Abstract or Summary:
The research objective was to develop a model for evaluating the human impact that password authentication issues are having on the security of information systems. Through distributing a survey and conducting an experiment, researchers created a model for predicting the vulnerability that a particular set of conditions will have on the likelihood of error in an information system. The survey consisted of over 250 respondents. The experiment consisted of 30 subjects and the analysis utilized a X2 goodness of fit test. The findings indicate that human error associated with password authentication can be significantly reduced through the use of passwords comprised of data meaningful for the user and that meet the information technology community requirement for strength of password. Future research will be performed to further validate and enhance the developed model and to develop human factor password guidelines.