Social authentication of users

1. A computer system for user authentication, the computer system comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device stores computer readable program code; and

a processor unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processor unit executes the computer readable program code to monitor a social network associated with a user of a client device to determine whether a set of designated users are currently logged in and authenticated to access a secure resource; establish a video connection between the user of the client device and the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource; and send an authentication request screen showing captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device to the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource.

2. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to retrieve a list of designated users that are designated to authenticate the user of the client device to access the secure resource in response to receiving a request from the user of the client device to access the secure resource.

3. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to determine a status of each user in the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource.

4. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to grant access to the secure resource by the user of the client device in response to receiving an input via the authentication request screen authenticating the user of the client device from at least one designated user in the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource based on the captured video authentication data corresponding to the user.

5. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to send a continuous video authentication data feed showing currently captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device to each designated user in the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource in response to granting access to the secure resource by the user of the client device.

6. The computer system of claim 5 , wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to prompt each designated user in the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource to verify a presence of the user of the client device in the continuous video authentication data feed in response to determining that the user of the client device is not present within the currently captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device.

7. The computer system of claim 6 , wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to lock access to the secure resource by the user of the client device in response to not receiving an input verifying the presence of the user of the client device in the continuous video authentication data feed from at least one designated user in the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource.

8. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to determine whether newly captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device was received within a predetermined threshold period of time in response to locking access to the secure resource by the user of the client device; and unlock access to the secure resource by the user of the client device in response to determining that newly captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device was received within the predetermined threshold period of time.

9. The computer system of claim 8 , wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to close access to the secure resource by the user of the client device in response to determining that newly captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device was not received within the predetermined threshold period of time.

10. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to prompt the user to enter authentication data in response to determining that no designated user in the social network of the user is currently logged in.

11. A computer program product stored on a computer readable storage device having computer readable program code encoded thereon that is executable by a computer for user authentication, the computer program product comprising:

computer readable program code for monitoring a social network associated with a user of a client device to determine whether a set of designated users are currently logged in and authenticated to access a secure resource;

computer readable program code for establishing a video connection between the user of the client device and the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource; and

computer readable program code for sending an authentication request screen showing captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device to the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising:

computer readable program code, responsive to receiving a request from the user of the client device to access the secure resource, for retrieving a list of designated users that are designated to authenticate the user of the client device to access the secure resource.

13. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising:

computer readable program code for determining a status of each user in the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource.

14. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising:

computer readable program code, responsive to receiving an input via the authentication request screen authenticating the user of the client device from at least one designated user in the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource based on the captured video authentication data corresponding to the user, for granting access to the secure resource by the user of the client device.

15. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising:

computer readable program code, responsive to granting access to the secure resource by the user of the client device, for sending a continuous video authentication data feed showing currently captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device to each designated user in the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 further comprising:

computer readable program code, responsive to determining that the user of the client device is not present within the currently captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device, for prompting each designated user in the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource to verify a presence of the user of the client device in the continuous video authentication data feed.

17. The computer program product of claim 16 further comprising:

computer readable program code, responsive to not receiving an input verifying the presence of the user of the client device in the continuous video authentication data feed from at least one designated user in the set of designated users that are currently logged in and authenticated to access the secure resource, for locking access to the secure resource by the user of the client device.

18. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising:

computer readable program code, responsive to locking access to the secure resource by the user of the client device, for determining whether newly captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device was received within a predetermined threshold period of time; and

computer readable program code, responsive to determining that newly captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device was received within the predetermined threshold period of time, for unlocking access to the secure resource by the user of the client device.

19. The computer program product of claim 18 further comprising:

computer readable program code, responsive to determining that newly captured video authentication data corresponding to the user of the client device was not received within the predetermined threshold period of time, for closing access to the secure resource by the user of the client device.

20. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising:

computer readable program code, responsive to determining that no designated user in the social network of the user is currently logged in, for prompting the user to enter authentication data.