An Expert Panel Approach on Developing a Unified System Authentication Benchmarking Index

Network-based applications still rely heavily on password-based authentication methods to control access. In a recent study, a benchmarking instrument was used to assess authentication methods used in such systems. The authors’ instrument was built on an extensive literature foundation and was validated with an expert panel assessment. This paper reports on the development of the instrument and the expert panel assessment. The initial draft of the instrument was derived from literature to assess 1) password strength requirements, 2) password usage methods, and 3) password reset requirements. Criteria within the index were evaluated by an expert panel, who also provided opinions on the relative weights of the criteria and measures. The expert panel results were analyzed using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques. Their results revealed that out of 100% allocation, Password Strength Measure (PSM) was the dominant factor in the aggregated perception of the panel of experts with weight of 43.1%, followed by Password Initialization and Reset Measure (PIRM) with weight of 29.2%, and Password Usage Measure (PUM) with weight of 27.7%. They concluded with discussions on how criteria were assembled, how the panel was conducted, and results from the panel. The results reported include the relative weights of the three measures within the unified system authentication benchmarking index.