Can authentication deliver better citizen services?

When it comes to issuing credentials to employees, government agencies benefit from an additional authentication step that is not well appreciated: At some point in the hiring process, a trusted human resources manager or supervisor physically meets with new hires and verifies their identification documents.

When providing online services, however, that personal touch is not always possible. And even if a credential is issued via a reliable channel, if it’s only used once a year there’s a good chance an individual will lose it or not notice it was misplaced until months later.

Experts say the answer is to base the security credential on something that a person would be careful not to lose and would quickly replace if they did — such as a primary payment card, a mobile phone or a driver’s license, said Andre Boysen, chief identity officer at SecureKey Technologies.

Read full article at GCN.