User profiling with virtual pet for mobile device authentication

Abstract

Since mobile devices have become an inseparable part of peoples' lives, gathering user profiles from mobile devices can provide a better grasp of the device ownership. Mobile user profiling is done by focusing on information that can be used to authenticate the real owner of a device. A novel human-machine authentication mechanism is proposed. This objective is achieved via profiling of the user through his or her interaction with a virtual pet that resides on the mobile device to provide robust, intelligent, continuous and transparent authentication of the user. Virtual pets that reside in devices can turn phones into 'sentient beings' and are able to analyse the users' behaviour through constant interaction with them. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.