No Information Security without Identity

Identity and information security are inextricably linked because is impossible to secure information without knowing who or what is allowed to access it, or without knowing who or what is attempting to access it. Simply put, there is no information security without identity.

More accurately, there is no information security without management of identity and management of access: a means of knowing who or what is attempting to access systems or data, a means of knowing who or what is allowed access, and a means of allowing or blocking access based on those predefined access rights.

Identity and Access Management (IAM), therefore, is one the core disciplines of IT (Information Technology), and an essential element within every cybersecurity strategy, because cybersecurity is fundamentally about ensuring that access to IT resources is strictly limited to authorised entities, both human and non-human.

This is especially true in the digital era because business success depends on using the digital identities of consumers, customers, business partners, and employees, as well as of devices, things, or services, which are at the core of the digital business.

Effective cybersecurity cannot be achieved without effective management of identity and access, it is therefore essential for modern organizations to ensure that they have the necessary policies, controls, systems, and architectures in place.

Without these things, there is no way of no effective way of preventing unauthorized access to systems and data, no way of protecting sensitive data, no way of preventing the loss of intellectual property, and no way of ensuring compliance with the growing number of security regulations.

Achieving a successful Identity and Access Management capability, which is essential to effective cyber security, depends on ensuring all the stakeholders are on board, understanding the requirements of business and IT, and on defining a strategy.

This, in turn, requires defining a modern and flexible architecture to support the requirements, selecting the necessary technology and tools, and then executing each step in realizing the predefined strategy.

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is at the core of the digital transformation, at the core of cybersecurity, and at the core of regulatory compliance

— Martin Kuppinger, Principal Analyst at KuppingerCole.

Because we understand the important relationship between Identity and Security, and because we are committed to helping your business succeed, KuppingerCole has a great deal of content available in a variety of formats.

This includes live events such the 2022 KuppingerCole European Identity and Cloud (EIC) Conference taking place in Berlin and online from May 10-13.

The agenda features panel discussions on Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) : Managing Your Cloud Scale Risk with an Identity Defined Security Approach and MFA usage in enterprise.

Several other sessions address Security and Identity, including presentations entitled:

There are also various presentations specifically on multifactor authentication (MFA):

In addition, there are sessions that look at a range of important Security and Identity related questions and issues, including:

Research

Get a good overall understanding of the intimate relationship between Identity and Security by having at look at these Insights entitled: The Definitive Guide to Identity & Access Management and Decentralized Identity – A Playbook for Your Enterprise.

Advisories

For slightly more in-depth perspectives, have a look at these Advisory Notes on Identity and Access Management and Cloud Services and Security, and this Leadership Brief on Managing Non-Human Identities.

Audio/video

Listen to what our analysts have to say about Identity and Security in these Analyst Chats entitled: GAIN and Reusable Identities, From Ransomware to Globally Assured Identities, and Identity Vetting - Dealing With the Wave of Fraud During the Pandemic.

Alternatively, have a look at these video presentations from previous KuppingerCole events that deal with Identity and Security:

Blogs

If you would prefer to read short, concise observations on Security and Identity by our analysts, select the most relevant topics from the following list:

Webinars

Discussions on Security, Identity, and the relationship between them have been at the heart of many webinars presented by our analysts and partners. Select the most relevant for your organization from the following list:

Whitepapers

Security and Identity have been the focus of several Whitepapers written by our analysts. Have a look through the following list and select those that are most relevant to your organization:

Tech Investment

Learn more about the technology market segments that support organizations’ need improve security through effective Identity and Access Management by looking at these Leadership Compass reports on:

And these Market Compass reports on:

Organizations investing in technologies to support Identity and Security can have a look at some of the related technology solutions that we have evaluated: