What is the problem you are addressing? (problem)

How many times have you created an account on a website or accessed an existing account using your login credentials only to receive a login error to something along the lines of “your account credentials could not be verified”? You then click the “forgot password” link and go through the verification process to recreate a password. You go to the login page and again are greeted with, “your account credentials could not be verified”. You try again, “your account credentials could not be verified”. You continue this cycle and finally receive the message, “your account has been locked, please contact customer service.” There is no doubt that passwords are necessary for personal accounts and computer security. Password security practices are taught to meet a certain criterion, be frequently changed, and never written down. With this sort of password complexity, it is inevitable that individuals will forget their password, write them somewhere where others can have access to, or lock themselves out due to too many attempts for what they believe to be the correct password. To make this process easier which in turn leads to an account being less secure, an individual will use simpler passwords or continue to use the same password with minimal changes every time that password dialog box pops up stating their password is to expire in 14 days. This vicious cycle is ever occurring, causes frustration for the user, and a weakened security for their account and entity they are trying to access. Not only these few instances but also loss of time for an employer when their employee is not working, or a system is down because of a login issue. This costs time and money and with the saying in business, “time is money”.

How do you know it is a problem? (context)

I have been at work often in a time critical situation trying to log into a computer-based account. I entered the wrong password, forgot the password, wrote it down wrong (which was something I should not do all together) and then was locked out. Then needing to rely on another individual’s account credentials to log into a system. I have heard friends and colleagues complain about the same issues. I have been to businesses where the same issue has arisen, and the result was loss of business. I have read research articles that explains the data of breaches in security through password hacks. The businesses lost money because of these breaches along with lost workforce production with systems shutdown or taken offline. A business or entity is only as strong as its weakest link and sometimes that weak link is the individuals account that they are providing a service to.

What are you going to do about the problem? (solution)

While there are many solutions to this problem and there are even some already in use and on the market. My solution is to bring existing technology and protocols into one source of software and hardware for individual and or business use. I would bring into the solution public key encryption to aid passwords being secure and not having to remember or write down multiple lengthy passwords for various accounts. I would include biometrics such as iris scanning, fingerprint validation along with voice recognition. Another idea to contribute to the multi-factor validation would include some sort of a tangible security token. The combination of these security factors would follow a cybersecurity password framework of something you have, something you know, and something you are.   

What barriers do you expect to confront? (barriers)

The barriers for this problem I will be developing a solution for will be substantial. The first barrier will be time allocation. I currently work a full-time and part-time job along with enrolled in school full-time so the time I can spend on this development is minimal. The next barrier is education. I am not a computer engineer or studying computer science so the process of creating a hardware and software will need to be outsourced to another individual or go with the alternative option of seeking a partner to tackle with issue with. Then there is the funding predicament. Designing and creating will take money and of which I would want to use funds other than my own. This funding could come from crowdfunding, donations and or seeking investors looking for an opportunity to invest money in a product. Taking on an investor I would look at the stipulation that money taken in is paid back with profits. I think this approach may be hard to accept for some investors. A final barrier I can foresee is then promoting this product. I would need to seek out advertising and different avenues of promotion of which I am not well-versed in.   

How will you know if you are successful? (assessment)

I can categorize myself being successful in three different ways. First, I would consider being successful in the process of developing a solution to the problem I have identified. I mapped out the process I would follow and go down the path I have identified. Using a sports analogy would be putting myself in the game and not just sitting on the sidelines watching. Whether the product be a success or not I would still consider myself being successful in the attempt to bring my visualization to life. Failure in my opinion does not constitute being successful. Failure is part of the process in knowing what works and what does not. Second, being successful would be having the product work and bring ease of use for an individual and or business. There would be actual value brought to fortition where the end goal was achieved. I did my homework and due diligence, secured funding, and partners, and then an actual buyer for the product. All parties involved would be happy and satisfied with the result which would signify being successful. Lastly, profit and growth are realized. This product continues to work as advertised with minimal interruptions, it is updated and fixed as problems arise, and continues to bring in revenue. One or a combination of these three instances being achieved, I could easily say I was successful in my undertaking.