Identity Management In The Cloud

Can Online Identity Management Be Simplified and Managed on a Global Scale?

Hackers are becoming more sophisticated and intelligent by the day, so asking a customer to verify their identity by confirming their mother’s maiden name, home address, or another inane personal detail is useless when the attacker already knows this information. Cybersecurity and Identity and Access Management (IAM) companies need to stretch their capacity to provide foolproof solutions to this modern-day conundrum. But can it really be simplified and managed on a global scale?

Bad governance vs. bad security.

Organizations have grown accustomed to collecting, storing, transmitting, buying, and selling individuals’ personally identifiable information without much thought of who that data truly belongs to and whether they have the legal rights to it. Thanks to new policies like the GDPR, organizations are now required to amp up their security governance. And that’s a good thing, but as users consume more and more digital services, the desire to manage one’s identity through a single online portal will become more relevant than ever before.

The demand for data security has always been high, but recent breaches like Equifax and Facebook’s privacy revelations have increased the pressure on identity management further. Identity management is an important part of a business’ security plan, as it is linked to both the safety and productivity of the organization. The main goal of identity management is to ensure that only authenticated users are granted access to the specific applications, systems, or IT environments for which they are authorized, but bad governance could actually be more detrimental than bad security.

Identity-as-a-Service

As governance moves into the Cloud, Identity-as-a-Service is becoming a more realistic venture with some governance providers even evolving into full-stack one-stop identity management shops. The Cloud offers a unique opportunity for data security teams to launch seamless user-friendly identity management solutions to their employees and customers, but many have not been able to find the sweet spot between convenience and security.

IAM companies are making strides, but many are still solving yesterday’s problems. Cloud, Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence are just some of the key technologies that could offer unique opportunities but how, when, and where they will be utilized in simplifying identity management in the age of digital transformation is still up in the air.

Learn more about our risk management solutions: https://www.rsa.com/en-us/solutions/detect-and-respond-to-advanced-cyber-threats

About the Author: Dell Technologies