As the persistence of the commercialization of the IT industry continues, its practices and policies are predicted to encompass mobile devices over the coming years. In turn, additional businesses will be strong-armed into implementing new biometric technologies in order to secure any and all corporate data that’s viewed, sent or used via mobile device.
According to a new analysis by Gartner, a Stamford-based information technology research firm, at least 30 percent of all corporations will use technological tools akin to Touch ID on their newest versions of the iPhone by 2016. Such a move will be done in order to manage and safeguard mobile devices that connect to closed, corporate networks, and will ideally be done in a way that doesn’t force individual users to jump through additional security hoops.
Ant Allan, a Gartner research vice president, posits that mobile users steadfastly oppose the security authentication methods that were only just bearable on desktops. Because of this, security leaders need to engineer workarounds that still offer comparable security without annoying end users at the same time.
Consumers who have been using their mobile devices to do online purchases will want to do the same with their company-issued phones and tablets. Apple CEO Tim Cook even went so far as to identify this sort of purchasing behavior as a highly important selling point for the iPhone 5S.
A recent 100,000-respondent survey study administered by Swedish technology company Ericcson found that 74 percent of subjects expect biometric security to become mainstream on cell phones, regardless of whether the devices are for work or personal use. BYOD (bring your own device, a policy that allows individuals to use their personal devices as work devices and view and transmit sensitive, work-related information) and CYOD (choose your own device, which lets employees choose from a selection of company-approved options for everyday use) are trending policies as well, according to research by Forrester Research. The study found that 70 percent of organizations employ a BYOD program. On top of this, 62 percent of smartphone owners and 56 percent of those with tablets bring their devices into their place of work.
Based upon its data, and the prevalence of smartphones in the office, Gartner’s advises IT security managers to institute and test biometric security measures that qualify as “higher-assurance.” To make security even steeper, biometric safeguards should be used alongside traditional security measures like passwords. Face, eye and voice recognition, coupled with appropriate interface interactivity between devices, could help ameliorate these problems without negatively affecting individual employees who use the technology.
To learn how Pivot International can help design the product and develop biometric security product ideas, contact us at 877-206-5001.
