“We have known for a long time that the username and password system is
problematic and very insecure, proving a headache for even the largest
websites,” said Professor Chris Mitchell of Royal Holloway’s Information
Security Group.
“LinkedIn was hacked, and over six million stolen user passwords were then
posted on a website used by Russian cyber criminals; Facebook admitted in
2011 that 600,000 of its user accounts were being compromised every single
day.
“Despite this, username and password remains the dominant technology, and
while large corporations have been able to employ more secure methods,
attempts to provide homes with similar protection have been unsuccessful,
except in a few cases such as online banking.
“The hope is that our technology will finally make it possible to provide more
sophisticated technology to protect all internet users.”
Uni-IDM is also expected to offer a solution for people who will need to
access the growing number government services going online, such as tax and
benefits claims. The system will provide a secure space for these new users,
many of whom may have little experience using the internet.