[ insider_reports_insider ]
Global Experts Speed Adoption Of Authentication Standards
John Stith
Staff Writer
2005-11-08
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
The Liberty Alliance Project announced on Tuesday the formation of a global, cross-organizational group focused on developing open specifications for interoperable strong authentication.
 | | Globalizing Interoperable Strong Authentication |  |
The Strong Authentication Expert Group (SAEG) was created to speed the deployment of interoperable strong authentication and to help organizations meet new industry demands for universal strong authentication solutions.
On October 12, 2005, the US Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) issued new guidance (PDF) for banks on online authentication, which acknowledges that passwords alone are insufficient as the only means of security to protect a consumer bank account. This new guidance calls on banks to implement better ways to authenticate the identity of customers using online products and services.
While governments and organizations around the world have moved to implement similar requirements, financial institutions based in the US are expected to achieve compliance with the new FFIEC guidance by the end of 2006.
Authentication problems are some of the biggest causes of identity fraud. With the recent FFIEC guidelines, the SAEG should help to expedite the adoption of these guidelines.
"The lack of strong authentication in the online space is demonstrably one of the most significant causes of identity theft," said Michael Barrett, co-chair of the Liberty Alliance Identity Theft Prevention Group, and VP Security/Utility Strategy at American Express.
"The recent FFIEC guidance on strong authentication will likely change how organizations manage online identity threats, but initiatives for addressing these issues need to be coordinated via agreed industry standards - and that's where the Liberty Alliance has a strong track record of fast delivery."
American Express isn't the only company onboard either. Other companies include Axalto, BMC Software, Diversinet, Falkin Systems, Financial Services Technology Consortium, HP, Intel, Kantega AS, NEC, NTT, Oracle, RSA Security, the Dept. of Defense/ Defense Data Manpower Center, Vodaphone, Verisign and Wave Systems.
"With increasing industry demand for better protection against online fraud and identity theft, there can be no question that the time for universal strong authentication has come," said Timo Skytta, vice president of the Liberty Alliance. "By forming the Strong Authentication Expert Group, Liberty is committing to rapidly deliver well defined and highly deployable solutions to help organizations meet new and pressing requirements for stronger authentication."
Liberty's ID-SAFE will help all organizations more easily meet the challenges in implementing solutions consisting of more than usernames and passwords to strengthen online authentication. "Gartner predicts that by 2007, 80 percent of organizations will reach the ‘password breaking point' and will need to strengthen user authentication with alternative security methods," said Ant Allan, research vice president at Gartner. "Businesses need to put roadmaps in place now that will allow them to phase out passwords and replace them with stronger authentication methods."*
Strong authentication requires at least two forms of identity authentication for accessing a network or online application. Liberty's ID-SAFE will offer standards-based online identity protection to allow organizations to deploy interoperable strong authentication faster, more cost-effectively and on a wider scale.
Widely deployed strong authentication based on ID-SAFE will provide organizations with opportunities to focus more on developing new business lines and e-commerce offerings while being able to rely on universal strong authentication that is easy to deploy and manage. Consumers will benefit from ID-SAFE with increased protection against identity theft and fraud, a seamless user experience across networks and advanced privacy protection based on individual consent and control.
"The formation of this Expert Group brings great promise for the truly open dialogue on strong authentication that the industry is looking for. The Liberty Alliance is unique in comprising a broad cross-section of end-users and vendors, and - as a founding board member with a long-running commitment to industry standards - we applaud the Alliance's efforts in bringing these leading organizations together. We look forward to productive participation." - Burt Kaliski, vice president of research at RSA Security and chief scientist, RSA Laboratories
"The Department of Defense is committed to working with industry partners to strengthen the assurance for federated identities and web services. The creation of the Strong Authentication Expert Group (SAEG) by the Liberty Alliance Project signals a recognition of the need for this increased assurance in all aspects of American life. In its Common Access Card program, the DoD has already made a great commitment to a strong identity smartcard credential. Working with industry to help define stronger identity assurance standards will help protect our service members, their families and all American citizens." - Greta Lehman, Director, Identity Authentication Office, Defense Manpower Data Center
About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
More insider_reports_insider Articles
Insider Reports RSS Feed
|
|
RSS
Archive
Contact Us
Advertise
