The world has changed and needs more security

Source: Vsoft, 19/02/2019

`Everything is growing. The world`s largest cities, the average
global temperature, the world`s population and survival rates, and
of course, the volume of data.`
Markets are changing faster than ever, and people are being rolled
into new businesses quicker than ever, he continued. Competition
is more intense, and is coming from new spaces. Businesses you
never considered to be competition a few years ago, are now
fighting for a slice of your market share.
Moreover, the way we work has changed.
`Work isn`t a place we go to any longer, it`s something that we
do`, says Doo. `Mobility has changed the way we work forever.`
With the Internet of things, there were 11 billion connected
devices last year. `Soon, your fridge will wake you up, your
toaster will make you coffee and your TV will be sending spam.`
`Some $12 billion was spent on artificial intelligence and machine
learning in 2017, set to quadruple by 2021, although we are so low
on that growth curve at the moment, it`s very hard to put any
numbers against it.`
And all of this is going to need more security, he says.
Software is eating the world
Partner ecosystems are also in flux, with vendors getting acquired
by other vendors.
`Software is eating the world. If we look back to 1955 through to
2017, out of the top global 500 organisations, there are only 50
left. Only one in ten has survived, the others have failed, or
been acquired. That attrition rate is scary.
`Every single business we talk to is becoming a technology
company. From 2010 to 201, everything has changed, there is not
one `pure-play` company left. No business in only a software or
hardware business.`
`So, businesses need to ask themselves, how much of a tech company
they want to be in terms of what they build and have in-house, and
where they want to partner.`
And customer expectations have never been higher. People are
buying insurance, cars and houses based upon digital experiences
that they are enjoying. `If you`re not on that journey already, in
terms of how you embrace your customer relationships better, then
it`s going to be a heavy slog for you to catch up with the
companies that are already engaging in that space.`
Doo says all he visionary companies have realised that delivering
a truly digital experience requires working across organisational
boundaries of contractors, business partners, people you sell to
and sell through, and of course employees.
The application reality
This shift to a digital world is bringing new threats from a cyber
security perspective. When most of your information actually
belongs to other people, a breach can have catastrophic
consequences.
`We can expect more targeted attacks. Today, your weaknesses are
known, and threat actors may target your supply chain or third
party, or even the person who cleans your office.` And with
regulations such as POPI and GDPR, the risk of reputational and
financial damage is very real, he warns.
As always, people remain the weakest link in the chain - people`s
actions, whether deliberate or not, are the cause of a vast number
of security incidents, he says.
`Another thing I can say with no fear, is that people are the new
perimeter. Security has become about building protection around
who the individual is. Are they coming in from a device we are
used to? Or an IP range we are accustomed to accessing our
organisation? Or even a geo-location we are used to?`
The way we work has changed. Work isn`t a place we go to any
longer, it`s something that we do.
Justin Doo, Okta
The new application reality, he says, is that all the new,
innovative technology is being launched on the cloud and identity
is going to be crucial in any organisation`s journey to the cloud.
`Yesterday, all identities were internal, but today we have a
hybrid environment and identity is now an independent and neutral
platform. Your users don`t want multiple user names and passwords.
They want one identity that allows them to access the tools they
need whether cloud-based, or on-premises.`
Tomorrow, identity will have a universal standard. `This will
affect everyone. It will be huge. We are all equal before a wave,`
he concluded