User identification: Get what you deserve

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Most listeners may have used the services of Lexis Nexis in college for a research paper. They collect data on a wide range of topics. Lexis Nexis Risk Solutions was cut away from the primary company to focus on addressing issues with the federal government.

The problem is obvious: everyone seems to have dozens and dozens of usernames and passwords and all are frustrated with the system. In some secure environments, these require a specific length and must be changed regularly. Password complexity puts federal information technology professionals in the position of spending more time authenticating themselves rather than doing productive work.

Let’s state the obvious: this has been a failure. Systems are being compromised all over the federal government. A recent study by IDG shows that 60% of federal agencies have been breached at any point in their history and (a shocking) 35% have experienced a breach within the past year.

This week on Federal Tech Talk, Haywood Talcove, CEO of Lexis Nexis Risk Solutions, joins host John Gilroy to talk about user identification and adds a new perspective: making sure you get what you deserve.

The solution that Talcove proposes is to tap into a resource that will be able to authenticate you by using a range of metrics that include time, location, device, possible biometric information, perhaps history, use of keyboard — a wide range of options that can determine identification without relying on failed usernames and passwords.

Haywood delineates an unintended consequence. He talks about why some get so frustrated with the username & password dance that they abandon hope and walk away frustrated. He suggests that when system users can be easily identified, they can get the full benefits they deserve.

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