Two-factor authentication (2FA) defends against account compromise. An account secured with 2FA typically requires an individual to authenticate using something they know—typically a password—as well as something they have, such as a cell phone or hardware token. Many 2FA methods in widespread use today have not been subjected to adequate usability testing. Furthermore, previous 2FA usability research is difficult to compare due to widely-varying contexts across different studies. We conducted a two-week, between-subjects usability study of five common 2FA methods with 72 participants,
collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. Participants logged into a simulated banking website nearly every day using 2FA and completed an assigned task. Participants
generally gave high marks to the methods studied, and many expressed an interest in using 2FA to provide more security for their sensitive online accounts. We also conducted a within-subjects laboratory study with 30 participants to assess the general usability of the setup procedure for the five methods. While a few participants experienced difficulty setting up a hardware token and a one-time password, in general, users found the methods easy to set up.
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This content will become publicly available on August 9, 2024
"If I could do this, I feel anyone {could:}" The Design and Evaluation of a Secondary Authentication Factor Manager
Two-factor authentication (2FA) defends against account compromise by protecting an account with both a password—the primary authentication factor—and a device or resource that is hard to steal—the secondary authentication factor (SAF). However, prior research shows that users need help registering their SAFs with websites and successfully enabling 2FA. To address these issues, we propose the concept of a SAF manager that helps users manage SAFs through their entire life cycle: setup, authentication, removal, replacement, and auditing. We design and implement two proof-of-concept prototypes. In a between-subjects user study (N=60), we demonstrate that our design improves users' ability to correctly and quickly setup and remove a SAF on their accounts. Qualitative results show that users responded very positively to the SAF manager and were enthusiastic about its ability to help them rapidly replace a SAF. Furthermore, our SAF manager prevented fatal errors that users experienced when not using the manager.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2226404
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10490583
- Publisher / Repository:
- 32nd USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 23)
- Date Published:
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 499--515
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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