The week that was started off with some exciting news in the world of mCommerce. The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has made indications that physical payments via iPhone are on the horizon. This kind of functionality has been a largely speculated on point of discussion ever since the release of Touch ID on the iPhone 5S in September of last year. The ability to pay for everyday items in real life with an iTunes account could go a long way in breaking down barriers in consumer adoption in terms of pay-with-your-phone solutions (a technology that experts have slated as about six years away from widespread mainstream use in the USA).
With the release of Apple’s first fingerprint biometric security solution, we saw the power that the company has in terms generating support for post-password technology. We also saw a large amount of misinformation surrounding the high profile spoofing of the Touch ID sensor. As 2014 starts to speed up, with the promise of new biometrics enabled payment methods, countering miss information and providing education on next gen security is at the front of industry expert minds. The final part of the 11th annual findBIOMETRICS Year in Review examines these and other big challenges facing mobile authentication this year.
NSTIC has run into an interesting obstacle when it comes to its Identity Ecosystem, and in a recap of the most recent IDESG plenary (held in Atlanta), it examined the trouble found when branding is forced to interact with Trustmarks. According to NSTIC some companies have refused trustmark pilots despite the high interest of IT and ID professionals in the reluctant organizations. The resistance is coming from marketing departments that are unwilling to display the required logos on company websites. The obstacle is being attacked in a number of ways, as Trustmark providers attempt to make the Identity Ecosystem as brand neutral as possible.
Another organization dedicated to getting relying parties on board with strong online authentication is the Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) Alliance. Already having experienced an exceptional amount of growth in its first year as a consortium – naming Microsoft, MasterCard, Discover and other major companies as board members – the Alliance announced this week that RSA has joined its board of directors in the push for better than password and PIN security.
This week has been one that continues to put strong focus on adoption and proactive thinking. 2014 is looking like a year of opportunity as we enter February, and with industry minds already anticipating the challenges of the year, it looks like mobile ID is more prepared than ever for what the future holds.
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