A Matrix for Systematic Selection of Authentication Mechanisms in Challenging Healthcare related Environments

Passwords continue to dominate the authentication landscape, while One Time Passwords (OTPs) provided by apps are increasingly used as second factor. Even though several alternatives are developed, very few regard usability. Even fewer alternatives consider special conditions of authentication, like disabilities and other input restrictions, typical for healthcare workers. In this paper, we show shortcomings by the example of different stages within the care cycle. Generalized requirements are used to evaluate existing authentication mechanisms. These findings result in the design of a matrix showing different authentication methods and requirements. The matrix can be used to identify the best fitting authentication mechanisms based on the needs of the scenario. Not only the first factor can be identified, but the matrix also helps to select additional well-fitting authentication mechanism for a specific scenario. The designed matrix is practically underlined by applying it to the care cycle with different cyber-physical systems (CPS).