Would you like a digital passport on your smartphone?
I’m sure most of you will be familiar with the frantic scrabble to find the correct documents at the airport, resulting in a mild heart attack when your passport isn’t where you thought it was. FYI, it’s probably in your back pocket.
Well, this could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a company called De La Rue, which is working on creating digital passports on your smartphone that can be used at airport immigration, making travel an entirely paperless experience.
UK government launches a fast online identity verification service
A new service has launched in the UK, which will allow the country’s citizens to easily verify their identity online. Called CitizenSafe, it is the brainchild of global specialists in identity data intelligence, GBG.
CitizenSafe was created after a survey had shown that people expect to access government services easily and securely online, and that online identity verification was a key step. It will be integrated within the UK government's gov.uk Verify service, and GBG says it will cut the time needed to verify an identity to mere minutes.
ID as a Service solution helps to secure digital access
Identity and access management (IAM) is a growing field, expected to be worth around $18 billion by 2019 according to a recent report.
This is partly down to cloud growth creating the need for a secure solution that can scale quickly, in on-premise environments and across cloud applications, without additional costs for installation and extra hardware.
SecureKey brings convenient, secure access to US online services
As we rely more on using online services to control various aspects of our lives we end up with a host of login credentials that can be difficult to manage.
Toronto based identity specialist SecureKey is today launching its SecureKey Concierge service in the US. This allows consumers to choose a trusted credential they already have and use frequently to login to other sites, thereby eliminating the need for additional usernames and passwords.
TeleSign simplifies end user verification
Being able to accurately and safely verify identity is increasingly important as online fraud remains a major threat.
Mobile identity solutions specialist TeleSign is announcing the launch of TeleSign Smart Verify, a new unified API that simplifies end-user verification and two-factor authentication (2FA) for online and mobile app-based accounts to help prevent fraud and stop account compromise.
TeleSign and Telefόnica team up to cut mobile fraud
Mobile identity specialist TeleSign has announced an agreement with Spanish telecoms giant Telefόnica -- the company behind O2 in the UK and Germany -- to deliver a suite of services to address account security and fraud prevention for enterprises and service providers.
The partnership will use TeleSign's products and infrastructure, along with Telefόnica's consent-based insights, to increase account security, reduce fraud, and improve customer experience for consumers. At the same time it will help to manage costs for service providers across financial services, e-commerce, cloud and social media.
Beware the rise of the digital doppleganger
Data breaches in large organizations have made the headlines in recent years and that’s led to a huge increase in the amount of personally identifiable information being traded online.
According to UK credit report company CreditExpert there's been a 300 percent jump in the amount of personal information being traded online since 2012.
Celebrities and identity theft
America loves celebrities. Scam artists, the only criminals we refer to as artists, are well aware of our fascination with the lives and sometimes untimely deaths of celebrities, and exploit this interest through a number of schemes aimed at turning the public's fascination into the identity thief’s treasure.
The sad and tragic death by suicide of Robin Williams has become the latest opportunity for identity thieves to exploit a celebrity death for financial gain. In one Robin Williams related scam, a post appears on your Facebook page -- it often can appear to come from someone you know, when, in fact, it is really from an identity thief who has hacked into the Facebook account of your real friend. The post provides a link to photos or videos that appeal in some instances to an interest in Robin Williams related movie or standup performances. However, in other instances, the link will appeal to the lowest common denominator and purport to provide police photos or videos of the suicide site. If you fall for this bait by clicking on the link, one of two things can happen, both of which are bad.
Manage your passwords, credentials with oneSafe for Windows Phone
The recommended practice for passwords and credentials is to avoid using them in more than one place, and make them extremely difficult to crack. It sounds easy, at first glance. But, as we sign up for an increasing number of accounts, it can prove to be quite a chore to keep track of them all. Ten accounts, for instance, means ten usernames and ten passwords, all distinct.
For this reason, users who wish to store sensitive login information, and have quick access to it, rely on password managers. Such tools are available on all major platforms. They are easy to use and, if needed, can generate more secure passwords than we can come up with (certainly more secure that users' favorites, "123456", "password" or, like it will stop hackers more than the first one, "12345678"). One such offering is oneSafe for Windows Phone. It was just made available as a trial in Store, so let us take a look at it.
How to protect yourself from identity theft
With security breaches on the rise, such as the recent Target credit card theft, you can’t be too careful how and to whom you share your personal information. According to the US Department of Justice, 7 percent of US households reported being victims of some form of identity fraud and with financial losses totaling upwards of $50 billion, people have to be vigilant.
Nowadays it’s fairly easy to steal an identity by obtaining different bits of information about someone and piecing them together like a jigsaw puzzle. Things you may not even think about such as your zip code, maiden name, or date of birth. And it’s not just unknown entities who are procuring your personal information and using it for their nefarious gain, it’s people you may think are legitimate and trustworthy such as babysitters, housekeepers or your latest online crush.
According to Google, authentication standards are thwarting phishing emails
Phishing scams are a blight on the internet that will never be totally eradicated. If you aren't familiar with the term, "phishing" is when someone attempts to glean information through means of impersonation. Sending you a message purporting to be from your bank for example. Try as we may, this crime will always be a part of life. However, there is no reason that the risk of these dangerous emails cannot be decreased.
Since 2004, various groups have been slowly developing authentication standards, in an attempt to thwart these malicious messages. Today, Google has some great news -- the standards are working.
Most people still not doing enough to safeguard their personal data
I know a couple of people who have been victims of identity theft, and while they didn’t lose anything financially, there was a lot of work required afterwards to clear up the mess and put safeguards in place to ensure it didn’t happen again. What was amazing to me was that the thieves were able to do things like open store cards with information that was not only false, but incorrect (an entirely fictitious date of birth, for example).
A new infographic from Experian looks at the dangers of identity theft both on and offline, and provides statistics that show while most of us are aware of the risks, few of us actually do enough to properly safeguard our personal information. The findings probably won’t surprise you.
Google actively plans for your demise
They say nothing is certain but death and taxes. Google has experience avoiding the latter and wants you to plan for the former. While I can only assume that Google would prefer you stick around and use its services and click on the ads for as long as possible, the company has a Plan B. Despite the incredible attempts being made by both medical science and Ray Kurzweil, the search giant goes in another direction. Instead of memorializing you online as some sites allow you to plan for, Google prefers you simply plan what happens to your account when the Grim Reaper comes calling.
The company has released a new settings page so you choose what happens when your account becomes inactive. While Google will not actually come out and use the word "death", it certainly does an excellent job implying that this is what is meant -- perhaps the company did not consult with Mr. Kurzweil, its director of engineering and author of the book The Singularity Is Near: A True Story About the Future.
You CAN migrate Xbox Live accounts between countries, but it's NOT easy
Microsoft recently announced that it will now permit migrating Xbox Live accounts from one country to another. While the Xbox community rejoices in celebration, I reflect on my assiduous journey to have my account migrated, and wonder if my case along with that of a fellow friend and others who joined our cause, contributed to this outcome.
Back in 2002, I got a copy of Unreal Tournament for the original Xbox, and with that an update for the new and exciting Xbox Live service. To join the service, I had to create a Microsoft Passport account (aka Windows Live ID, or more recently Microsoft Account), which I did using an existing, non-Hotmail email address that I still use today.
10 Windows 8 features you should know about
Windows 8 will make its public debut on October 26 and has been controversial ever since Microsoft first released information about the operating system to the public. What most can agree on is that Windows 8 is a shift away from the traditional desktop-orientated operating system towards a system that can be deployed on a wider variety of devices.
The 10 features listed here are but some of the benefits coming with Windows 8.
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