Using a systematic framework to critically analyze proposed smart card based two factor authentication schemes

The importance of smart card based two factor authentication can be gauged by the fact that many schemes have been proposed so far yet none of them used a systematic framework to critically analyze themselves to prove them practical and use worthy. This research however accomplishes exactly this by showing how using a criteria set can aid in highlighting the underlying hidden weaknesses in the design of the proposed schemes and what can be done to improve them by incorporating security features from the initial development stages of the protocols. This would also ensure only meaningful contribution in developing stronger schemes. Our research also lays the foundation stone by assessing the latest scheme proposed by Xie et al. and suggesting improvements in it. And finally, a novel scheme rating mechanism has been introduced to rate schemes thus helping in determining the actual goodness of the schemes and facilitating top managements of corporate sectors to make informed decisions.