#BeCyberSmart with Identity Management
Week one of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is underway and we at Conceal could not be more thrilled that identity management made the cut this year! The National Cybersecurity Alliance has been highlighting how you, as the star topic of this month’s approach, can #BeCyberSmart through enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA). Identity management is an imperative aspect of an organization’s cybersecurity strategy, helping ensure that you p have the access to the tools and data you need to do your job.
Aspects of Identity Management (AIM)
Identity management goes beyond MFA. We could spend the entire month talking about the ins and outs of a top notch IAM program, but, since we only have a week dedicated to identity, we will keep it brief. MFA is great, as we will see below. But, not all accounts or applications offer MFA. As a result, a solution that can obfuscate an identity can also be a key strategic component to identity management.
MFA
Multi-factor authentication is a security control that requires a user logging into their account to navigate through a multistep process while checking in to verify their identity. This extra security measure minimizes the threat actor success rate in leveraging a legitimate account by being able to gain access to the username and password of a legitimate user. There are many types of MFA. The National Cybersecurity Alliance mentioned six different authentication measures this week including:
- An Extra Personal Identification Number
- Extra Security Question
- Additional Code Emailed or Texted to the User
- A Yes or No Button or Unique Number Through a Third-Party Application
- A Biometric Identifier
- A Secure Token
MFA is continuing to grow in popularity, but it is not an intrinsic part of every login today. While it is seen in many accounts holding valuable data, such as a bank login, there is value in having MFA on all applications and logins. In the meantime, it is important for organizations to invest in other identity management strategies, such as obfuscation.
Obfuscation
Obfuscation refers to the obstruction of some type of data so that it is unrecognizable by others. For identities, obfuscation can mask an identity, making it difficult for a threat actor to gain access to the user credentials. This is important for logins and applications that do not leverage Making it impossible for threat actors to identify a user minimizes the need for MFA in many instances.
Here at Conceal, we specialize in obfuscation. Conceal’s patented design obscures and varies network pathways while protecting your identity and systems across multiple cloud providers. Conceal improves performance, increases privacy and security, and creates redundancy to provide better resiliency and a reduced cyber-attack vector. Conceal’s unique network design lowers your cyberattack profile by isolating, obfuscating, and dynamically shifting your communications pathways. With Conceal, your network communications are not attributed back to your organization. Conceal’s functionality as part of your overall identity strategy addresses shortcomings in other components, such as MFA.
Use Case
As mentioned above, identity management is vital for logging into accounts that pertain to the most sensitive and confidential information, such as banking details. As a result, bad actors target these organizations and accounts more than others. Therefore, a security strategy that maximizes identity and access management is imperative. Conceal provides critical identity obfuscation for organizations within the financial services industry that need to protect customer data, financial transactions, investment research and branch communications. Our solutions provide complete misattribution and privacy for personnel operating on the internet, leaving no identifiable footprint. Additionally, ConcealCloud keeps its users unidentifiable to criminal elements, prevents websites from filtering or denying content, enables discreet online surveillance and provides a reduced cyber-attack vector. To find out how investing in Conceal can add unparalleled value for your identity management strategy, request a demo today.
