The Future of Cyber Security: Managing Identity

When people hear the words “cyber security,” they often think of antivirus software, firewalls, and other tools that protect against unwanted intrusions into their networks and data storage. However, these days, cyber security is more than just preventing attacks: it’s also about managing who has access to information and systems within an organization. And as we all know, with great power comes great responsibility!

Cybersecurity is more than just preventing attacks: it’s also about managing who has access to information and systems within an organization. As the complexity of IT environments continues to grow, so does the risk of data breaches that come from improper use of these technologies by employees or third parties. So how can you protect your company? It starts with understanding what cyber security means in today’s digital world — because if you don’t understand this topic, it will be difficult for you to make informed decisions on how best to mitigate risks.
The term “cyber security” has several definitions. Still, for this article, I’ll define it as being both an attitude and an approach to promoting information security across the organization. In addition, cyber security is also about protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access while at rest or in transit — especially with data breaches on the rise.

With the average cost of a data breach in 2021 reaching $ 4.24 million, organizations need to do more than prevent these costly incidents from happening. A new approach to cyber security is about knowing who has access to your systems and what they are allowed to do throughout their lifetime — this includes contractors, consultants, and even temporary employees.

Many companies are unprepared for the risk of cyber security and ignore it by not implementing safeguards. In this world of ship it fast and fix it later, companies are constantly faced with the evolving problem of securing their data. Almost all companies face the risk of data breaches but do not want to take the time or effort to prepare for these. With more business transactions conducted online, we must implement proper safeguards to protect our company’s data and systems. While no system is infallible, knowing who has access to your network and how they are allowed to use it is an excellent place to start in keeping your company safe.

Businesses and individuals need to consider cybersecurity when managing sensitive data. A company could lose all of its intellectual property because it does not have a plan in place that includes cybersecurity. It may seem like a wasted effort to do this, but the risks associated with not considering cybersecurity outweigh the risks of following through with this process. Furthermore, if there are legal issues with the company’s data or technology in general, a lack of documentation and identifying access points can be an overriding roadblock to recoverability. If the risk of losing IP isn’t enough to spur concern, the risk of losing customer personal identifiable information (PII) should be. Last year 44% of the data breaches reported involved PII data. In this new digital age, every company does transactions online and at some point collects customer PII data, meaning every company should be implementing cybersecurity measures to ensure they protect their customers.
The most significant part of managing identity and access is recognizing that they are not one-in-the-same. For example, when an individual has an account for a service, they may access certain parts of the website. In some cases, an individual has a username and password that grants them complete access to all areas of the site. In other instances, only specific information is accessible based on what that person needs for their job. To create a more secure network, organizations need to implement a method of managing identity and access. In other words, a business needs to have documentation about who is accessing the system at what time.

Furthermore, if there are issues with this process, they need to track these activities. This is where identity management and identity governance systems come into play. Identity management systems will help manage the users in your environment, assigning them access, and identity governance systems will help you keep track of those user’s access and audit the assignment of that access. It is essential for companies not only to monitor external breaches into their network but also to track internal activity.

Managing contractors, consultants, and temporary employees is an ongoing process that takes time to perfect; ongoing training for all parties in the organization can help. The use of electronic tools makes this process easier to manage but not easy. Tools are expensive and require ongoing maintenance. It is also essential to train the regular employees about the importance of these tools because they may have access to information outside their department or project area. Treatment of contractors, consultants, and temporary employees should be audited every year. As remote work becomes the way to work, more users will be accessing company systems from several different places. The network is no longer the perimeter; identity is.
In the event of a security breach, access management is more critical than ever. To comply with regulations and protect intellectual property, organizations need to identify what data was accessed. Furthermore, it is vital to determine who had access to this data and what they did with it after accessing said information. This includes tracking where the information was sent, what it was used for, and any documents printed or copied. The average time to identify and contain a data breach last year was 287 days. Read that again; it’s not a typo. Two hundred and eighty-seven days between the time a breach is identified and the time it’s contained.

If access to sensitive information is affected by the security breach, employees need to determine how long someone had access to this data and who had access during this period. It is crucial not only to know who has had access but also when this access took place. In some cases, a user may have had access for a short period but had enough information to cause significant damage to the company. Having this type of data is essential when determining what happened and how it can be prevented from happening again in the future.
Managing identity and access is critical for all businesses, including those that do not deal with sensitive information or intellectual property. Having access to user and account data is essential when it comes to running a business successfully. If an employee leaves the company, their account should be disabled immediately to prevent unauthorized use of this information. The future of cyber security will always include managing identity and access in some form or another.

With the increasing number of cyberattacks, managing identity and access is just one way to stay ahead in this ever-changing landscape. Cybersecurity has evolved from merely preventing outside intrusion into networks to including management of who can do what within an organization’s systems. This includes contractors, consultants, and temporary employees; without proper training or documentation, it may be difficult for you to know if they are accessing sensitive information that should not be shared with them. Suppose there is a security breach on your company data or network resources like intellectual property (IP). In that case, good cybersecurity will include tracking every instance where someone accessed these areas using their username and password combination. The future of cybersecurity seems uncertain, but we know that companies need to continue investing in this area because while threats change, the need for protecting data remains constant.