Authentication shouldn’t get in the way of health care professionals helping patients. But passwords are slowing down and frustrating National Health Service staff, according to the BBC.  Some NHS staff use up to 15 different passwords to complete routine tasks like ordering x-rays and viewing lab results. One hospital found that logging into systems took nearly two minutes.  “It is frankly ridiculous how much time our doctors and nurses waste logging on to multiple systems. Too often outdated technology slows down and frustrates staff, ” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC.  In hectic ..read more

In one month’s time, the UK will reach the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) six-month delayed deadline for the implementation of PSD2, and Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) will finally be enforced for online payments.  More and more consumers value the convenience of online banking and payment platforms, which are now used by over two-thirds of British adults – with 48 percent using mobile banking. However, this has caused fraud to skyrocket – in 2019 one in five UK adults were impacted by online card fraud – calling for financial services institutions to seriously re-evaluate current i ..read more

Developments in biometrics mean that what you are and how you handle your smartphone could replace passwords. That’s the takeaway from recent articles by The Telegraph looking at how biometrics are behind the push to passwordless authentication.  “Over the last six months people have recognized that a lot of cyber breaches have resulted in compromised passwords,” Jason Tooley, Veridium Chief Revenue Officer, told The Telegraph. ““Enterprises have woken up to the fact that there is the potential to replace passwords.” The article noted that Zynga, the game developer behind Words with Friends an ..read more

The world is celebrating Safer Internet Day on February 11. This will mark its seventeenth year, with 150 countries worldwide coming together to encourage a conversation around the safe and responsible use of digital technology. In today’s fast-moving digital world, businesses are reaping the rewards of a dynamic online presence. Shopping, insurance, and banking have all moved online, with customers wanting an easy-to-use system that keeps their payment data secure. Whilst the benefits are vast, with Internet sales accounting for 21.3% of total retail sales in 2019, the risks are real. Over 2 ..read more

Authentication costs add up. That’s the takeaway from research Veridium conducted on how much companies spend on authentication. How much varies based on the authentication method and number of employees a company has but one point is clear: protecting data using passwords, Windows Hello, token and smartcards can cost companies millions, regardless of industry.  Some expenses are yearly, such as productivity losses due to password resets. Others were accrued over time, like investments companies made in hardware to use Windows Hello for biometric authentication or smartcards for two-factor aut ..read more

In 2020, businesses can expect a range of regulations to be enforced, including the delayed strong customer authentication (SCA) requirement of the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2). This requires financial service providers to provide two layers of authentication on high value purchases over £28 – aiming to improve the security of online transactions and reduce fraud. Many game-changing regulations have come into force in the past two years. In the age of GDPR, businesses face significant ramifications for non-compliance such as financial penalties and reputational risk. This year pres ..read more

As businesses work to implement PSD2’s strong customer authentication (SCA) component by late 2020 (or even earlier for some U.K. firms that offer online banking) there’s a key group to keep in mind: customers. With banks, payment providers and merchants all trying to figure out how to comply with SCA, their focus may be more on meeting the requirement and less on what two-factor authentication method provides customers with a superior online checkout experience. (Looking for an SCA primer? Read this blog.) But forgetting about the customer can impact the bottom line, warned Alaistair Anderson ..read more

One of the key trends to impact millions of people and businesses in 2020 is the death of the password. Passwords are widely recognized as an outdated, costly method of authentication, and a frequently used attack vector. It is no surprise that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) now recognizes multi factor authentication including biometrics as a far more secure alternative. Passwords accounted for 61 percent of data breaches last year. In 2020, the expansion of 5G – the wireless replacement for broadband that is up to 100 times faster than its predecessor – will escalat ..read more

Veridium has simplified the user experience around authentication by eliminating passwords from the process. Now we’re simplifying the VeridiumID deployment process by making the application available in the AWS Marketplace. In this blog, Veridium Chief Product Officer John Spencer answers questions on how Veridium being in the AWS Marketplace benefits companies. What does having Veridium in the AWS Marketplace mean for deployment? Deployment is rapid and simplified. With Veridium in AWS Marketplace, companies don’t have to provision a server, install Linux, install the VeridiumID server and t ..read more

The Align Interview series offers the perspectives of  executives on technology, security and digital transformation.  Aspiring entrepreneurs take note: find a problem to solve if you want your startup to grow.   “Startup equals problem. It’s a simple equation. Find a customer problem worth solving and solve it better than anyone else and you’re well on your way to creating a business that can succeed.” That advice comes from Martin McCourt, who has more than 30 years of leadership experience in the technology industry. In addition to working at Gemalto as CMO and executive vice president for ..read more