Identity is Security: Cybersecurity on the Fly

Cybersecurity is too important to put off until later or simply hope for the best, but in almost every aspect of our lives, there is a gap in where we are and where we should be.

Gartner’s 2018 CIO Agenda Survey came out this week, highlighting that 35 percent of organizations still lack having a cybersecurity expert on staff. As threats encroach on our everyday lives on both the work and personal fronts, companies must prioritize having the right people and systems in place.

Security knows no bounds. We should carry it with us no matter where we go, including on our travels. When we’re all sitting around bored out of our minds at the airport, what do we do? Connect to wi-fi. A report came out this week listing the top 10 airports with the most unsecure wi-fi networks. Now, not every airport is listed here, but as our CISO and CTO Darran Rolls would say, always ‘assume compromise’  – avoid the temptation to connect while in the airport. This is a toughie, especially for this self-professed road warrior, but an important practice to bear in mind for all of us.

Enterprises are recognizing that regardless of whether those risks are caused by personal or business-related systems, devices and apps, in the BYOD world we work in, they are ever-present. Some of the most popular apps are being blacklisted by enterprises, including Wave and WhatsApp, as a result, according to this annual list. It’s the human behavior and the identities attached to that behavior that causes so much risk, so it’s no surprise that many are trying to reduce the attack surface by blocking these apps.

That isn’t to say that people don’t care and it’s only the enterprises who do. As we gear up for another census, the first one to allow online responses, people will naturally be concerned about the security of their responses. The Georgetown University Law Center released a letter from 11 U.S. officials calling on the Census Bureau to be transparent about its cybersecurity plans for the 2020 census. But, could releasing that information be a double-edged sword?

The pressure to adapt to our digital world without compromising private information is high. Bottom line, the modern organization is facing a plethora of risks across all users, applications and data. With those challenges comes a new frontier for identity and an opportunity to meet those challenges head-on.

Until next week, stay secure!