11 Jun Modern digital woes and why access management can help

How things are changing and why traditional methods are not enough

Modern productivity is an amazing thing with the digital assets we have today. Networks, apps, and digital infrastructure have achieved incredible agility for both personal and professional reasons. But accessibility and speed have created an environment with boundless connection points. Thousands of apps exist and modern devices potentially have internet-facing capabilities. Securing and managing this tangled web is a complex challenge indeed.

While digital work environments yield flexibility and speedy infrastructure, security is a major pain point. Traditional methods no longer work, a reason why access management is taking center stage in the cybersecurity discussion.

Digital dominates, and it’s not going anywhere

Just about every facet of life involves digital technology in some way. As mentioned, apps are common filling numerous niches and services. Bookkeeping, invoices, grocery, delivery, bank accounts, business communication – the list goes on! As infrastructure evolves and changes, so too will dependence on it.

The workplace is no different, involving suites and software for each phase of business. But all this digital involvement translates to more variables to track, secure, and monitor. In the face of so much info, that’s an unrealistic task. It places immense pressure on IT and cybersecurity teams to manage digital infrastructure, organizing and minding all digital assets. Every introduction of a new app or software expands the attack surface of a business, and that can spiral out of control fast.

The goal of access management in this context is to mitigate risk by only allowing privileged accounts onto business networks or accessing business resources. It’s necessary when inundated with a high level of digital assets.

Diminished returns on cybersecurity and safety education

Education is worth emphasizing in a modern digital environment. Keeping staff, management, and everyone touching a keyboard up to date on good IT practices is also important. That said. . . the effect is diminishing, and cybersecurity education is no longer enough (if it ever was). Cybersecurity competencies require an astute interest in the field, mixed with healthy skepticism and scrutiny regarding unknown variables. But that’s not on everyone’s mind, and we’ve been having the issue for years.

Even as emphasis on awareness and education grows, staff still practice unsafe habits, or never break them. It’s a losing battle, and cybersecurity managers have to step back and repurpose their strategies. That doesn’t mean we should disregard education entirely, but it’s clear that hoping awareness will provide the sole resolution model for healthy cybersecurity is a wavering reality.

Rather, building infrastructure with inherent safety policies and backups is the way to go. Access management ties into this process, and helps migrate cybersecurity education to a more sustainable approach.

Human error can undo any cybersecurity solution

No matter how complex, expensive, or involved your cybersecurity infrastructure is, human error can lead to serious breach events. Human error is an umbrella phrase covering a lot of variables. It’s anything from falling prey to a phishing scheme or practicing bad security habits. Technology is evolving at a record pace, as are digital tools. But that tech is outpacing us and our behaviors, creating a dilemma.

Furthermore, hackers have an easier time deceiving users rather than launching campaigns to compromise defenses. It’s true that with virtualized cloud options and remote infrastructure, the ability to resist complex attacks is easier. But hackers can circumvent these external defenses by duping staff, especially those with administrator (or similar) privileges. Over time, staff and management can suffer from decision-related fatigue in the face of so many external threats.

Access management seeks to reign in the wide expanse of digital apps and tools while accounting for human error. It limits an attacker’s movement within a network in the event of a breach.

A plague of passwords

Passwords are everywhere, and they’re not as effective as repelling threats anymore. Remembering a deluge of passwords is an exhausting – and losing – prospect. Therefore, it’s common for repeated password and login phrases to be used in a professional setting. Unfortunately, it creates a brittle network, where one login can lead to a domino effect of compromised credentials.

Conclusion

Ultimately, it culminates in security solutions evolving past an individual user’s ability to detect and identify threats. With hackers deploying automated attacks, their ability to outpace traditional security methods cannot be ignored.

Access management and implementing access management strategies is one way to help mitigate seemingly insurmountable threats.

If you need help, you can always reach out for third-party assistance. For more information, contact Bytagig today.