HID Global Makes CIOs Cyber Identity-Aware

"We turn Products into Solutions."

A CIO checked his Smartphone and read an alert that someone with malicious intent hacked into his company’s corporate network because of the vulnerability of a password-based system that a contractor was using to access the corporate VPN. A hacker stole the person’s log-in credentials. This CIO’s company was the victim of a weak, stolen password.

In 2016, 81% of breaches involved the misuse of stolen or weak credentials, according to a Verizon 2017 Data Breach Investigates Report. As a result, many companies have implemented multi-factor authentication (MFA) technologies to increase the security of the credentials used to access the corporate VPN – oftentimes combining a traditional password with a one-time password or token. The CIO had an incomplete understanding of cyber identity-awareness. He wasn’t prepared for the risk inherent in digital identity Bringing a cyber identity-aware approach to IT, HID Global, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, has advanced multi-factor authentication by evolving the smart phone into an “identity authenticator.” Improving the user experience while maintaining corporate security is at the heart of HID’s cyber identity-aware framework for CIOs and their IT teams, and changing the way companies address authentication. For example, using a phone, something employees always have with them, to authenticate a user to a corporate VPN.

Another evolving two-factor authentication solution uses push notifications to allow employees, contractors, and customers to authenticate their access requests and transactions with their mobile device. A user simply has to swipe for authentication and verification.  This digital authentication solution combines the security of public key-based cryptography with the convenience of mobile push notifications. Organizations can even brand the mobile app icon and interface with their own logo and color schemes.

Much to the liking of CIOs, HID provides high assurance that the person taking the digital action, such as accessing a VPN or verifying a withdrawal, is the person authorized to do so. Fine-grained security policies enable organizations to strike the appropriate balance between security and usability for the specific use case. Security best practices are backed by third-party penetration tests and independent audit reviews.

The reason that HID Global, which has strong brand recognition for physical access control, has become increasingly relevant to CIOs and their IT teams is that “cyber identity-awareness” is booming amid high-profile hacks that continue to rock people’s sense of stability and digital safety.

HID’s expertise in identity technologies, including multi-factor authentication, has become an asset for CIOs who realize that issues at the “identity layer” have to be addressed in new and improved ways.

Being a leader in identity solutions for nearly three decades, HID is at the forefront; at the core of it all is digital identity. HID is increasingly seen as a vital partner in a CIO’s plan to manage digital identities and the complexities of digital identity that cannot be easily addressed from the traditional approach so, specialized knowledge in digital identity is required.

HID powers the trusted identities of people, places, and things – including digital places and digital things. HID serves the needs of CIOs to create trusted environments, whether digital or physical. As more CIOs gain the responsibility of physical security, taking into account the finer points of physical and digital identity will become more important. HID’s prime focus is on securing Internet of Things. It has evolved into an IoT solution provider, giving CIOs and their teams a unique perspective on how to secure the Internet of Things. IoT is no longer just human-to-machine interactions, but increasingly is machine-to-machine. Digital certificates have now become a “tool” for IT professionals to increase security, making the infrastructure more cyber identity-aware. HID is a leader in this space, adding trust to the IoT to make it the Internet of Trusted Things (IoTT).

HID has been gaining ground as a true digital partner with CIOs, who can take advantage of HID’s ability to assess their cyber identity-aware preparedness. Too much is now at stake for digital identity to be left to chance.

The Silicon Review recently named HID Global as one of the 10 fastest-growing cyber security vendors in Silicon Valley. The company’s multi-factor authentication solutions were the prime reason to achieve this.  Now that CIO Bulletin is naming HID as one of the top security companies of 2017, the breadth and depth of HID’s product portfolio is going far beyond the front door of a building. 

Meet the Innovator

Brad Jarvis is the Vice President and Managing Director of HID Global’s Identity & Access Management Solutions business unit. Since joining the company in late 2016, Brad has cultivated a culture of innovation within HID’s software-focused business, which combines authentication, digital certificates and physical identity & access management (PIAM). His vision for HID’s IAM solutions business is to drive the expanded use of multi-factor authentication, secure the Internet of Things, provide trusted identities for government customers, and reshape the management of identities in enterprise organizations.

“Every transaction is trusted when HID technology is used.  Without it, can it be trusted?”

“We make it possible for people to transact safely, work productively and travel freely.”