The security of identities can be improved in many companies, as a global survey by a provider of identity security solutions shows. The report “The Horizons of Identity Security” clearly shows the problems.
As part of Navigate 2023, SailPoint Technologies released the new 2023 edition of the annual report “The Horizons of Identity Security”. The report, created in collaboration between SailPoint and Accenture, a leading global professional services firm, is based on responses from more than 375 global cybersecurity leaders in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The aim was to examine the current status and future direction of the identity security market.
Many companies are still in their early stages
With 90 percent of cybersecurity breaches related to identity, identity security is the most important security issue that every organization needs to address. However, the results of the Horizons of Identity Security report show that 44 percent of organizations are still early in the process. What's particularly concerning is that even mature organizations have less than 70 percent of the identities in their organization covered by basic governance functions. A key challenge for respondents is communicating the business benefits of identity security to managers. It is therefore important to develop business cases that are tailored to the strategic priorities and mindset of managing directors.
Too little budget for securing identities
Another 77 percent of respondents said “limited executive support or focus” is a key barrier to investing in identity security, followed by budget constraints (91 percent). The survey results clearly show that a strong identity security program can drive business agility and innovation, as well as risk reduction, increased efficiency and advancement of technology initiatives. For example, organizational change can be accelerated by up to 30 percent through faster integration of identities, applications, data and infrastructure.
Security incidents are expensive
“A strong identity security program can create real value for organizations, but it is not always immediately apparent to business stakeholders,” said Matt Mills, president of worldwide field operations at SailPoint. “In today's threat landscape, preventing a single incident can save millions of dollars in lost revenue, fines and reputational costs. It is important that security teams have the necessary information to communicate their needs in a results-oriented manner. A focus on the business value of identity security will help executives understand the urgent need for a mature identity security strategy.”
Identities are only inadequately secured
Identity ecosystems are becoming increasingly complex and a preferred attack vector for hackers. The report's findings show that, on average, more than 30 percent of identities in an organization are not properly covered by identity solutions, with particular gaps in third-party identities, machine identities and data. Bringing these under the umbrella of a strong identity management program is critical to preventing security breaches. Essential security features speed incident response, prevent malicious actors from authenticating to internal systems, and limit excessive employee access rights - which have been cited as the most common security flaw for possible security breaches.
AI support
The survey further shows that AI-based solutions have proven to be a powerful accelerator for companies to introduce advanced new features and increase agility. A growing number of companies are seeing AI-powered dynamic trust models as an option to manage access based on user behavior. The results also show that companies that leverage SaaS, AI, and automation accelerate their scale by a significant 10 to 30 percent and get more value for their security investments through better use of features. More specifically, an identity platform that leverages automation and AI enables companies to scale identity-related functions up to 37 percent faster than companies without AI enablement.
“Enterprises are facing unprecedented challenges managing their complex identity environments and massive data sets,” said Damon McDougald, global security digital identity lead at Accenture. “While advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and generative AI make it easier to accelerate, manage and scale identity security initiatives, many companies are still early in their journey. Organizations should see this as an opportunity to accelerate their identity maturity timeline and lay a foundation for secure digital transformation.”
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About SailPoint
SailPoint is a provider of identity security solutions. Enterprise security begins and ends with identities and their access management. However, the ability to manage and secure all identities in the company today often goes beyond human resources and skills. Powered by AI and machine learning, the SailPoint Identity Security Platform delivers the right level of access to match the scale, speed and environmental needs of cloud-first organizations.
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