{"id":3528,"date":"2018-10-17T08:56:45","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T12:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/?p=3528"},"modified":"2018-11-08T11:59:04","modified_gmt":"2018-11-08T15:59:04","slug":"enterprises-need-biometric-authentication-password-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/enterprises-need-biometric-authentication-password-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Enterprises Need Biometric Authentication or a Password Revolution?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Do<\/p>\n

In the third State of Privacy and Security Awareness Report by MediaPRO, 75% of respondents pose a moderate to severe risk to their enterprise\u2019s data and digital assets. 85% of finance workers show some lack of data security and privacy knowledge. <\/span><\/p>\n

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In a statement, Tom Pendergast\u2014Chief Security and Privacy Strategist MediaPro\u2014said: “The overall results revealed a trend we weren’t happy to see, that employees performed worse across the board compared to the previous year.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

While so much of these findings indicate the widespread prevalence of cybersecurity ignorance, one of the key weaknesses employees represent is password insecurity. It\u2019s why biometric authentication<\/a> has received the attention and anticipation of security experts the world over: if successful, it could represent a closing of a major security vulnerability. But is it the only way? <\/span><\/p>\n

Could a password revolution reduce the risk employees pose to their enterprises? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Would A Password Revolution Look Like? <\/b><\/h3>\n

By \u201cpassword revolution,\u201d we mean a complete and radical overhaul of how enterprises and employees create and manage passwords. It would, if implemented properly, represent a break from the password practices of the past. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Firstly, it would mandate all employees, including privileged users, to create new passwords. Notice the choice of words there: it would not be a change of passwords. The new passwords would be <\/span>in no way similar to any other password each user has created in the past. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

This may seem like a big ask. The average user will already have 130 accounts connected to a single email address. Further, stronger passwords may also be more easily forgotten or complicated, which can cause frustration for users and for the help desks tasked with helping them recover those passwords. Yet it is essential to fulfilling this vision of authentication. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, a true password revolution would also require the mass adoption of multifactor authentication, even on accounts that would normally not warrant such layers. According to a Google study, only 3.1% of users implement MFA when regaining control of their accounts after a breach. This needs to change if we are to have a truly secure digital marketplace. It may require far more single sign-on as well. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why Should We Implement a Password Revolution? <\/b><\/h3>\n

The current state of password and identity security looks like this: <\/span><\/p>\n