Over lunch recently, a former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security asked me, “How long do you think it will be until mobile credentials fully replace plastic badges and cards?” My reply was that “I would like to see it happen within the next five years. I usually give that number in public, and it always stirs up discussion. However, the reality is probably somewhere between 10 years and never.” He paused for a moment and said, “You’re way off. I think it’s going to be within three years.”
The former Secretary clearly works with a different constituency than I do on a day-to-day basis. Not a huge surprise. But his view is intriguing because somewhere, there’s a group of corporate and government leaders who are pushing this technology much harder and much faster than what we see in the commercial security channel, where old habits die hard. They must see the benefits for trust, convenience and cost that are primary motivators for people concerned with ROI and effective defense at the highest level.