Survey: Enterprise focused on identity, authentication
15 April, 2016
category: Corporate, Digital ID, Financial
Enterprises are starting to reconsider cybersecurity and put a focus on identity and authentication, according to a survey from Decision Analyst and SecureAuth. Some 78% of respondents cited protection and security as key IAM priorities, outweighing user experience and cost.
Decision Analyst surveyed more than 230 IT security professionals in the U.S. and U.K. The survey data indicates that organizations are prioritizing security over cost savings and increasing investment in IAM solutions.
Firewalls and traditional perimeter detection solutions can’t stop hackers who have stolen valid credentials. Protecting these credentials has become paramount and cost isn’t the obstacle it had been when it comes to identity and authentication.
The reason for new identity projects varied. Fifty-five percent of respondents across small, medium and large companies reported the deployment of new applications – including both on-premises and cloud-based applications – as the top driver. Board and/or senior management’s drive for increased security was also cited by 50% of respondents as a chief reason for new identity project initiation, underscoring that cybersecurity has indeed become a board-level concern.
Other top drivers for new project initiation of IAM solutions include:
- Compliance/audit requirements – 49%
- Cost savings compared to a previous solution – 44%
- Heard of a security breach at another company – 36%
- Increase in prevalence of stolen or misused credentials – 34%
- Company had a security breach – 25%
The vast majority – 79% — of respondents indicated that plans are underway for IAM of externally focused applications, including vendor, partner and customer applications, portals and mobile apps.
A detailed breakdown of respondents’ plans for investment for externally focused applications is:
- 47% indicated that IAM investment is a currently funded priority
- 32% will invest in IAM in the next year
- 13% will invest in IAM, but do not have a specific timeframe
- 8% have no plans to invest in IAM