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Research has produced many types of authentication systems that use machine learning. However, there is no consistent approach for reporting performance metrics and the reported metrics are inadequate. In this work, we show that several of the common metrics used for reporting performance, such as maximum accuracy (ACC), equal error rate (EER) and area under the ROC curve (AUROC), are inherently flawed. These common metrics hide the details of the inherent trade-offs a system must make when implemented. Our findings show that current metrics give no insight into how system performance degrades outside the ideal conditions in which they were designed. We argue that adequate performance reporting must be provided to enable meaningful evaluation and that current, commonly used approaches fail in this regard. We present the unnormalized frequency count of scores (FCS) to demonstrate the mathematical underpinnings that lead to these failures and show how they can be avoided. The FCS can be used to augment the performance reporting to enable comparison across systems in a visual way. When reported with the Receiver Operating Characteristics curve (ROC), these two metrics provide a solution to the limitations of currently reported metrics. Finally, we show how to use the FCS and ROC metrics to evaluate and compare different authentication systems. 

It is well known that text-based passwords are hard to remember and that users prefer simple (and non-secure) passwords. However, despite extensive research on the topic, no principled account exists for explaining when a password will be forgotten. This paper contributes new data and a set of analyses building on the ecological theory of memory and forgetting. We propose that human memory naturally adapts according to an estimate of how often a password will be needed, such that often used, important passwords are less likely to be forgotten. We derive models for login duration and odds of recall as a function of rate of use and number of uses thus far. The models achieved a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 1.8 seconds for login duration and 0.09 for recall odds for data collected in a month-long field experiment where frequency of password use was controlled. The theory and data shed new light on password management, account usage, password security and memorability. 

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodology was used to examine the emotional context of nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI). Forty‐seven adolescents and young adults used a novel smartphone app to monitor their emotional experiences,NSSIthoughts, and NSSI behaviors for 2 weeks. Momentary changes in both negative and positive emotions predicted greater intensity ofNSSIthoughts at the subsequent assessment, while only increases in negative emotion predictedNSSIbehaviors. Immediately followingNSSIbehaviors participants reported reduced high‐arousal negative emotions and increased low‐arousal positive emotions, suggesting thatNSSImay be an efficient and effective method of regulating emotion. Findings highlight the importance of addressing emotion regulation inNSSIinterventions.