
Submission Title (less than 128 characters)
Abstract description (1,500 Characters)

Topic Area: Developing advanced technologies for improved resilience, efficiency, and effectiveness of strategic systems. This topic area supports technologies for critical infrastructure and military command-and-control systems (networks and applications across strategic, command, operational, and tactical edges).

Advancing the state of the art.
Detail why the proposed solution is likely to advance the current state of the art within the solution's relevant field(s). DARPA’s mission is to create technological surprise for United States national security;

How does your solution contribute to that mission?
nKode reinvents "something you know" authentication (unchanged since 1961) with a keyboard-less, AI-generated icon system that's phishing-resistant, keylogger-immune, and operable over unencrypted/low-bandwidth networks. Adversaries relying on traditional cyber exploits (e.g., credential harvesting) would be "surprised" by its resilience in contested environments.

How is the problem being addressed today?
Long complex passwords changed every 60-90 days. password can 

What is "new" within your approach as it compares to current practices and describe your unique new insight for advancing the state of the art?
Shuffling icons on a virtual keypad. 

What barriers do you foresee when attempting to advance the state of the art?
Authentication is a difficult technology to change. Arcanum has been pitching nKode to fintech/banks for almost 10 years. Most potential clients want to use nKode. We've had positive feedback, even excitement, from dozens of company (FIS, ...). However nobody wants to be the first to implement it. Despite all the problems we can solve by replacing passwords and PINs, the risk is to high for most companies to be the first to try the technology. 

What is new in your approach and why do you think it will be successful?
We've conducted an independent market acceptance, through User Insight, to see if users would want to use nKode. We were told by the survey team that 35% accepts was a very high score. nKode was preferred by 52% (17% over what's considered high score) of participants over 28% who preferred passcodes and 19% with no preference. 

Briefly state your proposed plan/strategy if funded. 
We've developed an nKode application that is geared toward commercial partners. We've developed and deployed OpenID connect applications (nKode as an Identity provider).
We want to develop an application for warfighters at the tactical edge. An application that allows them to easily authenticate with gloves and without biometric authentication, just an ATAC.


