The government has recently started to create a system which allows them to identify who is using a computer simply by monitoring a user’s typing and scrolling patterns. They will utilize a program called “Keystroke Dynamics” in order to identify the user and the system promises to improve the security of password systems through monitoring user patterns. However, the systems that the government has come up with are not as practical as people are making them out to be; which means that the systems might not increase system security.

Researcher, Jose Carlos Norte developed a series of fingerprinting methods based on JavaScript that measures time, mouse wheel movements, mouse speed movements, CPU benchmarks and getClientRects, which is an element used in JavaScript retrieves the coordinates of a window’s client area. This system is not practical because people can have similar scrolling patterns, which will lead to confusion and errors in the saved fingerprints. People will also have to turn off JavaScript if they don’t feel comfortable with this new plan. This will affect the developers of JavaScript because people will stop using their software which will lead to a decrease in profit. The decrease in profit will hurt  the company and the developers badly.

“I mean it’s pretty cool that we can have all this new technology but I don’t think it will be effective. I wonder how they will make both systems work perfectly without complications,” sophomore Isabella Hernandez said.

Identifying who is using the computer has sparked researchers of the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop a new wireless keyboard which would use electronic signals to match the user’s typing patterns with the ones in their database. When the user begins typing, the keyboard detects his/her unique keystroke style and after that provides access to the system. The whole purpose of this is to get rid of passwords which can be easily hacked. This incorporation of new technology to enhance security systems will make it incredibly hard to hack into people’s online accounts and will most likely be incorporated globally in the future.

Some people  believe that both systems will help society advance. People who support this idea believe that the world of security will increase and become less hack-able.

The idea of studying user patterns to identify and provide security is wonderful, however, may prove to be too unreliable and an invasion of privacy. The scrolling patterns and typing patterns of users may fluctuate from time to time depending on what they are doing or how they are feeling, which may affect how the system registers the typing pattern. Also, many consumers do not like the fact that they will have to buy this new keyboard.

All in all, the cost of purchasing the new keyboard and actually implementing the pattern recognition software greatly outweigh the benefits of being able to trace the user of a computer. The fact that the government may be able to identify someone just by their typing patterns hints towards a future of online hacking and lack of privacy; a future that may not be very far away.