Today we try to safeguard our digital identity as much as our wallet and its contents. Our personal digital identity authorises us to go about our day-to-day, but then there is our professional digital identity. This version of us authenticates that we are who we say we are and is tied to tons of different applications and data we need to do our job. Now, think about an enterprise workforce and how many digital identities that comprises.
To truly secure that “corporate digital identity” – the very PII of the business – companies need to rethink how they protect their digital workforce. Otherwise, each worker can quickly become a target for hackers and a threat to the business.
Much like a home security system to keep out strangers, identity security (aka, identity governance) is the “security system” of businesses. Granting access via access management is merely the front door security or the “bouncer”, physically keeping out who was not invited, but once allowed in the house or organisation, access management is useless to control what people do with your goodies. It simply lets them in the lobby. Unattended. Ungoverned. Unsecured.
The key is to focus on both enablement and security – providing access to important technology and tools, but properly controlling that access. It is critical today to know who among your workforce requires certain access, and then modify that access as their role changes, or restrict and even remove that access when it is not needed. You cannot open the door to technology use without these controls added or you may as well put down a welcome mat for hackers at the front door of your business.
The good news is that more businesses are waking up to this reality and are putting identity security at the top of their priority list. In fact, going back to the pandemic, the shift to remote work underscored how essential identity security is in business today. The companies that prevailed during that quick pivot were those who put identity security at the foundation of their business.
Identity security has become a critical component of risk management and is the surest path forward to fully protect the “corporate digital identity” of any global business now and in the future.
Join AWS, Investec and our identity experts for Identity Security Live South Africa, on 16 February, and learn how you can protect your business and accelerate your identity journey.
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