Behavioral Biometrics for Continuous Authentication in the Internet-of-Things Era: An Artificial Intelligence Perspective

Yunji Liang, Sagar Samtani, Bin Guo, Zhiwen Yu

Abstract: In the Internet-of-Things (IoT) era, user authentication is essential to ensure the security of connected devices and the customization of passive services. However, conventional knowledge-based and physiological biometric-based authentication systems (e.g., password, face recognition, and fingerprints) are susceptible to shoulder surfing attacks, smudge attacks, and heat attacks. The powerful sensing capabilities of IoT devices, including smartphones, wearables, robots, and autonomous vehicles enable continuous authentication (CA) based on behavioral biometrics. The artificial intelligence (AI) approaches hold significant promise in sifting through large volumes of heterogeneous biometrics data to offer unprecedented user authentication and user identification capabilities. In this survey article, we outline the nature of CA in IoT applications, highlight the key behavioral signals, and summarize the extant solutions from an AI perspective. Based on our systematic and comprehensive analysis, we discuss the challenges and promising future directions to guide the next generation of AI-based CA research.