Maintaining Customers’ Trust over IP

RJ REISER

 

There’s never been a trust layer on the internet. Customers want to trust and/or verify who is on the other end of the connection and they don’t want to be tracked. That is a trusted relationship and the industry is now at the point to be able to deliver,” says RJ Reiser, Chief Business Development Officer, KABN in an exclusive interview with ITSecurityWire.

 

 

ITSW Bureau: In an increasingly vulnerable online environment, how can enterprises build and maintain trusted relationships with their customers?

RJ Reiser: The internet didn’t just become vulnerable. It always has been. But, because of the change in most people’s lifestyle, especially due to COVID-19, many of them are looking to online services to decrease the chances of getting sick, and this increase in online activity has raised the awareness of online vulnerabilities.

There’s never been a trust layer on the internet. Customers want to trust and/or verify who is on the other end of the connection and they don’t want to be tracked. That is a trusted relationship and the industry is now at the point to be able to deliver.

With the advancements in technology spurred on with the progress of all various government regulations for privacy and ownership of online identity and data, there is the ability to build that trust layer on the internet today. Enterprises can now start building truly trusted relationships with their constituents.

ITSW Bureau: How can enterprises bridge the gap between traditional FinTech services and solutions and innovative Verified Credentials processes?

RJ Reiser: There’s slowly a momentum building and some enterprises are bridging the gap. Enterprises cannot just replace traditional FinTech services, but they can complement them with a new layer of trust on the internet that includes verified credentials. This ensures that both parties that the organization and its customers are securely engaged.

Cryptography has provided the security and trust to enable the sharing of PII associated with a customer’s identity that can be engaged securely with a FinTech or other online party.

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The very nature of the idea of identity validation is that there is a trusted relationship, which usually means that each person knows and trusts who the other is. Now, with this, the creation of a trusted layer, people in enterprise ecosystems can be aptly identified through that trusted relationship and can create trusted relationships through identity validation. Verified identity is the cornerstone to build trust and decrease online vulnerability.

ITSW Bureau: What steps can enterprises take to effectively manage their digital assets?

RJ Reiser: In the context of managing digital assets, if enterprise leaders want to manage them, part of that management is getting access to them, being able to work with them, following the regulations, and creating processes to protect them.

How can customers share their digital assets securely? Part of that way is through a platform where they can create a verified credential that goes through the proper identity verification process (Verified Identity Credential) so that they can identify each of the individuals or corporations that have authorized access and only those individuals that meet the validation threshold can have access to information.

Enterprises can even take a further step by integrating biometrics, like facial, voice or fingerprint recognition, to a verified credential. A verified access credential no longer requires a username and password. So, the archaic username and password system disappears in favor of verified identity and verified access credentials. Now it’s all about the framework of trust – who’s trusted, what trust they have, what access they have, and what verifications do they need to access that information that they are trusted.

ITSW Bureau: How significant a role does the digital identity ecosystem play in securing an enterprise’s cybersecurity infrastructure?

RJ Reiser: There’s not going to be one size fits all to meet the needs of an enterprise and their individual security needs. However, by starting with verified identity credentials as a key anchor in the design and implementation, enterprises can start to create and be part of ecosystems that ensure that all parties are verified and trusted and who they say.

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Enterprise needs to be qualified to author or issue a verified identity credential. It must ensure that the individuals in that ecosystem have gone through an identity process that verifies them. After this, customers and employees will be able to issue that verified identity credential and that they have the tools to be able to hold and use that verified identity credential. It is then important that the people who verify that credential have gone through a process that they qualify to be a verifier in that ecosystem.

Cybersecurity is all about protecting the infrastructure. It’s all about ensuring that only the right players have the right access to the right information. Verified credentials along with other factors enable an organization to authorize and manage departments within an enterprise which can ultimately enhance cybersecurity. There’s less vulnerability when only a verified party can get into a system, network, or ecosystem.

RJ is the Chief Business Development Officer at KABN. Mr. Reiser’s career has been focused on startups in the tech field of CAD, Voice Recognition, risk management, AI and Blockchain. He has contributed to many successful exits to fortune 500 companies. He is a member of the ToIP Steering Committee, Cochair of the ToIP Ecosystem Foundry Working Group, and is a member of the board of directors at KABN. He is a creative thinker and dynamic executive who brings new ideas to expand business and drive results.