Identity Management is Best in Enterprise Security

I think we're all familiar with the concept of "good, better, best." This theory allows us to measure how our actions rank against whatever end goal we may have established. In order to achieve our goals, we have to be sure our choices and our actions are "best," as settling for "good" or "better" could inhibit our ability to accomplish our objectives. In an enterprise situation, this model acts as a critical gauge- one which separates compliant from noncompliant, secure from insecure, and controlled from chaotic. So what security projects in our organizations qualify as "best?" I'll tell you right now it boils down to identity management. Security as a whole is critical for every organization. But at the core of every security functions ist he obligation to protect sensitive assets (be it data, machines, ideas, etc.) from harm. And where does that harm stem from? People! So it makes sense that protecting critical data from people should get considerable attention from a security standpoint. What should get even more consideration is defending those assets from the most dangerous type of threat- people who have unrestricted access to said information. Identity management is the key to having the "best" in enterprise security. This probably sounds familiar- it's something we've maintained since we started in the business over 25 years ago. According to Gartner, however, business are STILL not managing the identities of their employees very well. In fact just yesterday, Gartner Analyst Bob Blakely spoke to the Gartner Identity and Access Management Summit in London about how critical the management of identity is. According to this article, he specifically emphasized that, "cleaning up Active Directory to manage identity based on attributes rather than hierarchy should be a priority for 2012." So how can you improve the way you manage the priviles of your employees and third party contractors? It comes down to this: implement a least privilege solution in your organization. Without such a thing, it's impossible for you to achieve "best" when it comes to the security of your company. Click here for more information on how to take the next steps in securing your IT environment.