IN a few Years time, Passwords will be old School; Thanks to Brainwaves

Brainwave authentication can be used instead of passwords to protect computer logins, researchers at the University of California at Berkeley's School of Information said this week. The development opens up the potential for users thinking certain thoughts or picturing specific images to gain access to devices, thereby adding a layer of biometric security.

UC Berkeley's John Chuang presented the team's findings at the 17th International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security, held in Okinawa, Japan this week.

The researchers used the NeuroSky Mindset, a Bluetooth headset that costs about US$100. They found the headset's single electroencephalography (EEG) channel provides good signal quality for accurate authentication 99 percent of the time.

The NeuroSky MindSet

The NeuroSky MindSet is a Bluetooth headpiece with a main sensor that's placed on that part of the head termed FP1 by scientists. The area is above the prefrontal cortex of the brain, on the front left side of the brain's frontal lobe. Emotions, mental states and concentration are dominant in this area.

NeuroSky filters out noise frequencies from muscle movements, the human pulse and electrical devices. The headset measures dominant brainwaves, and the company claims its products let users influence the functions of an electronic device by thoughts.