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Integrated identity management indaba

Identity management is not a simple issue to understand.

Biometric technology and an integrated approach to identity management are core elements of effective identity and access management strategies in commerce. This is one of the ideas to emerge from an information-intensive IDentity Indaba held in Gauteng in September, co-sponsored by Ideco Group (Ideco).

Industry representatives, executive managers, IT managers and other stakeholders reached consensus on this and other issues affecting the identity management solution industry recently.

At the Indaba delegates were told by a panel of experts that ever-present threats to corporate data and personal information remain a concern. At the same time there is serious merit in considering biometric technology as an effective means of minimising risk and the importance of the role that integrated identity management plays.

Speakers warned that from a business process management (BPM) point of view, there is a definite need to understand biometric-based solutions and not simply sell/deliver this technology.

The Indaba featured a comprehensive programme of interactive panel discussions and other information sessions based on pre-defined tutorials. These discussions covered a range of topics, including identity management as a security measure and identity management in the consumer facing side.

The tutorials took the form of hypothetical scenarios which called for participants to draw on skills, knowledge and expertise to develop strategies. Key objectives included minimising exposure of organisations to risk associated with identity fraud and other identity-related threats.

Delegates had an opportunity to delve into the dynamics of the FMEA (failure modes and effects analysis) Procedure as an approach. FMEA is a step-by-step approach for identifying all possible failures in a design, a manufacturing or assembly process, or a product or service.

This has significant impact on service delivery models and the relevance to customers.

A breakdown of this approach shows that ‘failure modes’ refers to the ways in which something may fail, failures are any defects or errors (either potential or actual) and ‘effects analysis’ refers to an analysis of the consequences of those failures.

Event organisers were able to secure the participation of a variety of keynote speakers, including Karel Rode, director, Information Security Group; Michael Broughton, director, Archangel Holdings; Mike Steyn, director, triVector; Marius Meyer, lecturer, HRD at University of Johannesburg; Steven Powell, director, Edward, Nathan, Sonnenbergs; and Clem Daniel, director, Cliff Dekker Hofmeyer.

Moderators were Aki Anastasiou, Radio 702 presenter and Charlie Stewart, director, SuperVision.

The speakers raised a number of points of interest that affect operations within the industry, particularly considerations that many operators and consumers take for granted. These include the times one leaves an old access card at home or in the car when leaving a home or company, the ease with which the data of a company can be sabotaged if a hard drive or hard copy is removed offsite and the fact that companies require third-parties to sign off payments.

In addition speakers concurred that the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Bill, if ratified by parliament, will play a significant role.

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