Identity-First Security
In this edition of the Be Everyday Ready Briefing, we explore the shift in cybersecurity toward an identity-first approach, examine its origins, and discuss how to help your organization adapt to this new normal.
THE HEARTBEAT OF MODERN CYBERSECURITY
By focusing on identity, we shift the focus from protecting perimeters to encompassing everything beyond the office walls, no matter where people log in from.
Contributed by Chris Schueler | Reprinted from Fast Company
In 2024, LoanDepot, a prominent mortgage lender, fell victim to a significant data breach. Hackers exploited vulnerabilities in the company’s systems, compromising the personal information of nearly 17 million customers. The breach potentially exposed a wide range of sensitive data, including names, birth dates, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and, even more worrying, financial account and Social Security numbers.
Gone are the days when a robust firewall and a well-defined network boundary were enough to keep an organization’s data safe. The modern workplace is fluid, with employees accessing sensitive information from various devices and locations.
Just like employees meet organization and workflow changes in their day-to-day, businesses should look to implement identity-first security models to also adapt to the new workplace. Operational efficiency now requires balancing strong security with employee productivity, implementing context-aware systems that only enforce strict controls when risk levels justify them (full disclosure: Cyderes offers this solution).
IDENTITY-FIRST SECURITY
So, what exactly is identity-first security? To present it in its simplest form, it’s a strategy that recognizes identity as the primary security perimeter. Instead of focusing solely on protecting network boundaries, this approach emphasizes verifying and securing individual identities—whether they belong to users, devices, or applications.
Some of the protocols and measures we use to take the identity-first approach include:
1. Zero trust: No user or device is automatically trusted, regardless of location or network.
2. Continuous verification: Every access request is scrutinized, following a “never trust, always verify” mentality.
3. Least privilege: Users are granted only the minimum access necessary to perform their job functions.
4. Context-aware access: Security decisions take into account factors like device health, location, and time of access.
If you understand that principle, you can see why placing identity at the core of security strategies can help companies transform their postures from a static, location-based model to a dynamic, identity-focused framework that has the ability to easily follow users and data wherever they go.
THE NEW FRONTIER OF SECURITY
With 80% of breaches now being identity-driven, it’s no secret that traditional security measures are no longer sufficient most of the time. Implementing these identity-first security measures provides a more nuanced and effective defense against sophisticated attacks that bypass conventional security layers. It enables organizations to detect and prevent identity-based threats in real time, a capability that traditional IAM solutions lack.
Moreover, this new frontier in security is pivotal in tackling the challenges posed by digital transformation, remote work, and cloud migration. It offers a unified approach to securing identities across business applications, cloud workloads, and DevOps pipelines. This comprehensive coverage is crucial in an era where identity sprawl—the proliferation of both human and machine identities (which are 45-to-1 against human identities)—has become a significant security concern.
A REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH
The revolutionary aspect of identity-first security also lies in its alignment with the zero-trust principle mentioned above. By assuming that no user or system is trustworthy by default, regardless of location or network, companies can create a more resilient and adaptive security posture. This approach allows for intelligent, context-aware access decisions, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.
Imagine you’re the head of a medium-sized company with about 500 employees across three continents using a hybrid work model and cloud services. One day, your identity security system detects unusual activity: Someone using a senior developer’s credentials attempts to access the core codebase from an unfamiliar location.
Your identity-security-centric system immediately:
An investigation into the incident reveals the developer’s credentials were compromised in a phishing attack that was previously unknown to you. Luckily, identity security measures prevented a potential breach before any damage occurred to the company. Success!
FIRST STEPS FOR BUSINESSES
So, if you want to take advantage of the positive effects of identity-first security, here are some steps to implement at your company:
1. Assess your current security posture. This should always be step one. A comprehensive security assessment can identify vulnerabilities and areas for improvement in your own management systems.
2. Define the protection surface. If you can identify critical data, applications, assets, and services that require stringent protection, you can focus on the areas that could need additional protections rather than focusing on the entire network.
3. Implement strong identity verification. The best way to do this is to enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) and biometric authentication for human identities while implementing context-aware verification for non-human identities.
4. Adopt least privilege access policies. It’s important to regularly review and remove unnecessary permissions, implement just-in-time access for high-risk privileges, and enforce role-based access control (RBAC) across the organization to avoid mistakes in who has access to privileged information.
5. Establish continuous monitoring and threat detection. Implement real-time identity threat analytics and orchestration, integrating IAM with broader security measures such as SIEM platforms and security analytics tools.
6. Provide ongoing employee training. The best tool for employees continues to be knowledge. By teaching cybersecurity best practices, phishing risks, and credential hygiene through regular awareness training programs, everyone can be set up for success.
7. Regularly audit and recertify identities. Conduct routine IAM audits to ensure zero-trust compliance, review identity entitlements, and perform regular certification and recertification of digital identities.
By following these steps, organizations can significantly enhance their security posture and better protect against evolving cyber threats. This proactive approach not only safeguards critical assets but also fosters a culture of security awareness within the organization.
RETHINKING CYBERSECURITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE
In essence, identity-first security is groundbreaking because it represents a fundamental reimagining of how we think of cybersecurity in an era where everything is digitally shifting at all times.
People access work emails from their phones, and companies allow people to work from personal laptops and even while traveling abroad with work equipment. By focusing on identity, we shift the focus from protecting perimeters to encompassing everything beyond the office walls, no matter where people log in from.
Security teams today face increasing pressure — from managing dozens of disconnected tools to struggling with talent shortages and constantly evolving compliance mandates.
That complexity can leave dangerous gaps.
In this webinar, you’ll learn how Cyderes and Microsoft can help you:
Register for the live webinar >>
THE CONSOLIDATION WAVE:
REDEFINING CYBERSECURITY STRATEGIES
As the cybersecurity landscape evolves, vendor consolidation is becoming an increasingly popular choice for businesses looking to strengthen their security posture.
Contributed by Chris Schueler | Reprinted from Fast Company
The cybersecurity landscape is undergoing a significant shift as threats become more sophisticated and interconnected. Organizations are moving away from traditional patchwork solutions toward comprehensive all-in-one platforms that promise seamless integration and holistic protection.
But what’s driving this consolidation wave? And what does it mean for the future of the industry?
DRIVERS OF CONSOLIDATION
Several factors fuel this consolidation trend in cybersecurity. From reducing costs to improving efficiency, these are some of the reasons why businesses are opting for fewer vendors and more integrated solutions.
• Improved Integration
Consolidated security solutions offer enhanced integration capabilities, strengthening an organization’s cybersecurity posture. Pre-integrated tool suites simplify deployment and reduce the complexity of managing disparate systems. These solutions also enable real-time data sharing, improving visibility and eliminating silos that could hinder threat detection. Correlated alerts from multiple systems allow security teams to identify complex attacks more efficiently.
Consolidation also speeds up deployment to minimize disruption and avoid downtime while systems integrate.
• Unified Visibility
A consolidated approach provides a unified view of security posture. By integrating security tools into a single platform, companies gain access to centralized dashboards for real-time monitoring across environments, from on-premises to cloud-based systems. This visibility allows security teams to quickly spot vulnerabilities or threats, no matter where they originate.
With all systems connected, teams can more easily correlate information across environments, reducing the chances that multi-vector attacks go undetected. This comprehensive view ensures cohesive defense organization-wide.
A unified security posture simplifies compliance management, streamlining audits and helping companies maintain a consistent security framework.
• Cloud Workload Visibility And Identity Management
As businesses adopt cloud-native architectures, the need for visibility across dynamic environments grows. Traditional tools, once isolated from cloud operations, are now integrated to provide a comprehensive view of an organization’s security.
Cloud-based applications are ephemeral, meaning they can be spun up or down quickly. Traditional perimeter security models no longer apply. This shift toward integrating cloud services with on-premises security frameworks has become essential.
At the core of this shift is identity management. Today, identity serves as the new perimeter in modern cybersecurity. By centralizing identity management, organizations can integrate access controls across both on-premises systems and cloud workloads, helping detect anomalies in real time. This centralized approach helps monitor user activity, enforce consistent access controls, and detect potential threats across the entire digital ecosystem.
• The Role Of Identity In All-In-One Vendors
Identity management is critical in modern cybersecurity protocols. As we’ve established, identity is the new perimeter, meaning effective security requires organizations to manage and monitor identities across on-premises and cloud-based systems.
A consolidated approach with identity management allows organizations to implement consistent access controls across their entire digital environment, which simplifies user activity monitoring, anomaly detection, and policy enforcement, enabling security teams to respond faster to potential threats.
One of the most valuable aspects of a consolidated identity management platform is the ability to take immediate action when threats arise. For example, security teams can block unauthorized authentication attempts in real time, halt malicious activities, and even tear down and rebuild ephemeral workloads to prevent further compromise.
When selecting a vendor offering an all-in-one platform, organizations should ensure that identity management capabilities are robust. Given the increasing reliance on identity as a central component of security, an integrated solution that manages identity governance and provides tools for immediate threat response will be essential for the future of cybersecurity.
THREE TRENDS TO WATCH
This vendor consolidation trend in cybersecurity is also poised to intersect with other growing technologies, creating new innovation opportunities.
1. AI-Driven Integration: As consolidation continues, artificial intelligence (AI) will undoubtedly play a larger role in integrating security functions. These AI-powered solutions can analyze vast amounts of data, enhance threat detection, streamline operations, and improve incident response times. They can also offer a proactive, automated response to emerging threats, minimize the burden on security teams, and reduce response time.
2. Customizable, Modular Platforms: As businesses face a growing array of security threats, they will demand more flexibility in the solutions they choose. Vendors will likely offer customizable platforms that allow businesses to tailor their security stack to meet specific needs and risk profiles.
3. Shift Toward Vendor-Neutral Solutions: As organizations consolidate their security platforms, there will be a growing emphasis on vendor-neutral solutions. These platforms provide greater flexibility, allowing organizations to integrate the best tools from various providers without being locked into a single ecosystem. This shift will provide businesses with the agility to select the best solutions based on their unique needs.
BALANCING OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
Vendor consolidation in cybersecurity presents both opportunities and challenges. The benefits of enhanced integration, unified visibility, and streamlined operations are clear, but businesses must be cautious about potential pitfalls. Over-reliance on a single vendor could introduce risks, such as vendor lock-in or a lack of flexibility as cybersecurity needs evolve.
To move forward effectively, organizations need a balanced approach. While consolidation offers significant advantages, businesses must also ensure flexibility remains as cybersecurity threats evolve. Organizations should consider adopting platforms that allow them to integrate best-in-class tools from multiple vendors, ensuring they have the flexibility to adapt quickly without sacrificing security.
Ultimately, organizations should look for solutions that enable them to scale their security capabilities without becoming dependent on a single vendor. This will help businesses remain agile in an ever-changing threat landscape.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As the cybersecurity landscape evolves, vendor consolidation is becoming an increasingly popular choice for businesses looking to strengthen their security posture. The benefits of improved integration, unified visibility, and simplified management make consolidation an attractive option for many organizations.
At the same time, businesses must remain cautious about the potential risks that come with consolidating security tools. To stay resilient, organizations should adopt a strategy that balances consolidation with flexibility, allowing them to adapt to new threats and maintain the most robust security framework possible. By embracing these trends, businesses can build a stronger, more agile security posture to thrive in today’s complex digital world.
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2moThat 45-to-1 machine identity ratio is the stat every CISO should be sharing with their board. The protection surface approach solves the real business problem—how do you scale security without becoming the department that slows everything down?