The use of patterns or shapes in place of passwords is set to displace the hacker’s favourite – the old-fashioned vulnerable fixed ID code which can so easily be captured and re-used – according to the two British inventors behind ShayypeTM.
Shayype is many times more secure than passwords, gives users new hacker-resistant login codes every time, yet is far easier to recall and use than passwords.
Already one UK firm – leading insurance quotation site 3XD – has announced plans to trial Shayype as soon as possible to protect customers and its own website from hacking. CEO David Fulluck said: “Urgent action is required across the financial technology sector in the wake of the alarming number of hacks and data breaches currently happening. But until now, the big question has been – how? What’s so interesting about Shayype is that it takes vulnerable static passwords out of the equation completely, but is easier to use.”
Another businessman, Alan Bentley, managing director of Peterborough-based IPM Global Mobility added: “”I have long been concerned about protecting IPM’s systems from Cyber-attack. I am also concerned that many IT specialists have taken a laisse faire attitude that however you try to protect your systems from attack it remains a question of when, not if.”
Now electronics engineer Jon Beal and journalist Jonathan Craymer who came up with the new system aim to launch a crowdfunding campaign to support vital usability testing on thousands of people.
Mr Craymer said: “Arguably cyber-crime is the biggest fixable threat the world faces right now. Anything connected to the rest of the world can be hacked so easily, simply because fixed passwords or ID codes are still the attackers’ favourite way in. The answer is to change the code you enter every time, without increasing complexity or forcing people to carry devices.
“We’re hoping we’ve managed to do something the tech giants failed to do – find a simple replacement for passwords, PINs, door-codes etc. But Shayype is far more than this. We hope it will give back ordinary people the control they deserve over identity, privacy and help to re-build trust in the online world.”
