Biometric Authentication On Mobile Devices Gathers Pace
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Biometric Authentication On Mobile Devices Gathers Pace

CIO Review

Stamford: The consumerization of IT and business Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs have resulted in potential security problems for IT leaders, according to research firm Gartner. User expectations of a clean and simple mobile user experience often outweigh security concerns, and the same valuable data guarded by complex passwords and security measures on PCs can be left vulnerable on mobile devices. Gartner predicts that, by 2016, 30 percent of organizations will use biometric authentication on mobile devices, up from five percent today.

Gartner has identified some potential security impacts of the consumerization of IT, and has made some recommendations for IT security leaders.

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User experience trumps security concerns

While most organizations require robust passwords on laptops; smartphones and tablet devices often have access to the same applications and critical data but not the same levels of security. Implementing standard power-on password policies is made much more complex by the acceptance of BYOD practices.

“Even a six-character lowercase alphanumeric password can provide billions of values. For most practical purposes, hackers are not prepared to pursue this large a set of combinations due to the relatively slow speeds involved in brute force attacks against smartphones and tablets,” said John Girard, Vice President and analyst at Gartner.

Gartner recommends that a password policy requiring use of at least six alphanumeric characters, and prohibiting dictionary words, is enforced on devices with access to corporate information via mobile device management (MDM) tools.

Wipe the slate clean

Some organizations attempt to counter the risks from a lost or stolen device by implementing controls that wipe a device after a limited number of incorrect password entries, or by remote command. “This practice does not wholly mitigate the risk because solid-state memory is nearly impossible to overwrite,” said Girard. “The best practice is to use encryption that is not tied to the primary power-on authentication, meaning the key cannot be recovered from the device after a soft wipe operation has been performed,” he added.

In addition, Gartner recommends that another password should be used for access to sensitive corporate applications and data. In this way, even if a hacker breaches the power-on defenses, each additional app or store of data presents an additional challenge that will collectively present too much of a hurdle to be worthwhile.

Biometric options offer compromise

Gartner recommends that security leaders evaluate biometric authentication methods where higher-assurance authentication is required. Suitable authentication modes including interface interactivity, voice recognition, face topography and iris structure can be used in conjunction with passwords to provide a much higher level of security.

It is possible that the combination of passive biometric authentication and contextual authentication will provide sufficient assurance in medium-risk scenarios without the need for ‘gateway’ authentication events using passwords or tokens.

It is also important, when planning a comprehensive authentication policy that includes mobile devices, to consider the burden on organizations and users alike so that the policy is sustainable. “Adopting significantly different authentication methods for different devices will eventually be unsustainable,” said Allan, research Vice President at Gartner. He believes a combination of X.509 credentials on the endpoint, low-friction biometric modes and contextual authentication will fit the bill.

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