Identity is Security: Security has a Human Problem

We start this week’s security news roundup with the ever-present human factor. In identity, we know how present this is. We’re on the ground floor, seeing how much the human attack vector impacts organizations’ overall security posture – even when there are millions of dollars invested in security systems.

Kaspersky released research this week revealing just how pervasive this problem continues to be. The research showed that nearly half of organizations in all sectors face critical security consequences due to employee errors.

We also saw a big program launch on the military level this week. The Hack the Pentagon program was extended to Hack the Marines, and involved 100 hackers in marathon live-hacking event (ethically, of course!). Their mission: infiltrate public-facing websites and services and find the vulnerabilities. In the end, they found 75 vulnerabilities and got a nice cash payout for their noble deeds!

This is really just the beginning of government exercises on the cybersecurity front. The Department of Homeland Security hold a three-day exercise to practice warding off a variety of cyberthreats. It isn’t just the U.S. taking cybersecurity to the next level. Israel announced a $24 million investment in boosting its cybersecurity industry. And globally, Gartner anticipates security spending to hit $124B next year, calling out identity as a focus amidst rising privacy concerns.

All eyes are on us in cybersecurity, and with every breach comes a little more pressure to up the ante on the fight to stay ahead in this security race we’re all in. But if these 11-year-olds are already up to the challenge, then the future looks pretty bright.