The Weekly Cypher is specially curated to keep you up-to-date on the latest in cybersecurity, biometrics, and related news and innovations. This week’s topics are:
Biometrics Set to Replace Mobile PINs and Passwords | BizReport
Recent reports regarding the growth of mobile biometrics confirm that more consumers prefer accessing their devices with a fingerprint than they do a PIN or password. Independent research by Gigya and ABI Research highlights the growing trend of users preferring alternative authentication methods, with 80 percent believing biometrics are more secure than usernames and passwords. This preference could be driving another trend, where more than 95 percent of mobile devices are expected to include a fingerprint sensor by 2022. [Read More]
One in 10 Data Breaches Went Undetected for More than a Year | Quartz
There were many data breaches reported in 2016, but what’s worrisome is that one out of every 10 went undetected for over a year beforehand. That rate is higher than it has ever been since 2010. Furthermore, more than a quarter of all breaches reported last year went unnoticed for months. Overall, 2016 was not a banner year for data breaches, and the fact that it’s taking longer for some organizations to detect a breach is troublesome. [Read More]
Americans Concern Over Security and Privacy Skyrockets Since Last Year | eSecurity Planet
In a recent survey, AnchorFree found that concern over security and privacy has climbed more than 80 percent over last year. Reasons for the increase ranged from the recent bill that allows ISPs to collect customer data to the rise in data breaches in 2016. Furthermore, another survey found that more consumers value their online lives over $100,000, and nearly three-quarters want increased security options for their online accounts beyond usernames and passwords. [Read More]
IBM Embraces Behavioral Biometrics for Enterprise Customers | TechRepublic
IBM recently announced that it’s adding behavioral biometrics to its MobileFirst Platform Foundation, which allows enterprises to develop and test mobile apps before deployment. The company has partnered with SecuredTouch to add more than 100 behavioral factors for continuous authentication to the platform, allowing for the direct integration of behavioral analysis into the apps developed on it. [Read More]
Vendors Approve of Recent NIST Password Guidelines | CSO
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released its updated guidelines for password best practices, to the approval of industry vendors. From reducing password complexity to tossing out periodic password change rules, the new guidelines may seem counter-intuitive to current security practices, but the experts agree they are a move in the right direction. As we’ve seen from the recent climb of data breaches, the existing rules simply don’t work, and NIST’s updates may help as we move toward a better solution overall. [Read More]
