Cybercrime costs the global economy $2.9 million every minute, according to a RiskIQ report titled The Evil Internet Minute, adding up to $1.5 trillion in a year.
The cause? 80% of attacks are password-related issues.
Just think: How many times have you been prompted to change your password by your bank or email company? How many times have you heard the term “data breach” in the news? How many accounts do you have that require two-step authentication? How many passwords do you have, scattered across various accounts?
PINs, passwords, security questions are a daily part of our lives, but it’s typically nothing more than a hassle when we have to change them. For larger organizations, however, costs add up. Estimates show that nearly 50 percent of IT help desk costs are allocated to password resets.
Enter: Passwordless authentication — harnessing the power of technologies like AI and Machine Learning to save time and money.
Cyber security is high on the World Economic Forum’s agenda, and in collaboration with open industry association FIDO Alliance, WEF’s whitepaper Passwordless Authentication The next breakthrough in secure digital transformation presents a framework for future authentication systems, illustrating five key passwordless technologies organizations can implement.
As part of Davos 2020, the paper — featuring lead authors Andrew Shikiar (Executive Director and Chief Marketing Officer, FIDO Alliance) and Adrien Ogee (Project Lead, Platform for Shaping the Future of Cybersecurity and Digital Trust, World Economic Forum) — outlines that “passwords are indeed at the heart of the data breach problem,” and presents facial biometric technology, hardware keys, and even QR codes and behavioural analysis as the future of passwordless authentication.
At #Davos, @WEF's new paper points to #FIDO as a viable alternative to passwords. It’s validating to see WEF educate world leaders on the economic impact of legacy authentication practices, and recognize better alternatives ready to implement today. https://t.co/QFhLXhKfL2 pic.twitter.com/pqw5RSMsHe
— The FIDO Alliance (@FIDOAlliance) January 22, 2020
“While company adoption of platform businesses is increasingly driving business valuation and growth, the problem of digital trust is growing equally fast and eroding confidence across online communities,” explains the introduction.
“Security enhancement is a continuous process, there is no magic bullet. Cyber criminals will adapt and develop new means of attack, but the alternative authentication mechanisms presented here provide greater challenge to them and greater security in the foreseeable future.”
