There is a change on the horizon in identity management? Modern identity presents many new challenges – particularly with user authentication. Two new technologies are here to stay to help address the new challenges – adaptive and mobile biometric authentication.

Mobile apps provide an opportunity for financial service providers to create a foundation for security and convenience. To capitalize on this, institutions need to ensure that they are making the most of the device capabilities by enabling strong, cryptographic, device-based authentication. The goal, however, is to hide the security complexity from the user to both increase compliance and eliminate authentication hassles.

Connected devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) are an opportunity for those involved with identity and authentication, rather than a challenge or threat. Why? Because we know there may never be a single, completely foolproof or “perfect” form of personal authentication. As a result, the only solution to assured authentication is – and always will be — to combine and use multiple factors or modalities. IoT provides the first environment that is truly ideal for enabling this approach.

The move beyond passwords to better authentication is on the horizon. There are a number of forces at work propelling the change beyond passwords. Historically when it came to practical implementation of “better” authentication, the ease-of-use and operational costs of alternatives became major stumbling blocks except in high-value environments but the industry is close to moving beyond that problem.

Mobile payments will be a complement to payment cards and Apple embracing NFC is exciting progress and a major step toward the future. The fact that Apple will leverage NFC with ApplePay will help adoption of newer device-centric technologies that converge mobile and identity.

Data breaches seem to be an almost everyday occurrence with no institution immune. But these breaches are waking up many enterprises and having them tighten access controls and shore up their overall security posture.

Cyberspace and real life are merging. With the Internet of Things (IoT), individuals and devices are increasingly connected to the Internet and physical objects are seamlessly integrated into information networks. The IoT will change the way we live, work and communicate.

Any article on the Internet of Things (IoT) will point out that the IoT must be secure in order for its value to be realized. Generally the point is made by describing a scary scenario where an attacker is able to access data or perform an operation by impersonating a valid user, highlighting the importance of authentication to the IoT.

Cards will not be going away any time soon. They along with mobile devices will work together seamlessly within a centralized identity management system that will support both form factors. These new systems will support their use across multiple applications and on a growing range of digital platforms beyond smartphones including wearables.

The proliferation of connected devices and the Internet of Things for identity presents challenges and threats, but if we are successful, it also presents a grand scale of opportunities. Networked devices and sensors make up the fabric of the Internet of Things (IoT) and leveraging mobile devices, sensors, and wearables is key to the future of identity and personal data. As the IoT becomes pervasive, Kantara Initiative is focusing to discover strategic issues present at the intersection of identity, IoT and usability.