http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20140826/CYBER/308260009/Cards-emerge-key-player-authentication
Cards emerge as key player in authentication Aug. 26, 2014 - 01:41PM | [image: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20140826/CYBER/308260009/Cards-emerge-key-player-authentication] <[email protected]>By AMBER CORRIN <[email protected]> - [image: The Defense Department has long used the Common Access Card to verify identity. However, civilian agency adoption was nearly nonexistent before 2011, according to federal documents.] The Defense Department has long used the Common Access Card to verify identity. However, civilian agency adoption was nearly nonexistent before 2011, according to federal documents. (DoD) Another day, another massive security breach: The online theft of usernames, passwords and personally identifiable information is now so common many people barely think twice about it. But when it’s the federal government that’s been hacked, the situation takes on a different urgency. Central to the debate over how to better secure federal networks is the use of passwords, often cited as the weakest link in the chain. Most experts agree it is time to move to tighter security, but questions surround what the best option is and how to implement changes at the enterprise level. Plenty of directives now mandate improved identity management measures, including the use of multifactor authentication to ensure user identities. Feds can expect to see more of that in the near future amid increasing focus on the intersection between people and technology. Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12, the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, the Homeland Security Department’s continuous diagnostic monitoring program and guidance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are among several government initiatives that contain some element addressing authentication and identity management. The introduction of Performance.gov’s cross-agency priority goals — and subsequent close eye on adoption and implementation — are further cementing federal efforts to move beyond the password. Much of the latest focus is on further development of personal identity verification, or PIV, cards. PIV cards aren’t new to federal agencies, but their emergence as a prime candidate in implementing multifactor authentication is heightening emphasis on greater use. For one, many agencies already have them, so it’s not a huge stretch — financially, culturally or otherwise — to combine PIV cards with another form factor. Beyond ease of use, Office of Management and Budget requirements for agencies to reach 95-percent implementation of White House cybersecurity priorities by the end of this fiscal year mean the heat is on for federal agencies. Strong authentication, as one of the three OMB cybersecurity-focused cross-agency priorities, now faces more scrutiny than ever; according to federal documents, civilian government adoption of PIV was nearly nonexistent before 2011, despite being mandated under HSPD-12 since 2004. That attention will increase by fiscal 2015, when OMB rolls out PIV-specific metrics for performance, implementation and maturity. __._,_.___ ------------------------------ Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected]> ------------------------------ Visit Your Group <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmdTUxOGRmBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0MDkxNTI5OTE-> [image: Yahoo! Groups] <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlaWh1bzgwBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTQwOTE1Mjk5MQ--> • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • Unsubscribe <[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe> • Terms of Use <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> __,_._,___ -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
