A Comparative Study of British Users’ Perception, Use, and Concerns about a Range of Authentication Systems

Many authentication systems are now available to secure online information. These also need to be usable and trusted by users. There is a considerable body of research on users’ perceptions, use, and concerns about individual authentication systems, but little research comparing users’ attitudes across a range of current authentication systems. An online survey was conducted investigating these issues with a sample of 129 well-educated British participants. Seven authentication systems were investigated: password, passcode, two factor (2FA), Federated Identity Management (FIM), face and fingerprint recognition, and Fast Identity Online Authentication (FIDO). All, apart from FIDO, were rated as very secure, trustworthy, and easy to use. Participants were confident about using them and generally rated their level of concern about them as low. However, when asked to express any concerns, participants raised a wide range of concerns, which need to be addressed by developers and deployers of these systems.