Today marks the inaugural
Identity Management Day, a new annual awareness event on the second Tuesday of every April. Founded by the
Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA), Identity Management Day aims to educate IT decision-makers “about the dangers of casually or improperly managing and securing digital identities.”
But what is identity? And why should businesses care about identity management, especially if resources and budgets are stretched thin? How can IT decision-makers implement or improve upon identity management systems to address IT and employees’ needs in an increasingly remote work environment.
What exactly is identity?
The term "identity" has many uses, but Identity Management Day focuses on the context of managing employee identities at work. In that environment, identity connects a person to their work and the resources they use.
In the workplace, your "identity" is the data used to verify you. An identity may include pieces of information you know (an email address or password) or devices you have access to (your phone). It may consist of your own physical or behavioral characteristics (a fingerprint) and even background information that is supplied behind the scenes but is otherwise “invisible” to you (your IP address or typing patterns). Those data points can build a profile to keep track of your activity and give you access to physical and digital resources.
In summary,
an identity proves that you are who you claim to be. Anytime you need to log in to the corporate network or swipe into the office or open your work email, various data points prove you are the right person and that you should have permission to continue.
Identity is paramount to business security
Over the years, businesses have expanded the definition of “workplace” to include working from home, working on the road, co-working, and other remote work scenarios. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated digital transformation for many businesses, particularly in industries that to-date were slow to embrace virtual work.
Identity is essential to efficient work and maximum security, no matter where employees happen to be working. Centralized identity management affords IT teams greater control and removes common obstacles for employees like tedious login prompts and demanding security requirements. In today’s work-from-anywhere world, it’s even more critical that IT
makes identity management a top priority.
Proper identity management also helps prevent bad actors from gaining physical or digital access. The ISDA reports that “79% of organizations have experienced an identity-related security breach in the last two years, and 99% believe their identity-related breaches were preventable.” Employees with too much access - like admin privileges that are inappropriate for their role - can unintentionally cause data breaches, too.
In short, poorly managed identities can be a security liability and resource drain. Using an identity solution to centrally manage user access can improve the employee experience, boost efficiency, and better safeguard the business from cyber threats.
Managing identity in a work-from-anywhere world
Creating and managing workplace identities requires an identity solution. Implementing an identity solution should be cost-effective and scalable. Not only should a solution meet IT’s requirements for security and administrative oversight, but it should also meet employee requirements for usability.
For businesses with smaller IT teams, limited resources, or less room in the budget for a full suite of cybersecurity tools, an identity solution can be an intelligent investment to create a strong security foundation. With
a holistic identity solution, IT can adequately safeguard privileged accounts, create a security culture across the organization, make strong passwords the norm, connect employees with behind-the-scenes authentication protocols, and add extra protection to work resources with multifactor authentication.
Identity Management Day provides an opportunity to evaluate how your company is currently managing identities and any ongoing identity-related challenges facing the organization, especially within the remote work landscape. Expanding your current identity program to ensure all access points are properly secured or investing in a new identity solution like
LastPass can significantly improve work efficiency while reducing cyber threats.
