User authentication in computing systems traditionally depends on three factors: something you have (e.g., a hardware token), something you are (e.g., a fingerprint), and something you know (e.g., a password). In this paper, we explore a fourth factor, the social network of the user, that is, somebody you know.Human authentication through mutual acquaintance is an age-old practice. In the arena of computer security, it plays roles in privilege delegation, peer-level certification, help-desk assistance, and reputation networks. As a direct means of logical authentication, though, the reliance of human being on another has little supporting scientific literature or practice.In this paper, we explore the notion of vouching, that is, peer-level, human-intermediated authentication for access control. We explore its use in emergency authentication, when primary authenticators like passwords or hardware tokens become unavailable. We describe a practical, prototype vouching system based on SecurID, a popular hardware authentication token. We address traditional, cryptographic security requirements, but also consider questions of social engineering and user behavior.

This paper describes SecurSight, an architecture that combines authentication, authorization, and secure communications. The primary goal of this architecture is to secure access to network resources, while providing a smooth migration path from legacy authentication and authorization methods to a public-key infrastructure. Authentication may utilize either shared secrets or public/private key pairs. Authorization is public-key based and provides both direct support for PKI-aware applications and indirect support for legacy applications. Authorization credentials are portable, and may be used in location-independent fashion, without the need for cumbersome export and import procedures.