You are your Identity, don’t let anyone hijack it. Let PAM safeguard your identity

What a world we’re living in! The best of times - where technology is serving us at every step. Be it business, education, or just shopping - online transactions are the most common activities in this era of Metaverse. However, often you might have asked the question, “Is it alright to share my personal information? Will my information be secure?” Are we sure that the companies we transact with can keep our information safe?

Well, the answer is simple. The organizations with whom we share our personal or financial information can keep the data secure until bad actors gain access to it. The worst impact of a data breach is the loss of trust in an organization.

The Thief who loved books

Let me share a story. A good friend had once ordered something online from a trusted brand (not disclosing the brand’s name). My friend used his card details to place the order and saved the information for the future.

Well, my friend is not a book lover; hence, his mind froze when he realized a purchase worth $400 of books and gift cards were made from his card, without his knowledge. For a middle-class Indian $400 is a lot of money. And then, his customer care journey started. Though they were able to cancel the books, the gift cards were already encashed. By this time, you would’ve already understood that he was a victim of identity theft. Although he got back the lost money from the vendor, he is still skeptical about buying anything further from the brand.

Let’s not forget that with every crisis going on - 2021 was also a year of the highest data breaches. According to Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) research, the total number of data breaches exceeded 17% in 2021. The worst-hit verticals were manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, government, and professional services.

So how can organizations deal with data leaks or identity thefts?

Following the few unpretentious rules, organizations can safeguard their client’s data and trust.

• Stop unauthorized access to sensitive data and administrative privileges
• Control the access and level of permissions given to employees and vendors to handle the data
• Implement a solid Privileged Access Management solution ? Safeguard your credentials of all the assets of your business
• Have a proxy between end-user and end server
• Control, manage, and monitor privileged access to critical systems

We all know many solutions in the market that makes security tasks like generating passwords or monitoring users quite easier than they would have been in the past.

But what’s the right one for you?

Well, go for a PAM solution that can align your organization with the best practices about privileged user management, securely audit privilege user activity, and ultimately maintain an authoritative point of control using a Zero Trust model.

PAM solutions are an innovative security protocol that eliminates the "man-in-the-middle" attack. A robust PAM solution gives organizations a way to proactively manage the access of IT resources and the resultant data, significantly limiting exposure to coercions. Businesses don't need to worry about their internal operations again because PAM does that job for them.

Do not let the bond between your organization and customers get compromised. Because when it is a matter of identity and data protection, only trust is not enough. Look beyond.

Data Source: https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/96667-the-top-data-breaches-of-2021