Hybrid workforces reluctant to use biometric security, Unisys reports

Only 31 percent of employees are willing to share biometric data to ensure safe entrance into a workplace, according to a new report from Unisys, but that is substantially more than the 20 percent who are willing to be authenticated with facial recognition as the right person using a work-from-home computer.

‘2021 Unisys Security Index’ examines the shift in consumer life and work concerns over the past 18 months, how those concerns have affected work practices, and how businesses should respond going forward. With 62 percent of the global workforce working remotely at least some of the time, the report reflects a different situation than that of those Unisys has put out for the past 14 years.

The report indicates a persistent minority of workers remain unaware of or cavalier about the threat of malware from web links, while majorities are not familiar with SMS phishing or SIM jacking.

Reviewing how the altered security landscape is handled around the world for sensitive data, Unisys notes that centralized, state-held biometrics registries are viewed very differently in some places, like the Netherlands, then others, like Mexico. In the former, most people distrust such a system, but most Mexicans are confidant their data is protected by the biometric Cédula Única de Identidad Digital.

A majority (60 percent) are uncomfortable with their log-in and -out times being monitored, and 21 percent say they are not comfortable with any monitoring at all.

Unisys concludes that employers need to be flexible and willing to create an optimal user experience, among five recommendations for securing hybrid workplaces.

Enterprise IAM deployed for government system security amid hybrid work

BIO-key’s PortalGuard identity and access management (IAM) platform has been selected to provide data security and compliance with regulatory and insurance requirements by Audrain County, Missouri and Herkimer County in New York.

Audrain County will use BIO-key’s WEB-key for biometric authentication as part of its effort to secure its hybrid workforce, while Herkimer County is implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) to meet cybersecurity compliance requirements without disrupting user’s workflows.

“Considering that today’s cyber and data security threats are tomorrow’s insurance claims, all organizations must take proactive steps to implement a modern IAM solution that is both effective and compliant,” comments BIO-key – PortalGuard President Mark Cochran on the Audrain County contract. “Our growing base of county government customers validate that PortalGuard and WEB-key offer the best blend of advanced security capabilities with the flexibility that organizations require to meet their compliance requirements without negatively impacting the user experience.”

Cyber-insurance policies in Canada are likewise increasingly making MFA a requirement, following a year in which Canadians lost $4.9 billion to ransomware attacks, Canadian Underwriter reports.

MFA is also one of the top recommendations of a new joint Cybersecurity Advisory from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and National Security Agency (NSA).

The advisory is intended to specifically warn against attacks from Russian state-sponsored criminals. The document reviews campaigns by Russian state-sponsored APT actors and provides guidance on mitigation and incident response.

Article Topics

access management  |  BIO-key  |  biometrics  |  cybersecurity  |  digital identity  |  identity verification  |  multifactor authentication  |  remote authentication  |  Unisys