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Plan now to beat 2007 password 'breakdown', Gartner advises

Passwords will reach the end of their life in as little as two years, forcing organisations to rethink the way they secure their IT systems

September 13th, 2005

By 2007, the analyst group predicts that 80% of organisations will have reached "password breaking point" and will have to turn to more sophisticated technology to protect their systems and data.Businesses need to put a roadmap in place now that will allow them to phase out passwords and replace them with more secure two-factor authentication, said Ant Allan, research vice-president at Gartner.Speaking at the Gartner IT Security Summit at London's Royal Lancaster Hotel this week, Allan will warn that passwords are rapidly becoming unusable as organisations attempt to stay one step ahead of hackers.By making passwords increasingly complex, and changing them with greater frequency, businesses are simply "rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic," said Allan.Complex passwords may be harder to crack, but they are still vulnerable to discovery by spyware, key loggers or social engineering attempts by hackers, he said. They also become increasingly difficult for staff to remember and use.The current generation of two-factor authentication devices - including smartcards, biometric readers, and one-time password tokens, which typically cost £70 a user to implement and run - will be too expensive for many organisations to deploy.Choosing the authentication mechanism is only part of the problem, said Allan. Organisations will need to invest in sign-on software to manage the passwords of legacy systems, while they migrate their systems towards two-factor authentication. But this should only be a temporary step, said Allan.

About HRS

Human Recognition Systems (HRS) is a privately held UK company specialising in developing and delivering solutions which identify people and their behaviours. Established in 2002, HRS is recognised by industry experts as one of the leading Biometric, Identity Management Consulting and Systems Integration Companies.

At the core of HRS lie a strong set of values e.g. Imagination and Innovation, Pride and Passion, Valuing, Trusting and Loving. These are the guiding lights around which revolves our business model and day to day functioning.

Our vision is “To be trusted and valued globally for delivering solutions which recognise people and their behaviours”.