We see the need to spread trust in the digital world, and believe that protecting digital identities and privacy are key to do this. As a major step in this direction, I am excited to announce we have recently announced a partnership with the University of Texas’ Center for Identity (UTCID).
Together, we are collaborating to define topics that are most relevant, and converge our resources. We are conducting research around real-world deployments such as digital driver’s licenses, facial recognition and document verification using our experts and UT thought leaders.
Our first joint initiative is around biometrics, which is quickly becoming the most trusted way to secure devices, sensitive information like our finances, and even the nation’s borders. We also want to simplify every day ID authentication needs and make government documents like driver’s licenses and passports more secure.
The challenge is clear
With over 10m records compromised or exposed every day, the equivalent to 122 records every second, the need for protecting sensitive information is critical. Together with UTCID, we are providing research and education to help businesses and consumers alike be more proactive in preventing security breaches and fraud rather than simply responding after the fact.
A recent study found that after a data breach, 71 percent of chief marketing officers believed the biggest cost of a security incident is the loss of reputation and brand value. For consumers, 65 percent of those surveyed said they lost trust in an organization following a data breach. As you can see, responding “after the fact” isn’t something anyone can afford.
Three initial key topic areas within our partnership are:
- Discussing trends in identity management and the technologies to create a more secure and convenient user experience.
- Collaborating to increase the awareness for protecting identities and ensuring online privacy. This includes leveraging each other’s presence at industry events to proliferate education around the solutions to identity and security challenges.
- Helping students anticipate job opportunities upon graduation, officially part of the Masters in Science in Identity Management & Security. We help create job descriptions based on our expertise and are hiring interns to expose students to the digital world in a workplace environment.
A world of opportunity
This all aligns with UTCID’s tagline, “what starts here changes the world.” We are working with the next generation of digital engineers at the University of Texas since they will be the future workforce who will build tomorrow’s trusted digital services. And it’s a fast growing field for graduates. Employment of Information Security Analysts in the U.S. is projected to grow 28% from 2016 to 2026, much faster than the average for all occupations of 7.4%. Over 100,000 jobs for this single function are anticipated to be needed by 2022.
Dr. Suzanne Barber, Professor in Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of the UTCID, had this to say on our work together, “Our partnership with Gemalto provides vital industry expertise that will contribute to our multidisciplinary research and education programs addressing critical identity management challenges. The Center looks forward to working with Gemalto to build online trust, and improve identity security and privacy for organizations and individuals alike.”
Jointly, we believe that protecting digital identities and privacy has a significant impact on the quality of life. So, we are committed to examining the threats to our ecosystem, as well as the tremendous solutions and brain power to spread trust and confidence in our digital world. Stay tuned to see what 2018 will bring in terms of addressing these challenges and opportunities!
