Multi-step authentication using objective and subjective credentials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10791111-B2
Application number	US-201715792961-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 25, 2017
Priority date	Oct 25, 2017
Publication date	Sep 29, 2020
Grant date	Sep 29, 2020

Abstract

Multi-step user authentication combines steps of authenticating both objective and subjective credentials. A user selects objective credentials, such as a password, and enters subjective credentials, such as a subjective description of the user's emotional response to a subjective challenge, such as a musical recording or image. The system identifies other content likely to elicit a similar emotional response from the same user. When the user later attempts to log onto a secured system, the user must enter the objective credentials and then describe the user's emotional response to a second subjective challenge that is likely to elicit an emotional response similar to that invoked by the first subjective challenge. If the user enters the correct objective credentials and describes an emotional response consistent with the first subjective description, then the user is given access to the secured system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A user-authentication system comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a computer-readable hardware storage device coupled to the processor, the storage device containing program code configured to be run by the processor via the memory to implement a method for multi-step authentication using objective and subjective credentials,
the method comprising a setting-up procedure and an authentication procedure,
where the setting-up procedure comprises:
receiving from a user, by the user-authentication system, a selection of an objective log-in credential;
recognizing, by the user-authentication system, an identification by the user of a first subjective challenge; and
receiving further from the user, by the user-authentication system, a first subjective description an emotional response of the user to the first subjective challenge, where the first subjective description consists of a natural-language description entered by the user in response to an interactive request for such a response made by the system; and

where the authentication procedure comprises:
identifying, by the user-authentication system, a request from the user to log onto a secured system;
accepting from the user, by the user-authentication system, the objective log-in credential;
communicating to the user, by the user-authentication system, a second subjective challenge that is different from the first subjective challenge, where the second subjective challenge is correlated with the first subjective challenge;
accepting further from the user, by the user-authentication system, a second subjective description of a user's emotional response to the second subjective challenge;
confirming, by the user-authentication system, that the second subjective description is consistent with the first subjective description,
where the confirming comprises inferring, by the user-authentication system, that the first subjective challenge and the first subjective description share identical objective characteristics with the second subjective challenge and the second subjective description; and
where the first subjective description is associated with the first subjective challenge and the second subjective description is associated with the second subjective challenge; and

granting the user, by the user-authentication system, access to the secured system in response to the confirming.

2. The user-authentication system of claim 1 , where the second subjective challenge is not distinct from the first subjective challenge.

3. The user-authentication system of claim 1 ,
where the first subjective description enumerates a first plurality of emotional states induced in the user by the first subjective challenge, and
where the second subjective description enumerates a second plurality of emotional states induced in the user by the second subjective challenge.

4. The user-authentication system of claim 3 , where the confirming further comprises:
inferring, by the user-authentication system, a first user sentiment from the first plurality of emotional states,
inferring, by the user-authentication system, a second user sentiment from the second plurality of emotional states, and
determining, by the user-authentication system, that the first user sentiment matches the second user sentiment.

5. The user-authentication system of claim 1 , where the identification of the first subjective challenge by the user comprises the user selecting the first subjective challenge from a list of candidate subjective challenges presented by the user-authentication system to the user.

6. The user-authentication system of claim 1 , where the identification of the first subjective challenge by the user comprises the user submitting the first subjective challenge to the user-authentication system.

7. The user-authentication system of claim 6 ,
where the first subjective challenge is a musical passage, and
where the submitting comprises the user performing the musical passage through an electronic interface coupled to the processor.

8. The user-authentication system of claim 1 , where the objective log-in credential is a password.

9. The user-authentication system of claim 1 ,
where the first subjective challenge and the second subjective challenge each comprise at least one item selected from a group consisting of: a live musical performance, an audio recording, a photograph, an animation, a graphical image, text, and a video clip.

10. The user-authentication system of claim 1 , further comprising:
selecting, by the user-authentication system, the second subjective challenge from a set of candidate subjective challenges, where each subjective challenge of the set of candidate subjective challenges is associated with corresponding values of a set of parameters of the objective characteristics and with a set of subjective user descriptions, the selecting comprising:
identifying, by the user-authentication system, a subset of the set of parameters, where all parameters of the subset correlate with the subjective user descriptions; and
selecting, by the user-authentication system, the second subjective challenge from a subset of the set of candidate subjective challenges, where each subjective challenge of the subset of the set of candidate subjective challenges is associated with values of the subset of parameters that match values of corresponding parameters associated with the first subjective challenge.

11. A computer program product, comprising a computer-readable hardware storage device having a computer-readable program code stored therein, the program code configured to be executed by a user authentication system comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a computer-readable hardware storage device coupled to the processor, the storage device containing program code configured to be run by the processor via the memory to implement a method for multi-step authentication using objective and subjective credentials, the method comprising:
a setting-up procedure and an authentication procedure,
where the setting-up procedure comprises:
receiving from a user, by the user-authentication system, a selection of an objective log-in credential;
recognizing, by the user-authentication system, an identification by the user of a first subjective challenge; and
receiving further from the user, by the user-authentication system, a first subjective description of an emotional response of the user to the first subjective challenge, where the first subjective description consists of a natural-language description entered by the user in response to an interactive request for such a response made by the system; and

where the authentication procedure comprises:
identifying, by the user-authentication system, a request from the user to log onto a secured system;
accepting from the user, by the user-authentication system, the objective log-in credential;
communicating to the user, by the user-authentication system, a second subjective challenge that is different from the first subjective challenge, where the second subjective challenge is correlated with the first subjective challenge;
accepting further from the user, by the user-authentication system, a second subjective description of a user's emotional response to the second subjective challenge;
confirming, by the user-authentication system, that the second subjective description is consistent with the first subjective description,
where the confirming comprises inferring, by the user-authentication system, that the first subjective challenge and the first subjective description share identical objective characteristics with the sec

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Anders Kelley
• Dunne Jonathan
• Grant Robert
• Hewitt Trudy L

Classifications

• H04L9/3226

  using a predetermined code, e.g. password, passphrase or PIN (network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using passwords in a packet data network H04L63/083) · CPC title

• H04L9/3271

  using challenge-response · CPC title

• H04L2463/082

  applying multi-factor authentication · CPC title

• H04L63/083 Primary

  using passwords (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226) · CPC title