In essence, an autonomous vehicle comes with a variety of sensors that are also found in the security world. Together, they serve as the “eyes” and “ears” of the automobile to avoid obstacles, prevent accidents, and inform the driver of the state of the vehicle.
Identity management has become a key focus for many end-user organizations seeking to manage their staff effectively. With more advanced access control technology and solutions, companies can now manage the identities of their employees in style. The following are some of the key identity management trends, as identified by HID Global, that we’ll see in 2016.
Credential moving to the most personal gadget: smart device
Mobility is more and more demanded as an authentication method by users who find bringing cards and remembering passwords burdensome. Smart devices on the other hand carry a “care” factor as users are less likely to forget or lose them. With most phones supporting near-field communication (NFC) or Bluetooth low energy (BLE) today, the credential inside the phone communicates seamlessly with the reader to allow easy access into premises. In the future, we can expect similar measures to be done through the user’s wearables such as wristwatches and earrings.
A much greater focus on user experience
Technology has allowed users to authenticate themselves with more ease and convenience. With physical and logical access integration, for example, employees only have to carry one credential to access physical and logical resources. With such integration, the employee’s physical and logical access rights can be provisioned or terminated only once. In the era of IoT, security and building management systems are tied together. With that, once the system recognizes someone who works for a specific part of the building, it will turn on lights and AC in that part of the building only, enabling energy savings in the process.
Peace-of-mind through multi-layered security
More and more, multifactor authentication (MFA) has gained significance, especially after US President Barack Obama last year issued an executive order that all agencies making personal data accessible to citizens through digital applications use multiple factors of authentication. As a result, MFA deployment is increasingly seen across US government agencies such as the Department of Energy.
Multifactor authentication, whether providing access to physical or logical resources, typically combines a what-you-know factor such as passwords and a what-you-have factor, such as a one-time password (OTP) token. Biometrics, meanwhile, can also be used as an additional factor. Currently, fingerprint is still the dominant biometric in use due to its low prices and the reader’s smaller form factor. Facial recognition, meanwhile, has experienced strong growth, even though the stronger processing power needed is expected to keep facial recognition prices at a high.
More attention on privacy and data security
As the world becomes more connected and information is share or collected from the user, there is a greater need for privacy and information security. With more and more of this data on the end user’s internal network infrastructure, it is important for them to keep their networks secure by deploying firewalls and network security software. Meanwhile, according to HID Global, rather than focus exclusively on preventing breaches, the industry will also adopt best practices for controlling what happens afterwards, so stolen identities are useless to thieves.