Identity & Access Management , Security Operations , Video

Trusona Exec Goldman on Bringing Usability to Authentication

Trusona's Kevin Goldman on Why People Work Around Security Tools That Aren't Usable
Kevin Goldman, chief experience officer, Trusona

Security practitioners are putting cognitive psychology and customer experience at the forefront of new product development in a push for usability, says Trusona's Kevin Goldman.

See Also: The State of Organizations' Security Posture as of Q1 2018

Getting user experience designers and researchers familiar with the technical ins and outs of products helps give them more meaningful conversations with security teams, he says. Meanwhile, security teams should bring in user experience resources at the same time they're making deployment plans. Otherwise, people will find ways to work around security products that aren't usable, which reduces overall security, Goldman says (see: FIDO Panel: Remember, Passwordless Is All About Usability).

"A great way to get engagement from security teams around user experience is to record your user experience research sessions," Goldman says. "It's incredible what happens when the security team actually sees users having such difficulty with their systems, and the user experience team can take some of those recordings and show the security team where the friction is and how frustrated users are."

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group from the FIDO Alliance's Authenticate 2022 conference, Goldman also discusses:

  • How typical is it for a standards body such as the FIDO Alliance to think about usability;
  • Key differences between making technology deployment and operation usable;
  • Striking a good balance between security and convenience for passkey adoption.

Goldman, who has led experience at Trusona since May 2016, has delivered human-centered design leadership and business growth to organizations for 25 years. Goldman's team works across engineering, product, marketing, operations and sales to deliver meaningful, frictionless experiences for customers and their users. Most industries agree "customer experience is the only truly durable competitive advantage." Goldman is on a mission to bring this sensibility to cybersecurity to make systems more secure and easier to use. His philosophy: Experiences should be simple and soulful so people can get on with life.


About the Author

Michael Novinson

Michael Novinson

Managing Editor, Business, ISMG

Novinson is responsible for covering the vendor and technology landscape. Prior to joining ISMG, he spent four and a half years covering all the major cybersecurity vendors at CRN, with a focus on their programs and offerings for IT service providers. He was recognized for his breaking news coverage of the August 2019 coordinated ransomware attack against local governments in Texas as well as for his continued reporting around the SolarWinds hack in late 2020 and early 2021.




Around the Network

Our website uses cookies. Cookies enable us to provide the best experience possible and help us understand how visitors use our website. By browsing govinfosecurity.com, you agree to our use of cookies.