With the release of the new Iphone, a new technology that
has been around for a while has been brought into the spotlight. By securing a phone with a fingerprint, users
have added security, and don't need to worry about remembering passwords. For businesses, this is a technology that can
bring a peace of mind that has long been needed.
Frequently
in the news, we see that a laptop was stolen from a major corporation putting
at risk thousands if not millions of customer's personal information. To solve this problem, several years ago my
own workplace issued laptops with fingerprint secure technology. But, with more people using their phones, this
same type of data is now stored on pocket sized devices that are frequently
lost, damaged, or stolen. We now use our
phones to gain access to customer data, log onto to the company website to view
internal use only type information, as well as viewing company email. Employees are instructed on how to store passwords
and keep our phones secure, but I know many people that have a "sticky note"
on their phone with a list of their passwords.
By using a fingerprint to secure the phone, there is a much better
chance that sensitive data stays secure.
This
type of technology almost sells itself to businesses. Everyone wants to avoid the type of costly
security leaks that have happened in the past.
Social media can be used to target ads promoting this feature to
purchasing agents of companies with an offsite presence such as a mobile sales
force. Social media could also be used
to promote this technology to mobile phone manufacturers, showing how companies
might be more likely to buy their product if they
incorporated this feature into their phones.
Great post Lisa! I remembered a silly/interesting article I read about this for the new iPhone, which employs this technology. The author was purporting that it would lead to increase brutal crime of owners to gain access to their finger tips. It was a bit of a stretch...but I could understand how it might happen if one is, say maybe, a spy, drug dealer, politician, or all three.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/iphone-5s-thieves-may-mutilate-owners-in-bid-to-gain-access-to-fingerprintreading-handsets-expert-warns-8808577.html
Thanks for your great comment, Ronnie. I read something a little less brutal where hackers were able to gain access to someones phone by lifting their fingerprint off of a drinking glass. I think most people can rest assured that their fingertips are safe, but if you are keeping something on your phone that someone would go to these lengths to steal, perhaps it is a good idea to rethink that plan.
ReplyDeleteI think that the new iPhone security feature is awesome. I think that people to need to beware of the new cyber threats because they are becoming more of a problem.
ReplyDeleteLisa,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great blog and I agree that new technology to see that our personal data is secured is incredibly important. Last year I was victim of identity theft, and still have NO idea how my personal information was compromised, my phone had never been stole neither had my lap top. I actually became aware of the problem because of an email that I received from Wells Fargo, but if they thief had gained access to my phone which has my email, which has my budget that I update each pay period and email to myself so I have the updates on my home PC, laptop, and work PC – they would have had access to ALL of my banking passcodes which I have on that spreadsheet. Let me rephrase that, I used to keep all of them on that spreadsheet.
Amber