Empowering the hybrid workforce through robust IAM solutions

In recent times, many organizations have realized that remote workforces pose significant challenges compared to employees working in secure office environments. Though remote workers are highly productive and efficient, they are more vulnerable to technology-related risks.

As a result, business leaders are questioning whether additional controls are necessary to ensure security when working remotely or if they can rely on the technology already in use. They are also scrutinizing current technologies such as virtual private networks (VPNs), virtual desktops, and mobile devices to determine if they are fit for purpose now and in the future.

These technologies are primarily designed to enable easy accessibility of information within the organization from outside the organization. This is essential for the smooth functioning of remote workforces.

Working remotely opens up the possibility of unauthorized access to your organization's network and information. Therefore, it is highly recommended, if not essential, to have a robust identity verification and data-centric security system in place, especially for those who need access to privileged spaces, critical business systems, or confidential data.

Identity and access management (IAM) plays a crucial role in ensuring the security of valuable information and resources within organizations, particularly in the context of remote work. When implemented effectively, IAM can help mitigate security risks associated with remote working and improve overall efficiency. To enable your hybrid workforce with IAM, consider the following areas:

Becoming context aware

Context awareness has become a vital feature in IAM (Identity and Access Management) products. This feature evaluates the identities of those who are trying to access data by taking various variables into account. These variables include employee's location, time of day, and the device used for login. Based on these variables, a risk level is determined.

This risk level helps in driving controls that give additional assurance about the user's identity. For example, an organization can require an additional authentication factor when someone tries to access a business-critical application.

However, due to the new reality of the present times, the line between work and home has blurred. This has caused people to adopt new work habits and face new challenges. The traditional work hours are no longer black and white, and this demands new and diverse solutions. IAM can be the answer to these challenges.

Ensuring the adequacy of identity and access governance

It's imperative to ensure that identity and access governance are managed efficiently and effectively. Beyond verifying identities, it's essential to ensure that access rights are granted appropriately, whether working remotely or locally.

The quality of the overall governance includes processes, procedures, approvals, and monitoring, and it plays a pivotal role in ensuring visibility and control over authentication and authorization. A robust IAM governance framework can help organizations address potential risks, safeguard sensitive data and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.

By getting it right, businesses can identify potential threats before they impact the organization, thereby enabling proactive measures to mitigate them. Assigning responsibilities and performing regular reviews of access rights and user privileges are simple tasks that need to be executed diligently. However, a lack of these essential elements across many organizations is one of the primary reasons why IAM-related incidents are missed or identified too late, thereby causing significant damage to the business.

Integrating IAM with security operations

Hybrid working can make it more difficult to detect security breaches in a timely manner. However, Identity and Access Management (IAM) can help with prompt detection.

Security incident and event management (SIEM) solutions are great at monitoring user activity across an organization, but they lack the necessary context to determine whether user activity is authorized or not.

IAM provides the missing context. When SIEM and IAM are integrated, SIEM solutions can identify exceptions more effectively, and IAM can be used to deactivate access in response to a threat.

The current trend of hybrid working is becoming more and more common, and it is likely to stay with us for a long time. However, as with any new way of doing things, there are risks that come with it. These risks can be associated with the use of unsecured networks, equipment, and the sharing of sensitive information.

Therefore, it is imperative to stay vigilant and take necessary precautions to manage these risks. One critical element in addressing these risks is Identity and Access Management (IAM).

IAM is a powerful tool that can help manage identity and access rights by providing a centralized system for controlling user identity, access, and permissions. This means that IAM can help ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive data, applications, and systems.

In addition, IAM can also help maintain compliance by providing an audit trail of user activity, making it easier to track and analyze any potential security breaches.

Therefore, IAM is an essential component in managing the risks associated with hybrid working. It can provide a secure and convenient way of managing user access, which ultimately ensures that you and your information remain safe during this modern era of hybrid working.

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