Emoji password

Researchers have come up with a new password system that involves little pictures and patterns instead of characters.....

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The system, called GOTPass, was developed by researchers at Plymouth University in the U.K. It would require users to draw a shape instead of entering a password, similar to how iPhone and Android users can already opt to draw a letter or shape with their finger instead of enter a string of letters and numbers to unlock phones.

Then, a user must identify the two images or emojis they previously selected from 16 options. If the user picks the correct images, he or she is given a one-time passcode to access the account. Each time a user logs into the account, he or she must go through the process to receive a new one-time code.

The researchers, whose work was published in the Information Security Journal: A Global Perspective, say their system could be applicable for online banking or any other services that typically seek multiple forms of authentication.

The researchers claim their method is 98% hack-proof, according to their own security tests. (Of the 690 attempted hackings, only eight were “genuinely successful,” with 15 successes attributed to “coincidence.”)

The research comes at a time when the industry has already moved toward a commitment to kill off traditional passwords, given that they’ve been widely deemed ineffective as a form of security. Verizon found in 2014 that two of every three data breaches involved the exploitation of weak or stolen passwords. Some academics have proposed that the government ban the use of passwords altogether.

It’s no surprise that emojis are becoming an option for passwords. Their use is so prevalent that in May, Domino’s Pizza introduced a way for people to order a pizza by tweeting a pizza emoji. MarketWatch outlined a financial emoji guide so our readers could use emojis to talk markets. And Kim Kardashian introduced the “Kimoji” app, which features little pictures of herself, a doughnut and her famous booty.

And the Plymouth University researchers aren’t the first to suggest emojis replace the password. A U.K.-based online banking platform provider introduced emoji-only passcodes earlier this year, allowing users to choose four emojis from 44 images to log in. Intelligent Environments said then that emoji passcodes would “prevent hackers from identifying common and easily obtainable numerical passcodes, like a date of birth or a wedding anniversary.”