Q&A with Chin Jien Lau

Date: 2019-12-19
Author: Carolina Martinez

1. Why is there a lot of interest in using multifactor authentication in the Asia/Pacific Region?

With the growing spending on connected devices and increasing emphasis on the need to reduce the risks brought by the ever-increasing use of technology in various sectors and institutions, it’s only natural that the private sector and the government are looking at multifactor authentication solutions.

2. Why do companies in the Asia-Pacific region believe multifactor authentication (MFA)is the best way to secure data and monitor corporate access?

Over the years, the number of cyber-attacks has been growing steadily around the world. Both the government and the private sector are looking hard at introducing new security techniques to ensure a more secure environment can be implemented without having to put the users through arduous security training. This makes them believe that MFA is one of the most secure ways because it examines several variables associated with a user before granting access to the user. On top of that, users do not need to go through some complicated training just to know and understand how to use MFA. Anyone who has been using an ATM card would have little problem understanding how MFA works.

3. Are companies moving toward Windows Hello for Business or other virtual smart cards for their multifactor authentication needs?

Currently companies around the Asia Pacific region are looking into different ways for their multifactor authentication needs. However, Windows Hello for Business or other virtual smart cards have yet to gain significant traction in this region. The majority of the users, regardless of whether they are from the government or the private sectors, are still very much deploying physical smart cards, which had an earlier head start compared to virtual smart cards.

4. What trends in security are you seeing in your region for 2020?

One of the security trends that we will be seeing in 2020 around this region will be more of the incorporation of biometric or facial recognition into the MFA. The additional biometric and facial recognition will further harden the security in the realm of identity management.

5. Why is credential management solution technology starting to become more popular in your region?

In the countries around Asia, the majority of the trends are influenced by the governments’ policies and their initiatives. As more and more information is being moved to the cloud, many organizations are starting to take extra security measures in credential management. Some of these trends are influenced by the bank requirements, especially with regard to financial institutions’ management of technology risk. One of the best examples of bank requirements is the Risk Management in Technology (RMiT),which was recently released by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

6. What is contributing to the increased interest in Versasec’s vSEC:CMS solution in the region?

With the increased of effort from both government and private sectors, IT security personnel are searching for sophisticated products that can assist them in deploying multifactor authentication solutions. Apart from technology partners effort in promoting Versasec in this region, Versasec, with its innovative solutions and efforts, is creating awareness that is capturing the attention of the users around this region.