Category: Gemalto

World Password Day has come around again. Since its inception, it’s an awareness day designed to promote and reinforce the importance of better habits when it comes to password settings. As such, we expect to be inundated with research highlighting the percentage of consumers who still have ‘poor’ password habits, lists of the most common passwords still in use, and accompanying advice from a multitude of companies reinforcing what ‘good’ looks like.

Now, as passwords are often the first port of call for our online / digital identities – it’s of course important that good habits are encouraged – however, the fact that World Password Day is still needed also highlights a problem that’s not going away. The headlines and research we’ll see on this day won’t have changed, the stories and issues are the same – we’re stuck in Groundhog Day.

With this in mind, we’re taking this opportunity to look into the problem with passwords, and how we might want to change how we think about securing digital identities.

Too Many to Remember

Do you know how many passwords the average consumer has? A recent study from NordPass found that it’s around 100 – an increase of 25% in recent years. That’s unsurprising given the pandemic had us all signing up for new online services – be that for entertainment, personal or work purposes. There are countless other studies out there, and while the average figure may vary slightly, they all point towards the same thing – it’s an unmanageable amount.

At this juncture it’s worth asking yourself if you know how many passwords you have? If you have an iPhone there’s a quick way you can find out using the following steps (the final number might be sobering):

1. Start the Settings app.
2. Tap “Passwords & Accounts.”
3. Tap “Website & App Passwords.” You might be asked to enter your passcode or log in with Touch ID or Face ID.
4. Your iPhone will now display your complete list of saved passwords.

There’s also a way to find this out via Google Chrome:

1. On your computer, open Chrome
2. At the top, click More Settings
3. Select Passwords, Check Passwords

Information Overload

Having an unmanageable number of passwords correlates with the coinciding factor that consumers are faced with information overload when it comes to password management. Put simply, there’s a lot of rules and guidance to follow. Official best practice on what makes a good password varies depending on who you ask, general advice includes.

• Using three random, unconnected words. Official advice from the National Centre for Cyber Security (NCSC)
• At least twelve characters, including a mixture of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and special characters I.e. “R3plac!ng l3tt€rs with numb3r$”

Not only should passwords meet certain specifications, but it’s also recommended that they are updated regularly – as an example some employers and IT departments will force employees to update their password at least every six weeks.

There’s a lot of rules to follow, especially as we’re meant to have a different password for every account. Password managers are often touted as the best way to manage this, but whichever way you cut it, it puts almost all the responsibility on the end- user.

The consequences for weak and easy to guess passwords are clear – and you can hardly make it through the month without a high-profile data breach hitting the headlines. However, all things considered we can hardly act surprised that the text-based password continues to plague individuals and organisations alike.

In part two of our World Password Day series, we’ll be discussing why we need to look at a password-less future of digital identification.

Click here to read part two

The post World Password Day: Why are passwords still a problem in 2022? appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

If you’ve read part one, you’ll know that there’s a persistent problem with passwords. Despite the continued warnings, data breaches and endless guidance – weak and easily hackable passwords still guard a sobering number of online accounts and identities. Past experience tells us this is unlikely to change.

If we journey back to 2004, at the RSA Conference, Bill Gates predicted the death of the password stating: “There is no doubt that over time, people are going to rely less and less on passwords. People use the same password on different systems, they write them down and they just don’t meet the challenge for anything you really want to secure.”

18 years on and we’re still at the stage where passwords are the dominant means of securing digital identities. With cyber-attacks and data breaches increasing in frequency, and cybercriminals becoming increasingly sophisticated – it’s vital that we head towards a password-less future.

The good news is this isn’t a futuristic pipe dream, but the technology is already there to make this happen – and there are already some good examples in use already.

Digital IDs gives consumers control and convenience

As discussed in our previous blog, it’s highly likely that that average consumer has passwords in the hundreds. These passwords will guard anything from their Netflix account, through to their online banking – and while the security risks are very real, so is the temptation to use easy to remember phrases. In today’s digital age we all value privacy and control – but also convenience and efficiency.

Thankfully, the rise of Digital IDs mean that consumers get this level of control over their digital identities, all through one single point of access. At the same time, it provides authorities with the opportunity to create companions for physical identity documents that are straightforward to issue, manage and verify, delivering a powerful tool to fight ID fraud, reduce red tape and boost efficiency.

Across the globe, digital identification is increasingly becoming more mainstream, with new measures constantly coming to fruition to make this the norm. For example, if we look to the EU we have the introduction of the latest legislation on European Digital Identity – eIDAS2. The eIDAS2 means that by September 2023, each EU Member State must make a digital ‘wallet’ available to every citizen who wants one. Service providers in both public and private sector organisations, such as banks and telcos, will have to accept it as proof of ID.

This acceleration isn’t just taking place in  the EU – just earlier on this month the UK government proposed legislation to secure digital identify, even creating a  the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes.

Bolstering security with behavioural biometrics

Most of us have become accustomed to using biometrics in some form in recent years, with facial recognition, or fingerprint readers becoming increasingly prevalent on most smartphones today. In many instances, these biometrics can also be used to verify purchases.

The virtues of biometrics as opposed to text-based passwords are well accepted – and recent advances in this technology means that we can look beyond fingerprint and facial recognition to an approach based on each individuals’ unique characteristics.

Behavioural biometrics is an innovative approach to user authentication and can identify a user (or an imposter) based on a set of unique patterns, from the way someone moves a mouse, the way they type on a keyboard, or the time spent on an activity. These traits are also reinforced with device-based indicators such as IP addresses and geo-location data.

Risk assessment rules can then be applied to each transaction, ensuring that an appropriate authentication level is always actioned. For example, a low-value purchase made by a consumer near their home can be processed instantly. But, if a high-value purchase is attempted, not in keeping with that user’s normal behaviour the the transaction can be blocked, or additional authentication is requested. ​

The business case for a password free future

Our recent Data Threat Report found that nearly a third of businesses across the globe have experienced a data breach in the last 12 months. More often than not, the weakest link in the security chain is the employee, through often small but harmful mistakes – such as an easy to guess password. In this post-pandemic, the new normal of hybrid working also opens up a new host of cyber security challenges.

Considering this new normal, organisations should consider adopting access management solutions such as password-less verification which identifies users through other methods such as an IP address or multi-factor authentication. This will overcome the inherent vulnerabilities of text-based passwords, while improving levels of assurance and convenience.

In conjunction with this, adoption of a Zero Trust model, based on the principle “Never Trust, Always Verify”, requires employees to only access data they’re authorised to do so, while ensuring they verify who they are each time they require access.

Heading towards a password-free future

Throughout this two-part blog series, we have highlighted the various problems with passwords – but not without solutions. The technology is here, and already in use to help us do away with them for good.

But that said, in the meantime – please don’t use 123456, qwerty, password or 654321 to guard any of your online accounts!

Click here to read part one

The post World Password Day: Why we need a password-less future appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

Vacation season is officially upon us, and after Covid-19 kept most of the world grounded for the best part of two years, airports and airlines are in for one of the busiest summers on record.  

Thankfully, there are examples of technology use cases being implemented to save time at busy airports.  

Use of Digital ID  

The concept of Digital ID is one that has grown exponentially in recent years. Whether it’s ID cards, health cards, passports or driving licenses  – we’ve long relied on various forms of physical ID to prove our identity. Just think back to the last time you flew – how many documents you needed, and the number of times you had to show them.  

So, how would this work in an airport scenario?  

Before arriving at the airport for travel, the passenger would download the relevant app from the airline they are travelling with. From there they would upload the relevant travel documents – creating a secure digitized credential that is accepted by the local country’s travel security authority. 

When passing through airport checks, the passenger would then simply open the app, and present an auto generated QR code. This process would streamline the ID verification process, allowing travelers to move through security lines faster – also easing pressure on airport staff.  

American Airlines Takes Off with Mobile ID 

Mobile ID has taken off this summer, with American Airlines announcing that they are working with Thales’ trusted mobile identification technology to eliminate the need for passengers to show physical IDs with the creation of a TSA-approved mobile digital ID app. 

The Airside Digital Identity App will create a secure and encrypted digitalised version of government-issued identification which airline passengers can then store their ID on their smartphone and present it at the required checkpoints.  

Commenting on the announcement this week, Tony Lo Brutto, Vice President, Thales Identity and Biometric Solutions North America said:  

“Thales trusted mobile digital identity technology provides an immediate way for all citizens across certain states to use their physical driver’s license or U.S. passports to create a TSA-approved mobile digital credential for travel. It provides authorities such as the TSA with the opportunity to securely and conveniently verify IDs, simplifying the process to allow travelers to get through security lines faster. It has never been easier to verify identity or access services – both online and in the ‘real world’. This pilot perfectly complements our worldwide “Fly to Gate” references, highlighting Thales expertise in enabling both security and convenience to travelers with digital solutions.’ 

The Future of Air Travel  

This example of Digital ID is just one example of how leveraging state of the art technology can revolutionize the airport experience.  

Whether it’s through a combination of facial recognition, multimodal biometric checking or automation – the technology is there to make the airport operations more streamlined, efficient and secure – both for staff and travelers.  

Throughout this summer keep an eye out on the DIS blog as we continue to explore how technology can change and improve the airport experience.  

The post Why Digital ID Should be On the Vacation Checklist appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

Vacation season is officially upon us, and after Covid-19 kept most of the world grounded for the best part of two years, airports and airlines are in for one of the busiest summers on record.  

Thankfully, there are examples of technology use cases being implemented to save time at busy airports.  

Use of Digital ID  

The concept of Digital ID is one that has grown exponentially in recent years. Whether it’s ID cards, health cards, passports or driving licenses  – we’ve long relied on various forms of physical ID to prove our identity. Just think back to the last time you flew – how many documents you needed, and the number of times you had to show them.  

So, how would this work in an airport scenario?  

Before arriving at the airport for travel, the passenger would download the relevant app from the airline they are travelling with. From there they would upload the relevant travel documents – creating a secure digitized credential that is accepted by the local country’s travel security authority. 

When passing through airport checks, the passenger would then simply open the app, and present an auto generated QR code. This process would streamline the ID verification process, allowing travelers to move through security lines faster – also easing pressure on airport staff.  

American Airlines Takes Off with Mobile ID 

Mobile ID has taken off this summer, with American Airlines announcing that they are working with Thales’ trusted mobile identification technology to eliminate the need for passengers to show physical IDs with the creation of a TSA-approved mobile digital ID app. 

The Airside Digital Identity App will create a secure and encrypted digitalised version of government-issued identification which airline passengers can then store their ID on their smartphone and present it at the required checkpoints.  

Commenting on the announcement this week, Tony Lo Brutto, Vice President, Thales Identity and Biometric Solutions North America said:  

“Thales trusted mobile digital identity technology provides an immediate way for all citizens across certain states to use their physical driver’s license or U.S. passports to create a TSA-approved mobile digital credential for travel. It provides authorities such as the TSA with the opportunity to securely and conveniently verify IDs, simplifying the process to allow travelers to get through security lines faster. It has never been easier to verify identity or access services – both online and in the ‘real world’. This pilot perfectly complements our worldwide “Fly to Gate” references, highlighting Thales expertise in enabling both security and convenience to travelers with digital solutions.’ 

The Future of Air Travel  

This example of Digital ID is just one example of how leveraging state of the art technology can revolutionize the airport experience.  

Whether it’s through a combination of facial recognition, multimodal biometric checking or automation – the technology is there to make the airport operations more streamlined, efficient and secure – both for staff and travelers.  

Throughout this summer keep an eye out on the DIS blog as we continue to explore how technology can change and improve the airport experience.  

The post Why Digital ID Should be On the Vacation Checklist appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

Two years ago, the Covid-19 pandemic forced millions of workers across the globe into remote working and turned the way we work on its head. Prior to the pandemic, flexible or remote working arrangements had been the exception in most organisations – yet overnight it became the norm.

Since then, you couldn’t move for endless (and varied) commentary about the ‘future of work’ – with predictions ranging from the complete abolition of offices, collapse of co-working spaces through to the return of full time office presence. Two years on and we’ve settled on a more middle ground – hybrid work.

The New Normal

As lockdown restrictions ease across the globe, we’ve witnessed many different approaches to hybrid working – whether a formal company policy, or a ‘choose how you work’ model. However, no matter the approach, one thing remains clear – flexibility is here to stay.

There have been many studies that reinforce this – and all of them put the onus on the employer. Global research from The Adecco Group found that 40% of workers are considering moving to jobs with more flexible options, 80% of employees said they’d be more loyal to their employer if they provided flexible working options according to Flexjobs, and the Gartner 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey found that 43% said that flexible working hours helped them be more productive.

The benefits of a more hybrid model of working is therefore clear and resound – yet, as with any new trend, it brings with it a fresh and unique set of challenges from a security perspective.

Security Challenges of Hybrid Working

Risks in the connected home

IoT devices continue to grow in popularity – whether it’s smart assistants, fridges, doorbells, or thermostats. While they seem unconnected to working life, these devices create more entry points for cyber criminals. If a cybercriminal can hack a smart device (which aren’t always designed with safety in mind), they gain entry to any other device on the same network – including corporate devices. Luckily, many manufacturers are now taking IoT security a lot more seriously and adopting a security by design approach. For consumers, device security starts and ends with the router, and recent research which revealed that one in 16 home Wi-Fi routers still supports the manufacturer’s default admin password should be a cause for concern.

Trusted remote access and cloud transformation

To mitigate against insecure home networks and devices pre-pandemic, many organizations would have systems in place to secure corporate devices outside of the office. However, many of these legacy on-premises solutions were not designed to accommodate for large numbers of personnel working remotely – nor were Enterprise VPN services. While this presented an initial scalability challenge when lockdowns were first enforced, this continues to be of vital importance. Whether at home or in the office, employees need secure access to company files and applications, and most organisations are turning to cloud access management and authentication solutions. This has increased the speed at which operations and security technologies are being moved to the cloud, and the need for trusted cloud environments.

Public Wi-Fi concerns

Remote working doesn’t just mean home working. The rise of ‘third spaces’ is a trend to be aware of – whereby workers are flocking to cafes, libraries and even pubs. Those that flock to these locations, often when offices aren’t open or available to them, claim they get a buzz and sense of community that they just can’t get when working from home. However, despite the productivity gains – it could be opening up company data to a whole host of risks.

A lot of these environments have open and public Wi-Fi networks. These networks are easy and convenient for those looking to log on, however they carry risks. Any device connected to public Wi-Fi is visible to anyone else on the network. Organisations might not be a position to dictate where an employee works when they are remote, but provision of VPNs, multi-factor authentication, access management solutions and education on the risks of public Wi-Fi is encouraged in this new hybrid working era.

The rise of consumer collaboration tools

The pandemic forced us all to change how we collaborate. You could no longer walk over to a teammate to discuss feedback on a piece of work, or head into a meeting room to talk about company confidential updates; everything had to take place virtually. Tools like Zoom, Slack and Asana are just a handful of the tools businesses turned to day to day collaboration, and we’ve previously discussed the growth of consumer platforms being used for messaging and collaborating. The danger with some of these tools – many are not secure and are prime targets for cyber-attacks. This informative article from TechTarget provides an in-depth overview on collaboration tool security.

Work -Life ‘Blurrance’

As the lines between home and working environments started to blur – so did attitudes to corporate device security. There are many studies on this, but one that caught our attention was this one from Avast which found that, a third of SMBs in the UK are connecting to corporate networks using personal devices that do not have any security controls in place. Over a quarter of employees admitted that they had connected a personal computer to a company network, and 15% had connected a personal smartphone. Of those who did this, many didn’t get permission to do so.

People don’t do this because they don’t care about security but rather they’re just looking to do their jobs with the tools at their disposal. Home working has made logistics for getting corporate IT and mobile devices to employees more complicated. It’s of paramount importance that employees’ connection is

reliable and easy to set up even in a complex logistics context. This way they can connect their devices easily and securely when they first turn them on.

Two Years On

Our recent Data Threat Report revealed that navigating these various challenges continues to plague businesses. After two full years since the pandemic started, 79% are still concerned about the security risks and threats that posed by remote working.

Flexible working will continue to dominate, as will the security risks that come with it.

The post Pandemic Two Years On: The Security Challenge of Hybrid Working appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

…. — .– / -.. .. -.. / — — .-. … . / -.-. — -.. . / -.-. …. .- -. –. . / -.-. — — ..- -. .. -.-. .- -.-. .. — -. ..–..

In today’s society, instantaneous messaging is something we both need and expect in our everyday lives. Just think about the number of times you rely on it in a single day; work emails, IMing colleagues, WhatsApping friends. It’s almost impossible to cast your mind back to what communication looked like centuries ago.

If we go back a couple hundred years, most messages could only be delivered as quick as the fastest horse could ride. Messages that had to be delivered over a long distance were carried by messengers, or were signaled visually.

So, how did we go from that – to what we’re using today?  One of the landmark milestones in the communication revolution was that of Morse Code. On this day (May 24^th) 177 years ago, the first morse code message was sent – changing the landscape of communication forever. With this in mind we wanted to take a look back through the biggest milestones in communications.

The Invention of Morse Code

– …. . / .. -. …- . -. – .. — -. / — ..-. / — — .-. … . / -.-. — -.. .

Developed in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse and others, the telegraph revolutionised long-distance communication – transmitting electrical signals over a wire laid between stations.

In addition to helping invent the telegraph, Morse developed a code that assigned a set of dots and dashes to each letter of the English alphabet, allowing for simple transmission of complex messages across telegraph lines. In 1844, Morse sent his first telegraph message, from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. Although the telegraph had fallen out of widespread use by the start of the 21st century, it laid the groundwork for future inventions.

The Communication Revolution

– …. . / -.-. — — — ..- -. .. -.-. .- – .. — -. / .-. . …- — .-.. ..- – .. — -.

Telephone: The success of telegraphy and Morse Code created an appetite and need for instant communication, ultimately leasing to the creation of the telephone – with credit resting with Scottish scientist Alexander Graham Bell. The first commercial telephone services were set up on both sides of the Atlantic in 1878-79.

Satellite: In 1958, a United States satellite was used to transmit a presidential Christmas message to the rest of the world. In 1960, the Echo satellite was launched by NASA for radio communication; that same year the first-ever repeater active satellite was launched. Two years later in 1962, as part of an international project involving several companies and nation states, the world’s first direct relay satellite for commercial communication was launched – Telstar.

Internet: In the height of the cold war during the 1960s, MIT researcher JCR Licklider developed a plan to create a “galactic network” of computers which would enable important US leaders to talk to each other in case the Soviet Union disabled or ‘hacked’ the telephone system.

Jump forward to the 1970s, American computer scientist Vinton Cerf developed a system for the various small networks of the world to talk to each other or do the “handshake”. This critical innovation was called Transmission Control Protocol or TCP, later expanded to include Internet Protocol or IP. The Internet was established, but in its first decade it was limited to universities and researchers. That changed in the 1990s with the coming of the World Wide Web, invented by British scientist Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 while working at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

Mobile Cellular Technology: The age of the handheld cellular mobile phone began in April 1973 when Motorola’s Martin Cooper made a mobile phone call in front of journalists. Since then, there have been various developments in mobile technology. The 1980s witnessed the launch of the analogue cellular system – known as 1G. 2G followed in the 1990s with the rise of GSM technology, marking the switch from analogue to digital, with the advent of 3G in the 00s making it possible to stream video and music on phones. Mobile data really started to boom with the arrival of the first iOS and Android smartphones and 4G networks.

The Future of Communication

– …. . / ..-. ..- – ..- .-. . / — ..-. / -.-. — — — ..- -. .. -.-. .- – .. — -.

When we talk about the future of communication at the moment, there isn’t a single conversation that doesn’t come back to 5G.

It’s reported that by 2024 5G will account for 21% of the world’s mobile connections – and its connectivity will power a world of new services, not just benefitting how we communicate with each other – but with our devices, and surroundings. 5G unleashes a powerful combination of extraordinary speed, expanded bandwidth, low latency, and increased power efficiency perfect for connecting objects. It will make our cities smarter and our entertainment more immersive.

Sometimes it’s hard to comprehend just how we’ve gone from coded dots and dashes to talking about IoT devices and smart cities – but it all harks back to that first transmission on May 24^th 177 years ago.

The post Morse Code: How did it change communication? appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

World Password Day has come around again. Since its inception, it’s an awareness day designed to promote and reinforce the importance of better habits when it comes to password settings. As such, we expect to be inundated with research highlighting the percentage of consumers who still have ‘poor’ password habits, lists of the most common passwords still in use, and accompanying advice from a multitude of companies reinforcing what ‘good’ looks like.

Now, as passwords are often the first port of call for our online / digital identities – it’s of course important that good habits are encouraged – however, the fact that World Password Day is still needed also highlights a problem that’s not going away. The headlines and research we’ll see on this day won’t have changed, the stories and issues are the same – we’re stuck in Groundhog Day.

With this in mind, we’re taking this opportunity to look into the problem with passwords, and how we might want to change how we think about securing digital identities.

Too Many to Remember

Do you know how many passwords the average consumer has? A recent study from NordPass found that it’s around 100 – an increase of 25% in recent years. That’s unsurprising given the pandemic had us all signing up for new online services – be that for entertainment, personal or work purposes. There are countless other studies out there, and while the average figure may vary slightly, they all point towards the same thing – it’s an unmanageable amount.

At this juncture it’s worth asking yourself if you know how many passwords you have? If you have an iPhone there’s a quick way you can find out using the following steps (the final number might be sobering):

1. Start the Settings app.
2. Tap “Passwords & Accounts.”
3. Tap “Website & App Passwords.” You might be asked to enter your passcode or log in with Touch ID or Face ID.
4. Your iPhone will now display your complete list of saved passwords.

There’s also a way to find this out via Google Chrome:

1. On your computer, open Chrome
2. At the top, click More Settings
3. Select Passwords, Check Passwords

Information Overload

Having an unmanageable number of passwords correlates with the coinciding factor that consumers are faced with information overload when it comes to password management. Put simply, there’s a lot of rules and guidance to follow. Official best practice on what makes a good password varies depending on who you ask, general advice includes.

• Using three random, unconnected words. Official advice from the National Centre for Cyber Security (NCSC)
• At least twelve characters, including a mixture of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and special characters I.e. “R3plac!ng l3tt€rs with numb3r$”

Not only should passwords meet certain specifications, but it’s also recommended that they are updated regularly – as an example some employers and IT departments will force employees to update their password at least every six weeks.

There’s a lot of rules to follow, especially as we’re meant to have a different password for every account. Password managers are often touted as the best way to manage this, but whichever way you cut it, it puts almost all the responsibility on the end- user.

The consequences for weak and easy to guess passwords are clear – and you can hardly make it through the month without a high-profile data breach hitting the headlines. However, all things considered we can hardly act surprised that the text-based password continues to plague individuals and organisations alike.

In part two of our World Password Day series, we’ll be discussing why we need to look at a password-less future of digital identification.

Click here to read part two

The post World Password Day: Why are passwords still a problem in 2022? appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

If you’ve read part one, you’ll know that there’s a persistent problem with passwords. Despite the continued warnings, data breaches and endless guidance – weak and easily hackable passwords still guard a sobering number of online accounts and identities. Past experience tells us this is unlikely to change.

If we journey back to 2004, at the RSA Conference, Bill Gates predicted the death of the password stating: “There is no doubt that over time, people are going to rely less and less on passwords. People use the same password on different systems, they write them down and they just don’t meet the challenge for anything you really want to secure.”

18 years on and we’re still at the stage where passwords are the dominant means of securing digital identities. With cyber-attacks and data breaches increasing in frequency, and cybercriminals becoming increasingly sophisticated – it’s vital that we head towards a password-less future.

The good news is this isn’t a futuristic pipe dream, but the technology is already there to make this happen – and there are already some good examples in use already.

Digital IDs gives consumers control and convenience

As discussed in our previous blog, it’s highly likely that that average consumer has passwords in the hundreds. These passwords will guard anything from their Netflix account, through to their online banking – and while the security risks are very real, so is the temptation to use easy to remember phrases. In today’s digital age we all value privacy and control – but also convenience and efficiency.

Thankfully, the rise of Digital IDs mean that consumers get this level of control over their digital identities, all through one single point of access. At the same time, it provides authorities with the opportunity to create companions for physical identity documents that are straightforward to issue, manage and verify, delivering a powerful tool to fight ID fraud, reduce red tape and boost efficiency.

Across the globe, digital identification is increasingly becoming more mainstream, with new measures constantly coming to fruition to make this the norm. For example, if we look to the EU we have the introduction of the latest legislation on European Digital Identity – eIDAS2. The eIDAS2 means that by September 2023, each EU Member State must make a digital ‘wallet’ available to every citizen who wants one. Service providers in both public and private sector organisations, such as banks and telcos, will have to accept it as proof of ID.

This acceleration isn’t just taking place in  the EU – just earlier on this month the UK government proposed legislation to secure digital identify, even creating a  the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes.

Bolstering security with behavioural biometrics

Most of us have become accustomed to using biometrics in some form in recent years, with facial recognition, or fingerprint readers becoming increasingly prevalent on most smartphones today. In many instances, these biometrics can also be used to verify purchases.

The virtues of biometrics as opposed to text-based passwords are well accepted – and recent advances in this technology means that we can look beyond fingerprint and facial recognition to an approach based on each individuals’ unique characteristics.

Behavioural biometrics is an innovative approach to user authentication and can identify a user (or an imposter) based on a set of unique patterns, from the way someone moves a mouse, the way they type on a keyboard, or the time spent on an activity. These traits are also reinforced with device-based indicators such as IP addresses and geo-location data.

Risk assessment rules can then be applied to each transaction, ensuring that an appropriate authentication level is always actioned. For example, a low-value purchase made by a consumer near their home can be processed instantly. But, if a high-value purchase is attempted, not in keeping with that user’s normal behaviour the the transaction can be blocked, or additional authentication is requested. ​

The business case for a password free future

Our recent Data Threat Report found that nearly a third of businesses across the globe have experienced a data breach in the last 12 months. More often than not, the weakest link in the security chain is the employee, through often small but harmful mistakes – such as an easy to guess password. In this post-pandemic, the new normal of hybrid working also opens up a new host of cyber security challenges.

Considering this new normal, organisations should consider adopting access management solutions such as password-less verification which identifies users through other methods such as an IP address or multi-factor authentication. This will overcome the inherent vulnerabilities of text-based passwords, while improving levels of assurance and convenience.

In conjunction with this, adoption of a Zero Trust model, based on the principle “Never Trust, Always Verify”, requires employees to only access data they’re authorised to do so, while ensuring they verify who they are each time they require access.

Heading towards a password-free future

Throughout this two-part blog series, we have highlighted the various problems with passwords – but not without solutions. The technology is here, and already in use to help us do away with them for good.

But that said, in the meantime – please don’t use 123456, qwerty, password or 654321 to guard any of your online accounts!

Click here to read part one

The post World Password Day: Why we need a password-less future appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

This April 22^nd marks the 42^nd annual Earth Day. Created in 1970, Earth Day is an annual event designed to demonstrate support and encourage activism for environmental protection. Widely lauded as the largest secular observance in the world – Earth Day is followed by over a billion people every year who aim to change behaviour, both on an individual, company and policy level.

Recent landmark events have brought this to attention to record levels – whether it was adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, or more recently, the spotlight on COP26 in November 2021 – the sense of urgency is growing.

Invest in Our Planet

The theme for this year’s Earth Day is ‘Invest in our Planet’, with organisers calling on us all to take action. Now more than ever there’s a greater emphasis for businesses to reassess, double down or create new ESG efforts.

Beyond the environmental impacts, there’s no shortage of other reasons why businesses should be investing in ESG initiatives. According to a PWC survey, 86% of employees prefer to work for companies that care about the same issues they do and 83% of consumers think companies should be actively shaping ESG best practices. Organizations do share this sentiment, with 91% of business leaders stating that their company has a responsibility to act on ESG issues.

Why Financial Services Needs to Invest in ESG

While researching this piece I came across this article by John Nyström, Global Business Manager at Econans – which explored the power that the financial services sector holds in fighting the climate crisis, specifically retail banking. Nyström’s piece argues that banks are in a great position to help fight climate change because they are present in consumer’s everyday lives – giving them prime opportunity to influence customer behaviour for the better.

Aside from the impact the financial organisations can have on consumer behaviour, another reason why banks should take ESG seriously is the priorities of the Millennial and Gen Z generations. Millennials are currently slated to receive one of the valuable transfers of inheritable wealth (estimated to be close to $68 trillion by 2030), and are known to be very environmentally conscious.

A recent survey suggests that Millennials are twice as likely to invest in a fund or stock if social responsibility is a component of the value creation narrative. Further, it found up to two-thirds of Millennials view their investment decisions as an important component of their social and environmental principles. The sooner banks and businesses relay their intention to embed ESG criteria in their corporate practice, fund allocation and investment portfolios, the better will they be in acquiring this important client base.

Eco-Friendly Cards

Another example of sustainable efforts in the banking sector relates to card payments. Every year 6 billion new bank cards are produced – the amount of plastic this uses weighs roughly the same as the Eiffel Tower twice over – that’s a lot of plastic.

To counteract this, there are efforts being made to create eco-friendly cards with innovative and sustainable components. For example an innovative approach reduces the amount of new plastic while fighting sea pollution, with a card made of Ocean Plastic® collected by Parley for the Oceans. This innovative material comes from plastic waste collected from coastal clean-up operations, in partnership with “Parley for the Oceans”. Banks can also reduce their first-use plastic with a recycled PVC card that is made entirely with plastic waste from the packaging and printing industries.

Another cool example of using eco-friendly materials to avoid plastic waste is the Thales Gemalto Bio Sourced PLA cards. These cards replaced 84% of fossil-based PVC with bio-sourced PLA made from non-edible corn of all things. The material is non-petroleum-based and non-toxic if incinerated. The product is the 1^st bio-sourced payment card certified by UL ECV Program in the world. Providing third-party credibility to the environmental claims of the card. It’s now listed on the platform  SPOT UL, a database for customers to seek out ‘green’ products and solutions.

This is an initiative that my colleagues have made great strides in. To date, Thales has deployed 30 million eco-friendly payment cards for banks and card issuers without compromising the user experience. In fact, we became the first company with a full portfolio of cards certified by the Mastercard Sustainable Card Program. By assessing sustainability claims on behalf of the industry, the Mastercard Sustainable Card Program aims to pivot all card selection programs towards eco-friendly solutions, making sustainable choice the default rather than the exception.

This is just one example, in just one sector of the initiatives being taken to take action and invest in the future of planet. There are countless others out there, which should be shared and discussed – especially on a day like today.

The post Earth Day 2022: Why the Financial Services Sector Should Invest in ESG Initiatives Now appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

It was great to be back in Barcelona for MWC this year – first time back since the pandemic and it really felt like no time had passed at all. 3 weeks on and my mind is still abuzz with the announcements, learnings and themes coming out from the show.

5G powers more than the Metaverse

Whether you were on the ground, or just observing from afar, the theme that likely jumped out at you is the Metaverse. Not just constrained to the halls of the Fira, the Metaverse has dominated headlines for a while now – quite an impressive feat considering there’s still a lack of clear consensus about its future, applications, and value. This article from CNBC encapsulates the sentiment perfectly; despite being the buzzword of the moment, it’s still quite a nebulous term.

That said, it still appeared to dominate the conference, especially when it came to 5G. Mark Zuckerberg addressed the mobile industry on day one of the conference – a statement that made it perfectly clear that the future of the Metaverse depends on 5G connectivity. This was followed by the announcement of a new partnership with Telefónica to establish a Metaverse Innovation Hub in Madrid; just one of the many Metaverse-related announcements made at MWC this year (we even jumped on the bandwagon in our post-show report).

That said, for me and many others in the industry, this is not what stood out the most at MWC 22. During my post-conference reading I came across this wrap up post from James Blackman, and I couldn’t agree with his sentiments more – despite the hype and headlines, this year’s show was actually about enterprise IoT and private 5G networks.

Shining some publicity on private networks

As mentioned in a previous MWC reflection post, 5G connectivity really does possess the power to unlock the potential of IoT – and this is true when we really focus on private networking too.

We’ve spoken at length before, about the transformative impact IoT can have within the enterprise, the importance for these networks to be private and why 5G is the network to enable this – so one of the announcements that caught our attention was the news that AT&T and Microsoft had penned a private network deal. The deal highlighted the benefits for multiple sectors, including manufacturing– where cameras and AI tools can assist in everything from robotic assembly to “event detection” – such as when a worker has been injured or a fire has started – and then alert first responders or activate fire suppression systems almost instantly.

As shown by this announcement, private networks give businesses the chance to connect their facilities and manufacturing. And, during MWC other big players like Cisco made similar headlines with their Private 5G solution. In fact, manufacturing had its own conference track at the event this year with a big focus on connectivity for Industry 4.0. Beyond manufacturing, there are many other sectors that will benefit from 5G enabled private networks – whether it’s healthcare, emergency services or the railways.

In case you missed them, here were some of the other key private network announcements made at the show this year:

• HPE introduced a new private 5G solution that “offers seamless interworking across both private 5G and Wi-Fi networks. The solution is based on the HPE 5G Core Stack and comes pre-integrated with RAN solutions from Airspan and other leading vendors.”
• Qualcomm announced a partnership with Microsoft to deliver an end-to-end, easy-to-deploy, scalable 5G private network solution that aims to reduce adoption barriers and operating costs for high-performance 5G connectivity solutions
• Capgemini’s private network solutions are set to become integrated with Microsoft Azure’s Private 5G Core with Qualcomm’s advanced 5G technologies and Capgemini’s MEC platform to bring end-to-end simplified solutions for enterprises. The solution will be validated in Capgemini’s 5G Lab in Portugal.

Battle for the $64 billion market

It’s fair to say that private networks are still classed as an emerging market – but a rapidly developing one, and one that provides an opportunity to MNOS. According to ABI Research, demand for private network capability from multiple industry verticals could generate revenues of $64 billion by 2030.

Harking back to James Blackman’s MWC wrap up – he said that we need to steer clear of the narrative that there is a battle between three industries for the ‘soul of 5G’, and the battle for supremacy to capitalize on this market is not as simple as it’s made out to be.

These sentiments echo our thoughts; earlier on in the year we spoke about the shift in this narrative.

In the past operators were played off against GAFAMs, however 5G has changed the rules of this game and made it a much more nuanced space. The regulation governing spectrum access is a patchwork, allowing newcomers to bid in auctions for the right to run 4G and private 5G networks. Specialized system integrators are also aware of the huge potential returns and are now competing with the telcos. These new entrants include disruptive equipment manufacturers and so-called ‘hyperscalers’ such as AWS, Microsoft, and Google.

While 3G and 4G were built on hardware-based network functions, 5G is ‘cloud-native’. In other words, the network functions that would traditionally be delivered by hardware are instead run as software applications on remote servers. It’s a new way to run a network, and it will require operators and hyperscalers to collaborate closely.

The future of private networks

Earlier on this year, GlobalData predicted that most 5G business-to-business (B2B) market activity this year would focus on private 5G/LTE networks for industry. And it’s safe to say that this was an accurate prediction, as this conference was the moment where a significant level of companies threw their hat into the private networking arena.

So, what does this mean for MNOs? It’s certainly true that they face strong competition to private services to private networks – but they do have a advantages in their favour which we have spoken on before.

MWC may be over for another year but expect further analysis and updated from us on the private network market as it continues to evolve.

For further reading:

How can MNOs ‘win’ $64 Billion private networks opportunity? 

Think private networking is a future tech?  Here are 7 live deployments 

3 Reasons to be optimistic about data privacy in the 5G era 

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