Frank Abagnale, Global Security Expert & Subject of Catch Me if You Can
Thought Economics, By Vikas Shah MBE
To understand more about this world, I spoke to Frank Abagnale– one of the world’s most respected authorities on forgery, embezzlement, and secure documents who has spent 40 years working with institutions, corporations and governments around the world.
Mr. Abagnale’s rare blend of knowledge and expertise began more than 50 years ago when he was known as one of the world’s most famous con men. His riveting story provided the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film, Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Abagnale and Tom Hanks as the FBI agent fast on his heels.
Among the questions was . . . . What do you hope your legacy will be, what are you worried about?
[Frank Abagnale]: I’m working with companies, helping them to develop technologies that will solve some of the issues that face us. For the past 5 years, I’ve been working with a company called Trusona. I went to them and said, ‘we need to do away with passwords, they’re only appropriate for treehouses!’ – Passwords are a 1964 technology that we’re still using in 2018! We need to eliminate passwords completely as we already have technologies that allow us to identify and trust each other digitally, with close to 100% accuracy.
