Needless to say, a lot of end user entities have migrated their operations to the Internet. Yet amid this digitization trend, end users are faced with more rampant cyber threats and cyberattacks. Maintaining cybersecurity best practices therefore has become more important than ever.
Needless to say, a lot of end user entities have migrated their operations to the Internet. Yet amid this digitization trend, end users are faced with more rampant cyber threats and cyberattacks. Maintaining cybersecurity best practices therefore has become more important than ever.
That was the key point raised by
Entrust Datacard in its latest whitepaper, titled Five Ways to Ensure Digital Business Success.
It goes without saying enterprises from airlines to hotels have gone digital. At the same time, more and more staff have become mobile workers, and an increasing number of devices are connected to the Internet, generating data and insights to facilitate company operations.
However with this digitization and reliance upon IoT, cybersecurity has also become a major issue. “The interactions you conduct with employees, customers, partners and other key audiences will become more and more digital. The pace and intensity will only increase,” the whitepaper said. “As more of your connections go mobile or online, your current methods of securing communications, transactions, networks and data will become less and less effective. A digital business context requires digital security and enablement.”
Given such, the whitepaper offered a few tips on cybersecurity best practices that keep a company’s digital business smooth and operational.
Involve security team from the beginning
According to the whitepaper, in a conventional paradigm the IT and business departments always work in silos. But in developing a digital business that’s safe and secure, the IT must be involved from the beginning. “The chances of successfully developing a digital business without a highly collaborative process are unacceptable, as more than 70 percent of software projects fail without up-front collaboration. In fact, 17 percent fail so miserably that they endanger the enterprise’s long-term financial health,” it said. “The numbers make it clear that IT and security must be given a spot at the table as key strategists. Future business performance and competitiveness will be greatly affected by their role as business-enablers.”
Look beyond current use cases
According to the paper, an end user organization always chooses cybersecurity solutions based on their current needs. But thinking about future problems or scenarios they may counter is suggested. “Choosing an authentication solution that offers flexibility, a breadth of authenticators, high assurance capabilities and a track record of providing innovation to address ever-changing cyber threats and technologies can help keep digital business initiatives on track. You can limit the number of vendors you need to manage and bring efficiency and savings to projects that require the skills of a professional service team,” it said.
Plan for the evolving nature of threat
While various cybersecurity solutions are out there, hackers will always find new means to attack or break into systems. The end user must factor that in. “When crafting your digital strategy, do not make the mistake of thinking that you face minimal threats. Look for authentication solutions that offer high-assurance capabilities and layered security to protect against advanced threats while ensuring they won’t burden users with cumbersome and complex authentication,” the whitepaper said.
Build the ‘context’ concept into your identity approach
While multifactor authentication is increasingly deployed by users, authentication solutions with highly refined contextual or adaptive capabilities or are recommended. “Factors such as device recognition, geo-location, geo-velocity and behavioral biometrics are leveraged to make access decisions when users are trying to access sensitive applications or data,” the whitepaper said. “A policy engine considers relevant factors and, based on your policies, allows or denies access — or presents the user with a step-up challenge. These capabilities will be more and more critical as users, devices and apps proliferate — and as security threats become more voluminous and more sophisticated.”
Weigh vendor maturity
Finally, finding solutions providers with a proven track record is key. “Years of experience have demonstrated that the financial viability of a vendor and the depth of their support infrastructure — especially in the areas of domain knowledge and professional services — are critical. As enterprises make their digital transitions, it becomes easy to … deploy technologies that look and feel innovative. The associated risk is that VC-backed start-ups often lack the pedigree to support, address and solve the inevitable enablement and security issues that arise post-deployment,” the paper said. “Keep your digital business initiatives on track by factoring vendor maturity and stability into your buying decisions.”