The day is fast approaching when passwords will be out, and strong authentication will be the norm. A government and technology industry panel on cybersecurity next week will recommend that the federal government end its reliance on passwords and enforce a more secure authentication system.

Such an approach could mean that all government computer users would have to hold a device to gain access to a network computer or online service. What does this mean for CIOs in the private sector? Well, the commission will also encourage all nongovernmental commercial services use such a device.

"We need to move away from passwords," Tom Kellermann, vice president for security awareness at Core Security Technologies and a member of the panel, told The New York Times. The newspaper said the report is a strong indictment of government and private industry efforts to secure cyberspace. "The laissez-faire approach to cybersecurity has failed," Kellermann said.

For more on the future:
- see this New York Times article

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