Efficiency –A Layered Model for Authentication

In today's era one of the most prevailing security threat is identity theft. Authentication is an imminent process that tries to resolve the problem by verifying an individual's identity, who wants to access the resources of a system. In view of overwhelming ever-growing use of different authentication scheme their associated cost cannot be ignored. Consequently, it is identified as a requirement for authentication - though it is not a part of the general threat model till now. Moreover, there have been many efforts to estimate the usability of authentication system. However, in particular Efficiency aspect has not been calculated. This paper focuses on importance of Efficiency in password authentication. The efficiency model tries to explain the principles and indicators considered while designing a system for their efficiency. A layered model of Efficiency helps in understanding the different aids required for an efficient authentication system.