New Security Challenges Need a Trust-Based Approach
Historically, enterprises have taken a defensive approach to security, building a perimeter around the organization. However, new computing models, such as SaaS and cloud computing have significantly changed the market dynamics requiring organizations to take a more proactive approach to security. Enterprises must increasingly open up their information systems and their networks to enable collaboration not only amongst employees, but also with their ecosystem of partners, resellers, and customers.
The building of a traditional “IT fortress” to protect corporate assets with guards at all entry points is insufficient to cope with the shared computing models of today. Organizations today must strive to establish trust at every point in the network.
In this shared computing model, a major challenge for organizations is the secure and timely management of provisioning and deprovisioning users. Organizations must address authentication related challenges such as credential management and strong authentication to ensure that only “trusted” users are accessing the network.
Additionally, the rapid rise of mobile computing devices as the preferred method for connecting to private corporate networks has led to an increase in the associated risks and breaches of security concerning the IT infrastructure of enterprises. Organizations need to carefully manage, track and audit all devices that access their networks. By ensuring that only “trusted” devices are granted network access, organizations can better protect their corporate information and minimize security attacks. Finally, with the significant increase in digitized paper workflows and the rise in electronic contracts, organizations need ways to perform these electronic transactions securely and in a probative manner.
To meet today’s complex security challenges and establish a “trusted” network at all points, organizations need agile and flexible security solutions in order to: