Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Rethinking Authentication

Published

Author(s)

Kim B. Schaffer

Abstract

In today's environment, there is little doubt that companies, organizations, and governments must make significant investments in developing, implementing, and supporting authentication for their digital systems. Perhaps because of this, an organization's IT support center often takes a hard line when it comes to user's authentication. Authentication tools typically take for granted that the user will do whatever it takes to authenticate. No surprise, users don't like being forced into a corner. They are resourceful and very creative in making it more manageable, usually by coming up with ways that circumvent the overall security of a system. Unfortunately, as the number and complexity of authentications for each user become greater, job satisfaction for workers is likely to decrease.
Citation
IEEE IT Professional
Volume
21
Issue
6

Keywords

usable authentication, work process, security, authentication

Citation

Schaffer, K. (2019), Rethinking Authentication, IEEE IT Professional, [online], https://doi.org/10.1109/MITP.2019.2942792 (Accessed October 31, 2024)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact reflib@nist.gov.

Created November 11, 2019, Updated May 4, 2021