Apr 8, 2013

“Passthoughts” To Replace Typed Passwords

Passwords May Soon Be Replaced by ‘Pass-Thoughts’

By Fox Van Allen

Could typing out passwords soon be a thing of the past? A new UC Berkeley study suggests that the traditional method of computer authentication can be readily replaced with “pass-thoughts,” allowing you to gain access to your computerized accounts simply by thinking.

The study, led by professor John Chuang, asked test subjects to imagine performing certain tasks, such as concentrating on their breathing, while wearing a $100 commercially available NeuroSky electroencephalogram (EEG) headset. Researchers recorded the brainwaves caused by the subjects’ thoughts, saving them as pass-thoughts....

From TechCrunch

No More Typed Passwords, Berkeley Researchers Develop “Passthoughts”

By Gregory Ferenstein

“Instead of typing your password, in the future you may only have to think your password,” explains a UC Berkeley School of Information press release about new research that utilizes brainwaves to authenticate users instead of passwords of numbers and letters. With a $100 consumer-friendly brainwave-reading headset, the Neurosky MindSet, Professor John Chuang found that the mere task of concentrating on one’s breath was enough to uniquely identify them....

From CNET News

Why bother with passwords when you can have passthoughts?

by Chris Matyszczyk

Some Berkeley researchers think they can get you to emit your password through your thoughts. Well, we're always thinking "12345," aren't we?

Would you choose to save your fingers by wearing cat ears on your head?

I am not imbibing alcoholized catnip. I am merely marveling at the ideas that emerge from the minds of clever cats at Berkeley....

From Wired UK

Study: we could ditch passwords in favour of 'passthoughts'

By Olivia Solon

A team of computer scientists and security specialists from the UC Berkeley School of Information has explored the feasibility of brainwave-based computer authentication as a replacement for passwords.

Headed up by School of Information professor John Chuang, the team sought to find out whether electroencephalograms (EEGs) or brainwave measurements could be used as a biometric means of computer authentication. Many such biometric systems have been mooted and in some cases implemented, including retina scans, voice recognition, fingerprint scans, but these systems can be slow, intrusive and expensive....

From PC Magazine

Researchers Look to Replace Passwords With 'Passthoughts'

By Chloe Albanesius

With more and more companies succumbing to sophisticated hacks, the need for secure passwords has been a big topic of discussion lately. But how do you know if you're safe? And how do you remember the different codes you've selected for sites across the Web?

That might not be a problem in the future. Researchers from the UC Berkeley School of Information have been working on brain-controlled passwords. Basically, you could just think your password and the site you are trying to access would unlock via the power of brain waves....

From Mashable

Researchers Replace Passwords With Mind-Reading Passthoughts

By Camille Bautista

Remembering the passwords for all your sites can get frustrating. There are only so many punctuation, number substitutes and uppercase variations you can recall, and writing them down for all to find is hardly an option.

Thanks to researchers at the UC Berkeley School of Information, you may not need to type those pesky passwords in the future. Instead, you'll only need to think them....

From Firstpost

Forget typing passwords, soon you may just have to think about it!

You may be spared from typing pesky passwords in the future! Instead of typing your password, you may only have to think about it, thanks to a new wireless headset device developed by researchers.

Remembering passwords for all your sites can get annoying. There are only so many punctuation, number substitutes and uppercase variations you can recall, and writing them down for all to find is hardly an option. Researchers at the University of California Berkeley School of Information developed the device that explores the feasibility of brainwave-based computer authentication as a substitute for passwords.