Is Your Online World Secure?

I must admit that when it comes to online security I have a habit of using the same password combinations, falling into the trap of using the same password for everything – my bank, social media accounts and ecommerce sites. I am ignorant to the fact that one day I may log into my online banking to see that it has been cleaned out after paying for someone else’s yearly holiday.

Whilst the whole concept of usernames and passwords has worked in the past, in today’s increasingly digital world it is fast becoming outdated. We are encouraged to have a different password for every account making it almost impossible to remember them all, entering different password variations until we are forced to reset our accounts, hardly the ideal customer experience.

It also seems that we are all too ready to share information that may be used against us. I recently read an article about how attempts were made to take advantage of people’s information shared on social media sites in correlation with the reset password feature. The feature normally requires the persons email, date of birth, and two out of three secret questions to be answered, all of which we may be sharing on social media without realising. For me this was a rather eye opening prospect that I had never considered, as on a daily basis we share information that may be putting us at risk.

The need to have numerous usernames and passwords for different accounts would be easily solved with a Mobile ID solution. The proven Identity Management solution utilises the user-specific mobile phone number as authentication, eliminating the need for multiple accounts. This solution provides the user with much needed identity protection as all interactions can be managed from one platform and the solution manages the information that is shared with the third party. The third party service provider benefits from this solution through the provision of an improved customer experience as checkout is seamless leading to a reduced level of cart abandonment.

Ultimately any operator implementing a Mobile ID solution will experience a reduction in churn rates as once the user has integrated with the solution it becomes less attractive to migrate from the operator. The operator will also have a better understanding of their customers allowing them to tailor future product and service offerings. Therefore it is more important than ever for operators and third party service providers to reassure customers that they are a brand associated with trust and security in order to secure customer loyalty and repeat business.