The brainwave password that has been developed by experts as an alternative to typed login passcodes is recently found to be useless if the user is under the influence of alcohol. While brainwaves were identified to be unique among individuals, the signatures were however found to be easily influenced hence can be altered and will not work to open codes. A recent study has confirmed the assumption.
A study was recently done by the security researcher at the cybersecurity consultancy firm Grimm, Tommy Chin and a graduate student of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Peter Muller. The two decided to test the accuracy of the brainwave password by analyzing the brainwaves of participating people before and after drinking a few shots of a cinnamon-flavored whisky called Fireball. Following the set-up, the researchers discovered that the brainwaves change after the user indulges in a couple of drinks.
“Brainwaves can be easily manipulated by external influences such as drugs [like] opioids, caffeine, and alcohol,” Chin says as cited by Biometric. “This manipulation makes it a significant challenge to verify the authenticity of the user because they drank an immense amount of alcohol or caffeinated drink,” he added. While the initial research then shows that a brainwave password through EEG readings can authenticate a person’s identity with a 94 percent accuracy rate, a couple of factors could lead to confusion hence making the readings invalid.
Chin and Muller shared the results of their test during the security conference SchmooCon which was held last week in Washington DC. The two revealed that the initial results collected from a small number of tests indicated that the brainwave authentication accuracy can fall up to 33 per cent in intoxicated users. More participants were then recruited during the SchmooCon to gather more data and for a more reliable result.
However, a previous research conducted by John Chuang of the University of California adds more factors to brainwave password authenticity problems. According to his study, people can also lose the accuracy of their brainwaves after doing a workout. It was found out that the accuracy degrades right after an exercise although the body of the user can quickly recover from workout stresses. Other factors which he suggested include hunger and stress or fatigue which can all contribute to the reduction of the brainwave’s reliability.
While the problem of intoxication can be easily solved, a greater threat to a user’s security has been pointed out regarding brainwave passwords. According to the Digital Trends, Abdul Serwadda who is a cybersecurity expert and assistant professor of the department of computer science at Texas Tech University believes in a potentially dangerous flaw linked to the brain-scanning technology. He said that while a brainwave password is too complex to hack, the EEG readings can also reveal deeply sensitive information about the user including emotions, drug use behavior, medical conditions, personality traits and a lot more.
