Mutual image-based authentication framework with JPEG2000 in wireless environment

Abstract

Currently, together with the development of wireless connectivity, the need for a reliable and user-friendly authentication system becomes always more important. New applications, as e-commerce or home banking, require a strong level of protection, allowing for verification of legitimate users' identity and enabling the user to distinguis trusted servers from shadow ones. A novel framework for image-based authentication (IBA) is then proposed and evaluated. In order to provide mutual authentication, the proposed method integrates an IBA password technique with a challenge-response scheme based on a shared secret key for image scrambling. The wireless environment is mainly addressed by the proposed system, which tries to overcome the severe constraints on security, data transmission capability, and user friendliness imposed by such environment. In order to achieve such results, the system offers a strong solution for authentication, taking into account usability and avoiding the need for hardware upgrades. Data and application scalability is provided through the JPEG2000 standard and JPIP framework.