Key Secure Identity Trends for 2015: Transportation, the enterprise, and the retail marketplace

Transportation: 
•    IP-based access control will improve security by enabling a physical access control system (PACS) to be integrated with other solutions on the same network.   
•    Operators will face increasing pressure to deploy a single, scalable system that can manage access to many locations and accommodate cardholder information from various entry points using a wide range of access control rules.  
•    We will also see innovation in secure EV charging stations and electric vehicle service equipment, as well as parking access and revenue control (PARC) systems.
•    Biometric systems will increase security and profits while improving speed, efficiency and security, and may also migrate into consumer transportation applications, including personal driver identification solutions that enhance safety while delivering such new capabilities as authenticating users for transactions related to connected-car applications.

Enterprise: 
•    Enterprises will improve security with converged solutions for the door, data and the cloud.  IT and PACS credentials will be provisioned to a single smart card or smartphone using a single set of processes, enabling a convenient “tap in” strong authentication model throughout the extended infrastructure.    
•    Users will focus on visual and electronic personalization while streamlining the secure issuance process.  
•    Other trends include integrating access control systems with network authentication, and cost-effectively adding visitor management solutions.    
•    Biometrics will move into secure printing applications and onto mobile devices.

Retail:  
•    The biggest retail security focus will continue to be on protecting organizations against the types of data breaches that occurred during 2014 at Target Corporation and other major retailers.  Defending against these breaches will require:  1) moving past simple passwords to strong authentication. 2) taking advantage of the improved convenience of a mobile “tap-in” strong authentication model; 3) employing a layered IT security strategy that ensures appropriate risk mitigation levels, and 4) replacing magstripe payment cards with more secure card technology for consumers at the point of sale (such as EMV cards to which U.S. debit and credit card issuers are mandated to convert by October 2015).
•    Integrated biometric readers will drive improvements in identity verification for cards used in payment and loyalty programs, increasing their use and functionality.  Biometrics will also play a role in combatting breaches — only a biometric can establish who is actually present for a transaction, and the coming generation of POS applications will include fingerprint authentication to ensure that only authorized people are approving transactions.  Meanwhile, inside the store, the industry will also continue to adopt biometrics solutions for time and attendance applications, eliminating the problems of employees sharing, swapping, stealing and/or losing their PINs, passwords and ID cards.
•    Retailers will also move to high-quality but affordable secure issuance solutions for their employees and for branded credit and loyalty cards.  
•    Secure identities will also be used in new brand protection applications and retail “proof of presence” for digital out-of-home (DOOH) media campaigns.  The same technology used to validate the authenticity of goods in brand protection programs will also be applied to proof-of-presence applications that require consumers to interact with an authentic tag to generate an entry into a retail loyalty program, gaming or sweepstakes campaign.  This will increase consumer engagement by opening a new, direct communications channel that is protected from potential fraud and other abuse.  These and other retail solutions will also deliver faster sales feedback, warranty fraud prevention and better control over grey market activities, while simplifying warranty management and global supply chain management.

John Fenske is the vice-president of product marketing, identity and access management for HID Global.