Authenticating Users on Handheld Devices

Published

May 1, 2003

Author(s)

Wayne Jansen

Abstract

Adequate user authentication is a persistent problem, particularly with handheld devices, which tend to be highly personal and at the fringes of an organization¿s influence. Yet, these devices are being used increasingly in corporate settings where they pose a security risk, not only by the sensitive information they may contain, but also the means to access such information they may provide. User authentication is the first line of defense against a lost or stolen device. Motivating users to employ common password mechanisms and periodically change their authentication information to meet corporate policy is always a challenge, and particularly so for handheld devices. This paper reviews alternative mechanisms, which are compatible with the capabilities of handheld devices and designed to facilitate user authentication, to replace passwords.

Proceedings Title

Canadian Information Technology Security Symposium

Conference Location

May 125,

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

ahndheld devices, authentication, PDA security user

Citation

Jansen, W. (2003), Authenticating Users on Handheld Devices, Canadian Information Technology Security Symposium, May 12-15, , [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=50736 (Accessed March 18, 2025)