Cloudflare, a DNS service provider, has said it wants to replace the CAPTCHA web craze with a completely new system.
CAPTCHAs are these tests that you must do when trying to connect to a service, which ask you to click on images of things like buses or crossings or bicycles to prove that you are human.
(The name CAPTCHA, if you didn't know, comes from the initials of “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.”) The problem is that they add extra time to web usage and can sometimes be difficult to solve – I'm sure I'm not the only one who failed a CAPTCHA because I didn't see the corner of a crosswalk in an image.
In a blog post, Cloudflare says it plans to "get rid of CAPTCHAs entirely" by replacing them with a new way to prove you're human by touching or looking at a device using a system it calls "Cryptographic Attestation of Personality." Currently, it only supports a limited number of keys security USB like YubiKeys, but you can try the Cloudflare system (without USB) on the company website.
https://cloudflarechallenge.com/
I tried it and it worked great. All I had to do was click the "I am human (beta)" button and then follow a few instructions to select my security key. Next, I had to allow the site to access the key.
The whole process took a few seconds and I have to admit it was very nice not to look for pictures of buses and objects that look like buses. And in addition to everyone's speed, this new method could have a significant accessibility benefit, as visually impaired people may not be able to complete the CAPTCHAs currently available.
What happens behind the scenes with the new method?
Εν συντομία είναι ότι η συσκευή σας διαθέτει μια ενσωματωμένη ασφαλή unit containing a unique key that is stamped by your manufacturer. The security module is capable of proving that it possesses such a key without revealing it. Cloudflare asks you for proof and checks that your manufacturer is legitimate.
You can read a much more extensive explanation at company blog.
Although it's a very interesting idea, it's probably not the end of CAPTCHAs as we know them. For starters, Cloudflare says this is an experiment and is currently available "in limited English-speaking areas." In its current state, it only works with a limited set of hardware: YubiKeys, HyperFIDO keys, and Thetis FIDO U2F keys
Η Cloudflare promises to "consider adding more verifiers as soon as possible". This could potentially extend to your phone: Cloudflare suggests the ability to use a phone on your computer to spend a wireless signature using NFC.
Google can deal with both iPhones and Android like physical security keys. If Google and Apple joined Cloudflare's method, it could significantly reduce the barrier to using USBs, as smartphones are much more common than security USBs.
