Drive online security forward and make it fast
20 February, 2015
category: Digital ID
By Guy Levy-Yurista, executive vice president, Usher
The role of online security can be compared to that of the brakes in a car. The brakes aren’t there to stop the car; they exist to allow us to go faster while still remaining safe.
Ideally, our security should operate on exactly the same principle – seamless, unobtrusive, simple and invisible – a means to enable us to navigate our daily lives unencumbered and with ease. As of now, standard online security systems aren’t there yet – there’s always a tradeoff: Do you want uninterrupted ease of use? Or do you prefer comprehensive safety and security instead? We can rarely have both – but we should, and as online security gets smarter and simpler, we will.
Copious examples of current online security measures demonstrate the clear tradeoff that exists between ease of use and comprehensive security. One example of this divide is the password system. Last year, the majority of data breaches have been linked to password hacking. While passwords are certainly easy to use, that ease comes at the expense of the high level of security required to keep our online identities truly safe.
With online security top of mind, organizations need solutions that offer both ease of use and best in class security measures. In other words, to go fast and do what we need to do efficiently and safely, there are new systems that organizations have to implement, and I’ll break those down here with a few examples of technology that is moving in the right direction.
Inexpensive and easy to implement, yet expensive and difficult to break
First things first, the best security solution has a high hacking barrier to deter the bad guys and a low implementation barrier for the rest of us. Supporting password systems via two factor authentication is a simple first step. Going deeper, organizations can bolster password security by building in features such as single-use codes and QR codes implemented via always on, always present mobile platforms.
Identity-Centric
Our personal identities are made up of our habits, tendencies, needs and wants. As technology moves us toward a more human-centric world, the most powerful way to protect our identities is to tap those very same identities to make sure our real world selves are uniquely connected to our digital ones. We are who we are with no exception, and our identities are essentially unbreakable. To start, using the fundamental elements of a person’s identity via biometrics, such as their fingerprints, irises or even hand shape, places security in their hands, literally.
Thankfully, technology is starting to move in a direction that puts the user at the center of the solution while maintaining high cost to break and low cost to use. At the core, we are building simple and effective identity-based systems that people can trust, just as being able to rely on your brakes as you coast down the highway at 75 miles an hour is about trust. As our daily lives increasingly digitize and as hackers get smarter, can we trust that we’re safe? Organizations depend on indestructible security, thus it’s our duty to strengthen it for the future of the enterprise.