Qualcomm reveals what it claims is a better means for fingerprint scanning at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2015-- a technology using ultrasonic waves to "read" fingerprints in 3D dubbed "Snapdragon Sense ID."

The technology penetrates the dermal layers of fingers to identify the sweat glands and generate a detailed 3D map of user fingerprints. As a result it should be more accurate than current capacitative touch sensors and harder to fool.

Additionally Qualcomm claims it scans through "glass, aluminum, stainless steel, sapphire and plastics," making it easy to integrate in device design elements (such as bezels) without need for additional materials.

Gartner urges enterprises to shift security away from mere blocking and detection to active detection and response to attacks-- all in order to avoid what it calls "aggressive business disruption attacks."

Such attacks are defined as "targeted attacks that reach deeply into internal digital business operations with the express purpose of widespread business damage. Servers may be taken down completely, data may be wiped and digital intellectual property may be released on the Internet by attackers… These attacks may expose embarrassing internal data via social media channels-- and could have a longer media cycle than a breach of credit card or personal data."

"Preventive controls, such as firewalls, antivirus and vulnerability management, should not be the only focus of a mature security program," Gartner continues. "Balancing investment in detection and response capabilities acknowledges this new reality."

Identity and access management (IAM) is critical to the success of the Internet of Things (IoT) Gartner reports, but as it stands IAM cannot handle the scale of complexity IoT brings to enterprise.

"IAM leaders must reconsider how traditional approaches to cybersecurity and IAM work in a world where devices and services are so abundant, in so many different forms and positioned at so many different points within the IT ecosystem," the analyst says.

The growth of the IoT demands means to define and manage the identities of "entities" (people, services and things) within a single framework-- or, as Gartner puts it, "a new taxonomy for the participants in IAM systems," one dubbed the Identity of Things (IDoT).

Windows 10 will move beyond passwords when it comes to security as Microsoft adds support for biometric authentication and other means of password replacement via the FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance.

"Moving the world away from passwords is an enormous task, and FIDO will succeed where others have failed," Microsoft says. "The need and appetite for change has never been greater, and we're thrilled to be part of this great working group whose members are actively transitioning FIDO solutions from the drawing board to implementations capable of large scale deployment."