IDAM - NEW SECURITY CONTROLS
A DIGITAL WORLD REQUIRES DIGITAL ACCESS MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS In the identity and access management (IDAM) space, new security solutions – such as two-factor authentication (2FA), biometrics and zero trust security – are among the ways of improving your security posture. Ulwembu’s Glenn Noome, director: Smart Integration, and Sabelo Xaba, enterprise solutions manager: Infrastructure, answer our questions on this topic. Why do you feel IDAM is vital in today’s digitally transforming world. In today’s world, there is one thing that is for certain: all aspects of life are going digital. We have critical information at work, as well as personal
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information for everything – from health to banking – and it is all becoming digital. The currency and value of data are increasing at a rapid rate. Every part of the working environment is generating data, which has become invaluable and, to that end, needs to be protected and accessed strictly by those who have the authorisation to do so. IDAM refers to identity and access management, meaning the correct person (identity) is given access (access management) to the permitted data. Access management, as it states, is more than just viewing data, but also covers the user’s permissions to change or delete that data. It is my belief that eventually every person will have a digital signature. A simple example of this is your smartphone verifying your identity through facial recognition, and allowing you to pay a bill at a retail store via your device, which is linked to your bank account. Eventually, all services – like banking, health, driving licences and so on – will be linked to a person’s digital ID, which will include both business and personal information. This is of particular importance, as we’ve
seen a greater intertwining of personal and work life than ever before, since the advent of Covid-19 and the attendant increase in remote working.
With threats constantly evolving, what are the challenges that current IDAM solutions face and why are such solutions now inadequate, in the face of the increasing evolution of cyberattacks? As we know when it comes to digital information, there are more ways than ever of duplicating data, as well as data being more accessible in the cloud. This means that anyone could gain access to data if security is lacking. We are now seeing devices like smartphones upping the ante on the requirements around the identification of the correct user and the provision of access to certain data. Previously, this type of device was less secure, as all that was required was a digital password. Today, we’re seeing additional measures – like dual authentication, where it verifies you through a password, and biometrics, through a fingerprint scanner or facial recognition.
What would you say is the answer to these challenges? How can we improve IDAM in order to get ahead of the bad guys? Multiple levels of authentication are a must – including the use of passwords, authenticator applications, location-based access and, most importantly, verifying the person themselves.
What are the benefits of, and the challenges to, implementing the following types of IDAM solutions? Multifactor authentication (MFA): This is one of the best ways to verify that the correct access is granted, as it adds a layer of protection to the sign-in process. MFA does take longer and may require multiple apps, fingerprint scanning, or entering a code or PIN received, but
