Jeremy Grant, Venable's Managing Director of Technology Business Strategy, was quoted in a June 20, 2017, CSO article on the federal government's progress to improve its cybersecurity defenses following the 2015 Office of Personnel Management (OPM) breach. A recent report by the Government Accountability Office shows that while improvements have occurred since the breach, the government still faces issues with management, bureaucracy, and technology.
"The White House made a big push to make sure that OPM and every other agency is using strong authentication for everywhere," Grant said while discussing the need for better technology. One possibility, known as the FIDO Alliance, is a platform that allows websites and applications to verify a user's identify with scanners that store biometric data on the user's device instead of a central database. "The upcoming guidance from NIST recognizes FIDO as the highest level of assurance for authentication."
If biometric data were stolen, the attacker would still need the user's device to access protected information. "They'd have to steal my phone, and incapacitate me so that I couldn't use my Find my iPhone function and brick it," Grant added. "And if someone has stolen my phone and has me incapacitated, I have much bigger problems."