Identity and access management (IAM) is a must-have component of modern-day cybersecurity strategies. With the rise of cloud computing, remote work, and the increasing reliance on digital solutions, the future of IAM is more crucial than ever. IAM solutions are continually evolving to meet the changing needs of organizations, and as we look towards the future, new trends and technologies are emerging that will shape the identity authentication service.
As the threat landscape and technological advancements evolve, so too must your IAM strategy. Utilizing tools, policies, and processes in tandem to manage complex relationships between users, devices, and business resources securely is essential for success now – but it becomes even more vital when considering what lies ahead of us. Here’s a look into where we’ll be headed with IAM over the upcoming years.
The rapid development of zero trust
As the line that separates internal and external networks continues to blur more quickly every year, it’s imperative to adopt a zero-trust approach. This strategy eliminates any automatic confidence in user or device access by opting for an “always verify” methodology when granting access.
Rather than being a tool that you merely incorporate, zero trust is both a philosophy and an approach. As part of embarking on this journey, strong identity and access management prove to be essential components. In fact, Gartner forecasts that by 2025 up to 60% of organizations will rely on zero trust as the primary foundation for security. Even the Singapore government has its own specific strategy in place when it comes to utilizing zero trust for IT infrastructure needs!
To facilitate the successful adoption of zero trust, organizations must devise a more thorough Identity and Access Management policy as well as app shielding. This strategy should involve credential rotation for all users, applications and services in order to protect certificates and API tokens. Additionally, privileged access must be reduced so that only what is strictly necessary is allowed; standards-based identity verification also increases reliability when verifying user identification.
More passwordless verification
Even with the abundance of security solutions, passwords remain an unignorable risk to businesses and their data. It’s estimated that 24 billion stolen usernames and passwords exist on the dark web for malicious actors to use in order to attempt compromising user accounts – combined with phishing or social engineering advances, it is easy to see why stolen credentials are still a major factor behind successful cyber-attacks.
Organizations can now safeguard their digital resources more securely than ever before, thanks to multi-factor authentication (MFA) solutions. But why stop there? The trend is quickly moving towards passwordless authentication, providing users with a secure, easy-to-use way of verifying identities without the need for passwords. Passwordless authentication still offers all the benefits of MFA while eliminating one of its main weaknesses – reliance on easily guessed or remembered passwords.
Passwordless authentication, when combined with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or 2 factor authentication solution, can greatly improve the security of user accounts. MFA requires users to present something they possess – such as a smartphone or OTP token – in addition to an identifier that is unique only to them, like their fingerprint or biometrics. This type of MFA offers greater protection than simply relying on a password alone and has become increasingly popular for its ability to ensure account safety.
AI-powered access management
As AI continues to advance due to enhanced machine learning models and cost-effective computing, a pattern worth monitoring is how it will be increasingly intertwined with Identity & Access Management workflows and technologies.
To ensure proper access management, one must consider varying situational aspects to recognize what counts as regular user/device performance versus actions that are potentially malicious. Machine learning models that develop over time are the ideal odisha discom solution for creating risk profiles about individuals and machines. These models utilize a wide range of available data regarding devices, identities, and activities in order to uncover anomalies and securely manage access during an entire session rather than only at login.
Artificial Intelligence offers an astounding opportunity to refine Identity and Access Management (IAM) by providing organizations with a better understanding of accounts and identities in today’s sophisticated IT systems. With workers often using cloud-based resources from different locations, it can be difficult for IT teams to maintain consistent enforcement of IAM policies across their users, customers, clients, and partners. In this regard, AI shines through its capability to integrate all these disparate systems into one streamlined system, which brings visibility without any manual effort or limitation on scalability.
Final thoughts
Identity and Access Management (IAM) provides the essential foundation to ensure that access control of an organization’s data is well-governed, secure, compliant with regulations, and upholds privacy. IAM tools are not only useful for protecting sensitive information but also offer users innovative capabilities such as advanced analytics powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). This gives businesses a proactive approach to risk management while providing more efficient decision-making through informed insights.
IAM tools facilitate a continuous and progressive shift away from the traditional password-driven approach, providing added security through the simultaneous implementation of multiple authentication methods.
And if you’re on the look for identity and access management providers, find ones that are ready to arm you with the latest cutting-edge solutions for safeguarding your data and information, plus provide valuable insight into trends in IAM so that you stay informed on what’s happening in the industry.