Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering Team Up for Active Authentication Research

Drexel University will host a meeting on October 2-3, 2012 at the Cira Centre in Philadelphia, PA for presentations and discussion between Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials and principal investigators on new research through which Drexel’s Computer Science (CS) and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) departments have received a grant for $699,379 to collaborate on a project for one year titled, “Active Authentication via Linguistic Modalitie.” The ECE department will also host a dinner on October 2 for meeting attendees in the Bossone Research Center Atrium.

Moshe Kam, Robert Quinn Professor and Department Head of the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, Rachel Greenstadt, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, and Patrick Juola, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Duquesne University and CEO/Chairman and Director of R&D at Juola & Associates, are working to evolve the current standard method for validating a user’s identity for authentication on an information system using Active Authentication, a program that will focus on the unique aspects of the individual through the use of software based biometrics, as opposed to creating, remembering, and managing long, complex passwords.

The goal of this project is to develop a solution that integrates any available biometrics using a new authentication platform suitable for deployment on a standard a Department of Defense desktop or laptop. For more information about the Active Authentication project, please view DARPA’s official site here.