The Future of Identity-based Security and Tips on Preparing for It
The acceleration of digital transformation brings about new challenges and risks for many users. Without the right tools and strategy, you might become vulnerable to the various threats in cyberspace. This can result in serious consequences such as data breaches, identity theft, and loss. Hence, 84% of businesses are focusing on strengthening their cybersecurity.
One of the best ways to do this is to look into the future of identity governance and implement such measures into your operations. Through Identity-based Security, you can safely access your apps and resources from any device, any location, and at any time. Most importantly, it helps you implement a zero-trust approach within your organization. And here’s how.
Identity-based Security defined
Identity-based Security is a type of cybersecurity that focuses on the authentication of an individual’s identity. It ensures that users of the different digital services are authorized and entitled to what they receive. This approach also involves the authentication of every identity before such users can be allowed to access privileged assets. Most importantly, it provides a structure for how such identities can be audited to ensure that every base is covered.
Identity access management, for example, is an advanced identity-based security structure that can help your organization manage your workforce or customers’ digital identities. This ensures that only the right people can access the tools and data within the organization. It leverages different technologies like Single Sign-On (SSO) and multi-factor authentication to safely store digital identities and profile data.
Trends to look out for
Digital identities are at the core of digital transformation. When such identities become compromised, attackers can easily get through your system and access crucial data within your organization. Fortunately, new technologies have emerged to protect and secure such identities.
With that, here are some IAM trends 2022 that you need to look out for.
- Cloud IAM: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the widespread adoption of cloud computing technology. Many businesses recognize its benefits, especially for remote work. With the increase in demand for cloud-based solutions, cloud-based IAM software will become more popular than on-premise ones. In fact, a recent study shows that the demand for cloud identity and access management software will grow 18.6% in the next few years. The modern workplace requires flexibility. Fortunately, such flexibility can be provided by the various cloud services available. Hence, more companies are prioritizing their migration to the cloud, especially when it comes to their identity and access management. This will ensure that you can control and monitor your security structure and access important profile data using any device from anywhere and at any time.
- All-in-one platform: Identity-based security providers specialize in different types of safeguards for your organization. Some specialize in identity and access management (IAM). Others focus on identity and governance administration (IGA) or privileged access management (PAM). However, there is yet to be a platform that provides all three types of security structures. As a result, businesses spend more investing in different software to get that comprehensive and more nuanced security structure for their organization. Fortunately, many providers are starting to take notice of this problem. Leaders in the market are proactively extending their capabilities to touch on the other types of identity-based security. This results in multifunctional platforms that provide a blend of IAM/IGA/PAM capabilities. For now, you can try expanding the scope of identity and access management by integrating your software with other identity-based security solutions.
- Identity as a service provider: With the adoption of cloud technology in identity-based security systems, the concept of identity-as-a-service is also becoming more common. This allows almost all identity capabilities to be delivered through software-as-a-service or SaaS models. SaaS-based identity offers a wide range of access control, provisioning, and API management services. It can cater to both your workforce and external customers. Some leverage the multi-tenancy model, allowing you to separate types of users between different governance dimensions. Identity-as-a-service providers also allow you to implement federated identity management. This is another type of security structure that interconnects the different domains to allow users to access several networks using a single digital identity.
- Advanced verification procedures: Multi-layered security is the best to ensure that unauthorized users won’t get into your system and access your data. Add layers to your security structure by using different types of authentications such as multi-factor authentication and password-based login. This verifies the identity of the user and makes sure that they are who they claim to be before giving them access to the system. Recently, venture capital firms have been investing billions of dollars in developing new authentication and authorization technologies. They are looking for specialized capabilities in areas such as biometric authentication, device identity, self-sovereign identity, identity verification, digital rights profiling, and authorization customization. Such services can provide organizations with a more comprehensive and foolproof verification procedure that is tailor-fit for their business operations.
- Passwordless logins: Passwords keep unwanted users from accessing your digital identity. But attackers are more creative and aggressive when it comes to brute-forcing their way into your systems, networks, applications, or devices. Passwords alone are no longer enough to keep them out. Hence, many users are ditching passwords altogether to choose passwordless logins. With this growing trend, the future of identity and access management is full of opportunities since identity-based security will be the go-to of many users when it comes to securing their logins. For example, instead of passwords to access billing software platforms, users can use IAM. This would allow them to store all their credentials from different applications in one platform and then access them whenever they need to. This would eliminate the need to remember or type usernames and passwords for each login.
How to prepare for it?
Digital transformation is touching almost all aspects of people’s lives. And as digital technology expands and more users log in, the number of digital identities grows exponentially as well. Hence, there is an urgent need for innovation in identity and access management to ensure that all identities are secured and protected.
Fortunately, there are numerous platforms that can help manage and protect the identities within your organization. These platforms will provide you with tools and authorization to customize a security structure that would fit with your current processes and operations.
To do this, you must first determine which area in your security needs improvement. By identifying your vulnerabilities, you can have an idea of what type of security you need to focus on. Let’s say that there have been multiple reports about unknown entities trying to brute force their way into your system. From there, you can consider strengthening your authentication and authorization to make sure that such attacks won’t get through your defenses.
And remember to audit your current security systems to ensure that everything is up to standard. This will also ensure that all privacy regulations are complied with and that the best practice frameworks have been followed.
Keep yourself secured
With the various IAM market trends, the future for identity-based security looks promising. The increase in demand for advanced authentication and authorization among business and private users mean new technologies will surely be emerging in the next few years. And with such new technologies, you can implement an effective zero-trust approach in your security systems. So go ahead and check out what identity-based security has to offer for your business.
