Identity Management: RSA Security® commissioned survey provides a call to action for your customers.

In the June issue of RSA SecurTimes we reported on some alarming findings from the 2004 Internet Identity Survey that we commissioned to establish consumer habits for online identity management. This involved hundreds of individuals in focus groups, telephone interviews and one-to-one street interviews. While the independent survey was carried out solely in the UK, its results clearly show that consumers are presenting the criminal fraternity with new and easy ways to steal from the individual worldwide. You need to make your customers understand the risk they face if they don’t take steps to control identity management.

The survey revealed a large proportion of consumers to be dazzlingly naïve about the Internet. Its simplicity and anonymity seem to convince them that once a password and credit card number have been entered, little else is at risk. These findings illustrate consumers’ generally slack approach to protecting their identities:

These figures reveal that consumers’ passwords are often easily accessible to third parties. They also show how easy it could be to narrow down the range of password options for someone wishing to access personal data. It is evident from the way consumers create their passwords that the e-Commerce industry has clearly failed in educating the public on the basics of Internet personal safety. This is also evident in the way they fail to limit the number of virtual identities they create or to protect these identities. For more information, please see the "Identity Federation" article in this edition of RSA SecurTimes.

You need to make your customers aware that the majority of consumers view website owners as the guardians of their personal information; they regard your customers’ businesses as responsible for the protection of their online identities.

Whether the consumer view is fair or reasonable is not the issue. The fact remains that if their trust in the website owner is broken through misuse or theft of their personal data, they will take their business elsewhere – and they’ll enthusiastically relate the whole experience to friends and family.
You can use our findings as a call to action for your customers to invest in Identity Management. A full summary of the report is available at http://www.rsasecurity.com/products/securid/whitepapers/Online_ Identities_Research_UK_2004_FINAL.pdf.

Any of them with an interest in the development of e-business should ask themselves two questions:

What can I do to help educate my customers to better safeguard their virtual identities?
> Consumer education is essential, but leaving consumers with the responsibility of identity management is not going to deliver a reliable level of security.

How can my business ensure that its security stays one step ahead of the criminals?
> By using our two-factor authentication solution RSA SecurID® for Microsoft® Windows®, now with RSA® Passage for remote access, Microsoft Windows desktop access and SSO. The opportunity for RSA SecurID® technology for enterprise authentication increases the sales potential to 80-100% penetration within existing customers. It also gives you the opportunity to attract new customers who currently use passwords for remote access. Remember that the global spend on authentication in 2004 is forecast to reach $6.5 billion and our market now includes all Microsoft Windows users, so the time couldn’t be better for going to market with RSA SecurID for Microsoft Windows authentication.

Get your copy of the summary of our independent survey here –
http://www.rsasecurity.com/products/securid/whitepapers/Online_Identities_Research_UK_2004_ FINAL.pdf.
Survey carried out by Winmark Research, commissioned by RSA Security Inc.