Can Johnny Be a Whistleblower? A Study of Social Authentication in Adversarial Scenarios

Watch a 12-minute conference talk from USENIX SOUPS 2024 exploring the security and usability of social authentication in messaging apps. Discover findings from a qualitative user study that examines how participants handle authentication ceremonies while role-playing as whistleblowers communicating with journalists. Learn about the SOAP protocol implementation and how it compares to traditional authentication methods like QR codes and text verification. Understand how interface improvements reduced security vulnerabilities from 33% to 5.5% of participants falling victim to attacks. Gain insights into how social authentication can potentially enhance secure behavior compared to conventional authentication ceremonies, particularly in high-stakes scenarios requiring careful identity verification.