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Concept
Keystroke dynamics
Summary
Keystroke dynamics, keystroke biometrics, typing dynamics and typing biometrics refer to the detailed timing information that describes each key press related event that occurs when a user is typing on a keyboard.
The behavioural biometric of Keystroke Dynamics uses the manner and rhythm in which an individual types characters on a keyboard or keypad. The keystroke rhythms of a user are measured to develop a unique biometric template of the user's typing pattern for future authentication. Keystrokes are separated into static and dynamic typing, which are used to help distinguish between authorized and unauthorized users. Vibration information may be used to create a pattern for future use in both identification and authentication tasks.
Data needed to analyse keystroke dynamics is obtained by keystroke logging. Normally, all that is retained when logging a typing session is the sequence of characters corresponding to the order in which keys were pressed. Timing information is discarded. For example, when reading an email, the receiver cannot tell from reading the phrase "I saw 3 zebras!" whether:
It was typed rapidly or slowly,
The sender used the left shift key, the right shift key, or the caps-lock key to capitalize "I,"
The letters were all typed at the same pace or if there was a long pause before any characters while looking for that key, and
The sender typed any letters wrong initially and then went back and corrected them or if they got them right the first time.
During the late nineteenth century, telegram operators began to develop unique "signatures" that could be identified simply by their tapping rhythm. As late as World War II, the military transmitted messages through Morse Code. Using a methodology called "The Fist of the Sender," military intelligence identified that an individual had a unique way of keying in a message's "dots" and "dashes", creating a rhythm that could help distinguish ally from enemy.
Keystroke dynamic information could be used to verify or even try to determine the identity of the person who is producing the keystrokes.
Official source
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