Verizon’s QR Code Login by their Universal Identity Services enables healthcare providers to help address strict HIPAA compliance mandates.
We’ve all heard time and again that passwords are a nightmare and we need strong multifactor authentication solutions to help reduce HIPAA violated security breaches. Today, Verizon has announced a new type of login enabled by their Universal Identity Services that will eliminate usernames and passwords. The Universal ID grants to access to provider portals or other types of online healthcare sites and also enables healthcare providers to help address strict HIPAA compliance mandates. According to the “Verizon 2014 Data Breach Investigations Report,” two out of three data breaches are attributable to lost or stolen user names and passwords, or both — and based on recent news reports, things aren’t getting better. “Lost and stolen passwords remain the No. 1 way that systems are compromised,” said Tracy Hulver, chief identity strategist for Verizon. “We continue to see user names and passwords fail as a secure way to log in, no matter how complex the password. With Verizon’s QR code login, we are making progress in protecting users without increasing the hassle, headache or expense for the user and the enterprise.” A new feature of Verizon’s Universal Identity Services portfolio, the QR code login is ideal for healthcare to help reduce fraud, phishing attacks and can even reduce unnecessary expenses associated with help desk support and password resets. How the QR Code Works Users will be able to enroll for a Verizon Universal ID directly from a participating Web page. After registering, users can download to their smartphone a mobile app that scans a dynamically generated QR code on the login page. Once the user’s identity is confirmed, he or she is authenticated to the website. The QR code login can be used alone, as a “scan and go”, or combined with a PIN number or password for healthcare transactions that require stronger security. “The beauty of the QR code is its flexibility,” added Hulver. “It can be used alone or with other stronger measures to give enterprises and their users just the right level of security simply and easily.” Making security stronger and affordable Verizon’s Universal Identity Services provide multifactor authentication that is delivered from the cloud enabling faster, simpler, secure user access—anytime from virtually anywhere and any device. Universal Identity Services offers three levels of identity strength, from a basic identity to a very strong identity. For example, to simply access an online account a consumer can use a basic strength identity, but to perform a financial transaction or access sensitive records, a stronger ID can be established that requires the user to provide additional data for identity verification. Since the entire service is enabled by Verizon’s secure cloud, enterprises do not need to invest in a new infrastructure. Plus, there are no hard tokens to buy or replace.
