Tablets and handsets have become the go to devices for employee use, replacing desktop and laptop computers. Using the mobile device as an identity token is the dream for enterprises that may soon be realized. As more devices deploy biometrics, use near field communication and Bluetooth low energy, securing devices and using them as tokens is becoming a reality. Organizations are also working on standards that will make the ubiquitous mobile the token everyone owns.

Two years into a $1.8 million pilot award from the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, Internet2 is busy helping higher education institutions embrace multi-factor authentication. The MFA “Cohortium” consists of 50 institutions – each in varying stages of rolling out multi-factor – that act as sounding boards and offer support.

From “identity standard of the future” to a likely sad footnote for bygone smart card specifications, PIV-I has had quite a ride. Just three-years ago experts predicted it would be deployed not only for government contractors but across enterprises markets as well. “Costly and complex” is the universal answer when insiders are asked why PIV-I and its less-assured little brother CIV aren’t being used in smart card deployments.

Microsoft Corp. wants to shift the focus of computing to the mobile and cloud. The company wants to seize the opportunity to hook up with all those Internet-connected devices. Key to this vision, Microsoft is turning to the cloud to provide consumers with more identity authentication options and help organizations embrace a bring-your–own-device (BYOD) policy.

In the last several years, there has been a focus on the safety and security of airports, as the challenges these facilities face are ever evolving. Despite tight security in and around the gate areas, airport facilities are by their nature open to the public – a fact that poses a major hurdle when it comes to physical security.

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.

HID Global is piloting Mobile Access on both sides of the world, enabling virtually any smartphone to function as a physical access control credential using either near field communication or Bluetooth low energy.