07.12.05 Passfaces, faces as passwords.
The IT security systems has become more and more important, as the computer has started to treat data that is really important for our lifes. But the data protection methods, mostly derived from the mutual identification between the machine and the user, often have been goverflow to the land of the centralized control, instead of really guaranteeing the expected access restrictions. Passfaces is a new method that substituted a sequence of faces to the passwords and the vain and hateful biometric techniques. Our good memory for faces is so able to tell the mind how to choose the appropriate set of faces during the authentication process. It is at least interesting to note that for once forefront security techniques don't come from the research on more of invasive methods of scanning the body, but from exploiting the mind's attitude. In this way security is combined with anonymity, and is freed from the possible user's booking. And at the same time it freed also the authentication from the mnemonic slavery and the physical identification. The use of this innate visual skill opens up a new scenario: security procedures that exploit the infallible computing power of our minds, giving us back the control on the virtual territories management.