There is rightly a growing awareness within organisations that users often employ poor passwords to protect their accounts. This is becoming a serious problem as hackers are using increasingly sophisticated techniques to garner personal information which can then be used to steal information, money and identities.

So the answer is more complex passwords then? Ensuring that passwords don’t include dictionary words, mix up lower and upper case letters, include numbers, and are longer than eight characters; and having different passwords for different systems and accounts that are changed regularly – all of this should fix the problem, right?

Wrong. The problem with this is that the users end up with so many complex passwords that they can’t remember them anyway and the only solution is to write them down on a post-it note and stick it to the computer. Either that or they end up spending valuable time on the phone to their IT support function to get their password re-set. Some organisations now claim that up to 30% of their IT help desk calls are password-related.

Actually there is another way. Organisations ranging from AXA to the Scottish Government have been implementing match-on-card biometrics to provide secure single sign-on. Once implemented the user need never remember another password again – because they become the password itself.

Match-on-card biometrics can be used in a variety of industries and businesses to identify and authenticate staff. Enrolment takes seconds to perform and as the biometric data is encrypted and only held on the card itself – which the user keeps – there are no concerns around data loss or fears about your biometric data being stored and used for other purposes. Even if your card is lost or stolen, it is useless to anyone else.

This can have a dramatic impact on your business: increased convenience for users; enhanced security; reduced data loss; reduced help desk and support costs as well as increased ease of compliance with standards such as ISO27001 (information security) and Sarbanes-Oxley.

OCP has been working closely with Precise Biometrics and One Point Consulting on a range of business solutions for clients in the area of match-on-card biometrics.