Almost everyone uses them, many people have lots of them, they control access to our most valuable asset—information—and yet we don't guard them properly. We share them with others, we write them on bits of paper, and we rarely bother to select good ones. What am I talking about? Passwords, of course (or more accurately, a set of credentials consisting of a username and password).
Usernames and passwords have been used to control access to computers and networks,
and the data stored on them, for decades. The problems associated with usernames
and passwords are well known, and yet no amount of technology, awareness, or
education seems to matter. They remain one of our biggest security vulnerabilities,
yet businesses continue to use them. It's almost impossible to make an online
purchase without first creating or logging on to an account. I personally have
more than 30 accounts, ranging from my online banking and investment accounts,
to shopping sites, to professional associations. These are in addition to the
accounts (both end-user and administrator-level) that I use to access the various
computers and networks required to perform my job. . . .
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Great feature, but I have a question. What authentication method would you suggest in the following scenario?
There are a number of medical practitioners in my neighbourhood (UK, hence the spelling!!) such as Phlebotomists, Diabetic Nurses etc that are employed by the State (National Health Service, roughly comparable with your Blue Cross organisation I believe) that spend time working in local practices.
For example, my phlebotomist is employed by the State, but actually works in 5 different medical practices, each with its own privately owned Windows network. She has a username and password at each location, each of which has a password renewal policy at different intervals, making remembering passwords difficult. What's a solution that would work across each location?
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There are a number of medical practitioners in my neighbourhood (UK, hence the spelling!!) such as Phlebotomists, Diabetic Nurses etc that are employed by the State (National Health Service, roughly comparable with your Blue Cross organisation I believe) that spend time working in local practices.
For example, my phlebotomist is employed by the State, but actually works in 5 different medical practices, each with its own privately owned Windows network. She has a username and password at each location, each of which has a password renewal policy at different intervals, making remembering passwords difficult. What's a solution that would work across each location?
alizian July 31, 2006 (Article Rating: