NETWORK & APPLICATIONS
“ Our Identity-First research has shown that in the wake of the pandemic , identity and access management tools are increasingly important , whatever industry you work in ,” adds Rogers . “ The pandemic saw network perimeters become increasingly elastic for many companies – and , in many cases , these boundaries broke down altogether .”
In Rogers ’ view , the traditional ways of thinking about security are no longer enough : “ More than half of companies already adopt a model where a strategic approach to identity is at the centre of security architecture . This can ease the pressure on overworked support teams and , at the same time , limit the impact on productivity . Single Sign On and Multi-Factor Authentication solutions can help to ensure that security is not a time drain for workers .” “ Cybercrime is continually evolving , but cybercriminals are also fundamentally cheap by nature – if a method works , they will keep using it until it stops working . Large changes are expensive for criminal organisations , just as they are for legitimate ones . It is up to businesses to stay ahead of the game by investing in relevant technologies , stopping threats like ransomware before they can gather pace . However , it is also up to all of us to collaborate in creating an ecosystem that is designed to reduce the profitability of criminals and protect those victims less able to protect themselves , such as organisations that exist below the cybersecurity poverty line .”
A robust approach to identity management Denis Dorval , Vice President , International Sales ( EMEA & APAC ) at JumpCloud , comments that , despite large-scale cyberattacks filling the headlines and the growing emphasis on security in the boardroom , instilling good cyber hygiene into an organisation ’ s culture remains challenging .
“ As organisations increasingly rely on digital technology to manage day-to-day operations and take advantage of working on cloud and hybrid environments , IT admins handle a number of users , devices , and applications ,” he says . “ The doors for data and systems to exist anywhere and allow organisations to adopt work-from-anywhere practices also leads to cracks appearing , creating security risks for businesses .”
“ Employees demand flexibility , operational efficiency from their IT stack , and robust security . Despite being widely accepted among CISOs and IT admins as the best threat mitigation strategy , the zero-trust framework is rarely implemented with this in mind . The patchwork of point solutions and MFA applications used in many modern businesses creates a headache of fragmented identities that IT admins struggle to manage centrally . The core ethos of “ never trust , always verify ” only adds friction to a user ’ s day-to-day workload .”
Looking to the future , organisations should put identities at the heart of their IT security strategies , leading to IT departments moving from patchwork solutions and on-premises Active Directory environments , Dorval concludes . “ A robust identity and access management strategy is the most effective way to protect organisations ’ wider attack surfaces .”
56 July 2023