Generating 56-bit passwords using Markov Models (and Charles Dickens)
This work addresses password security and memorability for users, but it is incremental as it applies an existing Markov model method to a new domain (password generation).
The authors tackled the problem of generating memorable yet secure passwords by creating a scheme based on Markov models from Charles Dickens' text, resulting in 56-bit passwords like 'The cusay is wither?' t' that balance memorability and security with equal probability generation.
We describe a password generation scheme based on Markov models built from English text (specifically, Charles Dickens' *A Tale Of Two Cities*). We show a (linear-running-time) bijection between random bitstrings of any desired length and generated text, ensuring that all passwords are generated with equal probability. We observe that the generated passwords appear to strike a reasonable balance between memorability and security. Using the system, we get 56-bit passwords like 'The cusay is wither?" t', rather than passwords like 'tQ$%Xc4Ef'.