An Assistive PIN Input Technology for the Visually Impaired

Personal identification number (PIN) passwords are the preferred authentication method for visually impaired users to access digital devices like automated teller machines (ATMs), digital door locks, and cellular phones. The latest PIN input techniques have shown vulnerability to security breaches via shoulder-surfing, screen recording, and smudge attacks. In this paper, we propose the Improved Enhanced Simple PIN Input Technique (IESPIT), an improved PIN input technique that reinforces privacy of the user and eliminates the need for repeated touch actions, thereby making it an efficient and easier verification technique as compared to its predecessors. We implemented the concept on an Android mobile device and conducted experiments to verify the feasibility of our scheme. Results indicate that our proposed methodology can counter the most popular privacy assaults to this vulnerable population by utilizing a set of randomized audible keys. Tests on 10 volunteers demonstrated that the authentication with IESPIT was 13% faster than its closest predecessor, with a success ratio of 91.5%. A t-test for the equality of means among the participants' perception of authentication speed, convenience, and ease of use further evinced shows that the mean scores of IESPIT were statistically significant from the previous version at the 1% level.