COVID-19 remains prevalent and sees a new era in which supporting a remote workforce has become a common practice. As organizations adapt to this new way of operating, the risks of cyber-attacks are at an all-time high.
Organizations should take a proactive approach to maintaining their digital security as they navigate through this uncharted territory. Digital security can be upheld given the right controls, processes and procedures are in place.
Assertiv exists to help provide your users with seamless access to required resources whilst keeping your data safe. In this article, we discuss a few key factors to consider to best maintain your data security whilst supporting a remote workforce.
Revisit Your Existing Identity & Access Management Frameworks
Organizations may be inclined to compromise their digital security to provide their employees with frictionless access to their applications. This approach can be a quick fix to immediate access issues. But it can also open-up several digital security holes.
This is a time to be revisiting your existing data security solutions and frameworks. Organizations need to ensure that their people have access to the applications they need, from multiple locations and devices. And, of course, password hygiene is vital.
More than ever, businesses need to be in control of their identity and access management (IAM). A secure IAM solution like Assertiv, puts you in control and takes the stress out of supporting a remote workforce.
Single Sign-On
Single sign-on (SSO) is a great way to empower your employees. It provides them with seamless, convenient access to the applications they need. With a lot of the workforce shifting to remote working, SSO is increasingly beneficial.
SSO allows users to log in once, using one set of corporate credentials, and have access to all their resources. This provides a better user experience as well as enhances password management.
One of the great features of Assertiv’s cloud based IAM solution is its built-in SSO. We allow users to access all their applications from one dashboard, with one secure login.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Whilst SSO provides ultimate convenience, it also holds the key to a lot of very important information. Should a login be compromised, there could be a lot at stake. Reinforcing SSO with multi-factor authentication (MFA) will serve your organization well in minimising digital security threats as remote working becomes predominant.
MFA adds an extra layer of security. It does this by requesting an identity verify they are who they say they are before granting access. A cyber criminal can steal login details without much difficulty. But, they will be stumped when asked to verify their identity in another manner as well.
MFA may involve confirming your identity with the use of a code, token, or fingerprint, for example.
Deploying MFA can be a time-consuming process. It won’t occur overnight. But, a sophisticated IAM platform like Assertiv takes the hard work and room for error out of it. Our IAM solution offers SSO, backed up by fool-proof MFA. This means you can ramp up your digital security with a few clicks.
Privileged Access Management
With remote-based working on the rise, the distribution of users has changed. Gone are the days of daily convening, standard devices and locations. Users are now asking for access from a range of devices, workstations and locations.
According to Verizon 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report, 34% of data breaches stemmed from an internal user.
So, besides implementing better password management and authentication methods, organizations need to consider embracing the principle of ‘least privilege’. This is a data security model which defines access rights of individual users.
In a nutshell, this principle restricts access rights based on the least needed for the user to do their job. For example, someone in administration need not have access to the applications needed by the CFO.
Achieving effective control of your organization’s least privilege access policies can be tricky. But Assertiv alleviates this process by offering automatable, role-based access management. This means that with defined roles in place users can be easily allocated the access rights suitable to do their job.
Final Words
Digital security breaches can remain undetected for weeks or months. And sometimes there isn’t an encompassing fix available! The factors discussed in this article are worth considering to get ahead of potential breaches. Cumulatively, they offer a reliable approach to securing your organization’s data.
Assertiv is a simple and efficient solution for controlling who can access your organization’s digital resources. Register for a free account to see how we can help you stay in control of your digital security in these uncertain times.
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