Security Keys to 2008—Identity and Access Management
Rising information fraud – personal, business and financial information - and regulatory compliance will renew security departments concerns about identity and access management around the globe for next year. Because of this, Arcot Systems predicts five trends for 2008:
1. User centric ID management
In 2008, security and IT departments will become more focused on controlling who is accessing what information in the network. To do so, companies will introduce more strict and detailed identity and access management policies. Policies will call for rigorous user centric identity validation and looking not just at the right user name and password, but also extra online credentials that prove the individual is the account owner.
Validation won’t stop at the perimeter, it will control specific information users have access to.
2. Consolidation of point Identity and access management solutions
During 2008, many companies will reduce the risk of fraud and information leakage by consolidating multiple solutions for authentication, password management, identity and access management into one service-oriented architecture. This will make management of identity and access policies easier. Analysts recognize the importance of identity validation services as being essential for fighting fraud and building online reputations.
3. Green IT movement will increase digital signature use
To reduce costs and cut their carbon footprint, companies will turn to digital signatures. This is particularly true where business processes are paper intensive, like insurance and pharmaceutical. Analysts agree - IDC says the use of digital IDs and electronic contracts will grow over the next several years.
The potential savings from replacing ink signatures and paper documents are significant. The pharmaceutical industry estimates that about 40 percent of annual research and development costs are attributed to paper-based business processes, representing $9 billion in the United States, alone. Gartner has listed Green IT among its 2008 MegaTrends here.
4. Building secure infrastructure for online business
Businesses trading online will spend more time in 2008 securing their infrastructure to combat rising fraud and personally identifiable data losses, like those TJ Maxx faced earlier this year. PCI compliance will become central to this strategy.
PCI regulations now require all businesses and merchants that accept payment online to comply with 12-key security policies that essentially ensure credit card data is transmitted and kept secure. Although many experts believe PCI compliance has slipped, the message is clear: if you hold personal information, to do business you must keep it safe.
5. Personal and company adoption of encryption
In 2007, social networks came of age, and the number of threats and malware targeting social networks did too. As more people experience the loss of their identity online, there will be an increased drive by companies and individuals towards encryption.
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