As a parent of two small children, I feel that sleep and time may be the two most important aspects of parenting. Having a rehearsed schedule that includes daily naps, set times for dinner and an 8 p.m. bedtime is the only way of survival for us working parents. And to top it off – we still want more daylight that allows us to spend time with our kids. So, when daylight saving time (DST) approaches, I always get excited for the longer days we get with the kiddos, but I dread the one-hour time change that disrupts their schedule. I imagine it’s a real struggle for all working parents.
So, I did some research.
It started when President Trump recently tweeted, “Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!,” sparking a real debate. I found that many states are trying to amend DST by keeping it the standard time year-round. Originally implemented globally during World War 1 – to minimize the use of artificial lighting in an effort to save fuel for the war – DST was extended by President Bush and incorporated in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Today, in a digital era, technology and solar energy advancements address the energy-saving problem. Because of this, there isn’t much data that supports the need to change the time every year to save energy. So now, many are trying to pass a bill through Congress to make DST permanent instead of “springing forward” and “falling back” every year. This will give people consistent schedules year-round and more daylight after working hours.
In fact, studies have found that when DST ends and we change our clocks to “fall back”:
- Businesses lose money due to lack of consumer spending when it’s darker outside
- More deaths occur from lack of sleep
- Society’s productivity decreases with unnecessary time spent on changing clocks (yes, it’s actually true!)
In my opinion, people are tired of a rule that was implemented in the past but doesn’t really work well with our current lifestyle and changing business needs. So now, it’s time to enhance the DST law by making it year-round.
I started to realize that this same type of problem comes up when dealing with security solutions for organizations, especially with the massive changes in our digital lives.
Directives like HSPD-12 and FIPS 201 mandate that smart cards (i.e. CAC & PIV) be used for all physical, logical and network access. Unfortunately, these directives were made before the introduction of mobile devices. As a result, integration of smart card readers with mobile devices has been largely unsuccessful as these readers are expensive and bulky, and their clunky designs clash with the intuitive design of mobile devices. In other words, just because it’s labeled “smart” doesn’t mean it is, or that it will provide a secure, seamless experience.
So, similar to the DST debate and proposed resolutions, we’ve created a solution that addresses compliance needs for today’s users and technology. We recently partnered with VMware to combine our solutions in a way that would provide secure physical and logical access to mobile users without the need for a physical smart card. With VMware Workspace ONE and Entrust Datacard’s certificate-based smart credential technology, organizations can offer a derived PIV credential solution that establishes secure remote access to your networks and applications via certificate-based authentication.
Now with only a mobile device, you can securely provide:
- Mobile authentication, signing and encryption
- Native applications and profiles (VPN, secure email, secure browsing)
- Third-party applications
- NIST SP 800-157 compliance
And you can replace existing smart cards by transforming mobile into a virtual smart card to streamline workstation authentication for:
- Proximity-based login to workstations
- Two-factor authentication for VPN, on-premise and cloud apps
- Email encryption and digital signing
This allows your mobile workforce, remote and branch offices, and remotely connecting partners and clients to safely access your services using their mobile devices – all in a way that is compliant with U.S. Federal HSPD-12/FIPS 201-2 PIV program mandates and replaces workstation smart card reader access.
So, until it’s time to “spring forward” again, enjoy your longer hours with more time spent outside! And if you need a secure solution that has already adapted to the regulations and user expectations for a frictionless experience, we have one – and it’s not going anywhere!
Learn more about Entrust Datacard Derived PIV/CAC Credentials solution.
