{"id":1028,"date":"2024-12-03T01:08:11","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T01:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/?p=1028"},"modified":"2024-12-03T01:08:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T01:08:11","slug":"why-identity-security-is-your-best-companion-for-uncharted-compliance-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/?p=1028","title":{"rendered":"Why identity security is your best companion for uncharted compliance challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n

In today\u2019s rapidly evolving global regulatory landscape, new technologies, environments, and threats are heightening cybersecurity and data privacy concerns. In the last year, governing bodies have taken significant steps to enact stricter compliance measures\u2014and more than ever, they are focusing on identity-related threats.<\/p>\n

Some notable changes include:<\/p>\n

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its revised\u00a0NIST Cybersecurity Framework, emphasizing supply chain risk management and AI implementation guidelines.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0European Union\u2019s updated<\/strong>\u00a0NIS2 Directive\u00a0took effect, extending its reach across industries and introducing higher penalties for non-compliance.<\/p>\n

Data protection rules continued to tighten around the world. In the U.S., the updated\u00a0California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)<\/strong>\u00a0gives consumers increased data privacy rights and introduces new rules for automated decision-making systems. Meanwhile, countries such as Brazil and India introduced laws broadly aligned with the EU General Data Protection Act (GDPR) to ensure global data transfer and protection.<\/p>\n

As cloud adoption continues to surge, the\u00a0U.S. Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)\u00a0and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) introduced\u00a0new certification requirements for cloud service providers (CSPs)<\/strong>\u00a0for securing access to critical government data and systems.<\/p>\n

Zero trust\u00a0is a common thread in many recent regulatory changes. This \u201cnever trust, always verify\u201d philosophy assumes that any identity\u2014human user, device, machine, or application\u2014could represent a threat and must be properly secured.<\/p>\n

Today, any identity can be configured with thousands of permissions to access services, data and other sensitive resources. This means any identity can become privileged and be exploited to launch attacks or steal confidential data\u2014at any point in time. Consider, for instance, an identity that was authorized and trusted five minutes ago but has just been compromised and can no longer be trusted. To fully embrace zero trust, organizations must be able to dynamically secure identities and manage access to their enterprise resources\u2014assessing potential risks in real time and building context into authentication mechanisms.<\/p>\n

For many,\u00a0identity security\u00a0is emerging as a way to overcome traditional challenges, such as rigid access policies, static permissions and a lack of real time threat detection and align their security postures with evolving compliance requirements. Identity security tools enforce\u00a0zero standing privileges (ZSP)\u00a0by eliminating persistent access and granting temporary,\u00a0just-in-time (JIT) access\u00a0based on the\u00a0least privilege principle. This minimizes the attack surface by dynamically elevating and revoking user privileges as needed. With identity security, organizations can navigate regulatory uncertainty and tackle identity-centric risks throughout the continuous, dynamic compliance voyage.<\/p>\n

Charting a course to meet compliance and audit with identity security<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Compliance is not just about how consumer data is stored but also how it\u2019s collected, processed, and used. In fact, compliance is no longer just about data. Regulators, auditors, and even board members are focusing on resilience\u2014probing organizations\u2019 ability to prevent, withstand and recover from cyberattacks and outages. Now, compliance and security are inextricably connected, underscoring the need for an integrated strategy and an identity security \u201ccompass\u201d to help organizations chart their course.<\/p>\n

Sharpening strategic advantage<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The truth is that even the most compliant organizations get breached. Savvy security leaders recognize this and no longer view compliance as a tick-box exercise. Instead, they approach regulatory mandates as a strategic way to enforce broad, risk-mitigating controls that, most importantly, secure and advance the business and, consequently, meet necessary compliance demands.<\/p>\n

A great example of this is financial institutions subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Yes, they\u2019re required to have effective internal controls over financial reporting, but they also view identity-centric controls like\u00a0privileged access management (PAM)\u00a0as critical for building client trust. By ensuring that only authorized individuals have access to privileged accounts and that any changes to data are tracked and audited, financial institutions can effectively demonstrate their commitment to upholding customer data integrity, protection, and reliability\u2014the foundation on which trust is built.<\/p>\n

Anticipating regulatory tides<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Today\u2019s regulatory bodies expect proactive risk management\u2014that\u2019s a given. However, true proactivity means going beyond the baseline requirements of knowing where risk exists and having plans to address it.<\/p>\n

Since any identity can become privileged and be exploited to launch attacks or steal confidential data, the challenge is: How do we gain the visibility and control needed to ensure that permissions and entitlements given don\u2019t jeopardize our organization?<\/p>\n

Identity security gives organizations a unified view of who has access to what, with capabilities for discovering, adjusting, certifying, and revoking access. Empowered, organizations can detect and mitigate risks\u00a0before<\/em>\u00a0they become actual threats. For instance, healthcare providers that face challenges in managing the surge of digital identities and access privileges across their diverse, interconnected systems are turning to\u00a0identity governance and administration (IGA)\u00a0to streamline compliance with HIPAA and other stringent industry regulations while demonstrating leadership in patient data protection.<\/p>\n

As business accelerates and audit requirements evolve, organizations also need a constant view of their progress toward regulatory requirements and where gaps exist. They must be able to show auditors and the Board which data (and associated identities) is under control and which data (and associated identities) must still be tackled and brought under control. Identity security allows organizations to continuously assess their controls, prioritize risk-mitigation efforts for specific areas and better predict where auditors may focus next.<\/p>\n

Building trust on the open sea of digital interactions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Trust is paramount in the digital economy. A single incident can damage a business\u2019s reputation and relationships, as seen with recent high-profile breaches. What\u2019s more, crippling regulatory fines and legal settlements can be huge impediments to future growth and transformation.<\/p>\n

Identity security can help companies build and strengthen trust by enforcing transparency and accountability while demonstrating responsible data stewardship to meet GDPR and other major compliance regulations.<\/p>\n

Navigating the future of compliance with identity security<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Sailing smoothly on autopilot: <\/strong>Many companies have historically struggled to manage entitlements and meet compliance with data privacy and cybersecurity regulations. Despite the growing prevalence of intelligent automation, many continue to rely on disjointed, manual processes to onboard and offboard users and oversee their evolving access rights. These methods are inefficient at best and error-prone at worst\u2014hampering visibility and control, hindering IT service agility, and heightening risk. Identity security solutions can help streamline and automate manually intensive, error-prone administrative processes, ensuring that all access rights are properly assigned and continually certified. These tools can also play a \u201cco-pilot\u201d role by automating decision-making based on contextual data about users. And when it comes to the often-dreaded reporting process, they provide in-depth analytics and audit trails to help teams easily identify potential compliance issues and streamline reports.<\/p>\n

Adapting to changing conditions with dynamic controls: <\/strong>The regulatory landscape is much like the ocean, constantly moving and changing and sometimes catching travelers off guard. That\u2019s why static security measures tend to fail under pressure, and organizations are increasingly seeking dynamic identity security controls\u2014for instance, for authentication that can adjust requirements based on the specific situation and adapt to threats in real time.<\/p>\n

Staying vigilant on the high seas: <\/strong>The continuous compliance journey requires endless vigilance (read: continuous monitoring and attestation). Limiting the scope of what must be watched makes this much easier to accomplish. Identity security solutions help by applying the principles of least privilege across today\u2019s highly distributed, hybrid IT environments. Removing unnecessary privileged accounts and high-risk access and tightly controlling what users can do in any given session can significantly shrink the attack surface\u2014and the associated compliance burden. With a clear, consolidated view, organizations can catch issues earlier, confidently demonstrate compliance, and gain insights for strategic business decisions.<\/p>\n

Steering toward compliance leadership with identity security: <\/strong>In today\u2019s regulatory environment, the only constant is change. Organizations that are prepared to navigate murky and uncertain waters\u2014and armed with a\u00a0reliable map for the journey<\/a>\u2014will not just survive but thrive. By embracing identity security as part of a complete zero trust access approach, organizations can\u00a0holistically satisfy compliance\u00a0while strengthening their security posture to gain a competitive edge.<\/p>\n

For more information on how to reduce risk with identity security, check out the \u201cTrusting Zero Trust<\/a>\u201d webinar series now available on demand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In today\u2019s rapidly evolving global regulatory landscape, new technologies, environments, and threats are heightening cybersecurity and data privacy concerns. In the last year, governing bodies have taken significant steps to enact stricter compliance measures\u2014and more than ever, they are focusing on identity-related threats. Some notable changes include: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}