could have existed 10 years ago, but the only thing stopping them is security, how there is a great variance in brain patterns from me to someone else could have major flaws. We know far too little about the brain, for now.

[Mad3711]

Originally Posted by loud-ness

Retinal identification exists Yes.
and is in common use. No.

I'm not talking about the high security ones we hear about being implemented into airports. I was talking about unlocking a door or accessing your bank account as the article said.

[Dr. Silence]

Originally Posted by Mad3711

I'm not talking about the high security ones we hear about being implemented into airports. I was talking about unlocking a door or accessing your bank account as the article said.

"They should focus on making eye scanners."

Or you should have said, "They should focus on expanding the use of retinal verification for urban 'common' use rather then 'high security' buildings".


Yet if someone wants to borrow my car, oh here take my eye's out, np.

[punture]

How would this more secure, in terms of the individual themselves?

Instead of robbers stealing your passwords, they would just hold you by the gun point and make you think it... I think it is way more easier to crack if this was to be implemented...

[el-camino-ss]

thinking is better then body parts like finger prints or eyes, some one would just cut your eye out or your finger off.... thinking would be cool but yea someone could force you to do it, then agian if they kill you they dont get what they want... you should be able to think for the police to show up lol... think "OH **** MY ASS IS TOAST" and they show up... or "donuts"