Examining the Current Status and Emerging Trends in Continuous Authentication Technologies through Citation Network Analysis

Continuous Authentication (CA) technologies enable users to be authenticated beyond just the point of entry. In this article, we conduct a comprehensive review of over 2,300 articles to (a) identify the main components of CA research to date, and (b) explore the current gaps and future research directions. Through a Citation Network Analysis (CNA), we identified that there are currently three primary focus research areas on CA - Keystroke Dynamics; Mouse Movements; and Mobile Device Touch, as well as identify an emerging trend in more recent studies on multi-modal CA authentication which utilises the numerous sensors that are embedded in modern mobile devices. This study also highlights the current gaps in the literature such as the need for a consensus over how to evaluate the application and utility of CA, and the need to examine the feasibility of CA technologies that currently exist based on more use case studies.