In the past year, we’ve witnessed the hyper-growth in usage of cloud and mobile applications around the world, the increasing demand to protect critical business information and the rapid adoption of best-in-class security standards by developers and companies alike, writes Phil Turner, VP EMEA, Okta, pictured.
Business computing is happening everywhere, at our desks, at home, on mobile devices, in watches and cars, and work is transforming rapidly because of it. Organisations — regardless of size, industry and location —are adopting similar numbers of cloud-based applications and taking steps to enable employees, partners, contractors and even customers with the apps, devices and services they need to be productive, while also securing increasingly mobile workforces. Our recent report shows more and more employees use phones and tablets to access both personal and work related information. As a result, security is top of mind for businesses, who often see security as a major challenge for adopting digital technologies. So what security measures can organisations put into cloud applications and services to keep sensitive data protected? Rather than relying solely on passwords to authenticate users, multifactor authentication and single-access points to all applications can help.
Environment
A recent Accenture report shows that 51 per cent of senior decision-makers are concerned about security as a challenge for adopting digital technologies. Businesses are realising that in order to keep end user computing secure, they need a better way to secure and control an increasing number of users, devices and applications that span traditional company and network boundaries. For IT, this means switching focus from being device-centric, to people-centric.
With new authentication options on the market, companies and employees are moving away from using security questions as a form of verification towards greener, more secure pastures. The advent of social media has made it easier for hackers to triage personal information to then answer traditional security questions like “What’s your mother’s maiden name?” or “What was the name of your first pet?”. This is prompting businesses to favour simpler and more secure methods of authentication like SMS and push notifications for phones and watches.
MFA on the rise
Let me share an example of why these additional factors are so important. Today, many companies are opening their virtual doors to partners and suppliers and allowing them access to data and information, businesses are also opening the door to a number of risks. A supply chain can consist of hundreds of different suppliers, each of which provides businesses with another potential point of failure, or entry point for a cybercriminal to attack. In addition, there’s a chance that counterfeit products could enter the supply chain or a loss of intellectual property caused by data leakage, whether intentional or accidental.
In response, there are a number of simple steps that businesses can take in order to secure applications and multiple access points. Businesses have traditionally protected VPN gateways with a second factor to authenticate users. As organisations put more and more sensitive data in cloud-based apps for external partners to access, companies increasingly implement multifactor authentication (MFA) to ensure that data is only being accessed by approved stakeholders. MFA involves the use of two or more types of authentication — such as a password plus a temporary key which is sent to a user’s phone, dongle, email address, or app to ensure users are who they say they are, reducing the risk of unauthorised access. While traditionally, MFA solutions were purpose built for large enterprises, the cloud is democratising MFA for companies of all sizes, enabling smaller companies to adopt implement this technology as well.
Minimising the risk
It’s crucial that the IT team understand who has access to applications and data, where they are accessing it and what they are doing with it. With this information, IT has control over the different applications, access points and user types that will be connected to its cloud systems. This ensures that they all adhere to IT and security guidelines and enables a secure and seamless user-experience that improves productivity and collaboration between employees.
Previously businesses have turned towards on-premises software to manage identity and access, but the proliferation of devices in the workforce, combined with a rise in the number of applications outside the firewall, means this approach is no longer sufficient. Instead organisations are adapting their enterprise architectures and deploying cloud-based identity and access management (or Identity as a service, IDaaS) to solve and secure the “anywhere, anytime, from any device” access challenge.
IDaaS provides businesses with a better way to secure and control a magnitude of more users, devices and applications that span traditional company and network boundaries. Not only does IDaaS enable IT to benefit from real-time updates and the flexibility to react to their ever-changing network, but it provides automated user de-provisioning across all on premise and all cloud based applications. This leaves CIOs with the peace of mind that once an employee has left the company, the company’s data hasn’t left with them.
Regaining IT control
Today, everything depends on identity. With cloud use set to soar, it’s clear that having a holistic understanding of the network and its surroundings no matter the complexity is imperative. The next few years will be a critical time for organisations to regain control of their IT infrastructures. The number of applications, access points and user types within organisations will continue to grow and diversify, creating an increasingly urgent need to gain visibility and control whilst also simplifying user access to cloud systems. Businesses that are unprepared to deal with the sudden increase in cloud applications will find themselves stretched and exposed. Businesses need a better way to secure and control a number of users, devices and applications that span traditional company and network boundaries, such as multifactor authentication and cloud-based identity and access management. Not only can such technology enable businesses to quickly, and securely adapt to the ever-changing environment, but it can provide a significant uplift to employee productivity, collaboration and happiness – giving employees access to the apps they need, when and where they want them.
