Usable Security: Cultural Impacts on Graphical Passwords Usability

Graphical user authentications (GUA) have been proposed as an alternative to avoid the burden associated with recalling several alphanumeric passwords and improve passwords usability. GUA has been shown to be useful and visually appealing since human memory can recall visuals better than texts or numbers. Nevertheless, there is a gap in research about the user requirements of graphical passwords such as, the user’s reasons for selecting a particular image during the graphical password creation or the influence of a user’s cultural background on his behavior intention towards the creation and usage of graphical passwords. This study investigated the impact of culture on graphical password usability factors namely, memorability, user preference, and user experience. A culturally tailored GUA application was developed and evaluated to assess cultural impact of usability elements among Cameroonian and American users. Findings revealed that user culture positively impacts image choice, memorability, user experience during the graphical password creation and usage, as well as the user intention to adopt the GUA application. Thus, understanding the factors influencing usability can lead to the development of adaptive usable security systems that reflect individuals’ cultural backgrounds and reduce the perpetual gap between usability and security.