Imagine this scenario: You lock up your valuables in a safe, but the key is hanging right by the door for anyone to use. That is the state of data security without robust identity security. If you don’t control who has access to the keys to the kingdom, you can’t be surprised that anyone does. To truly secure your organization’s crown jewels, it is critical to understand your exposure – the gap between who should have access and who actually does. In other words, without knowing who can see and use your data and how, you won’t be able to secure it effectively. 

Identity security and data security must be addressed simultaneously for an organization’s security posture to address security risks and threats adequately. Here’s how:

• Right Identity, Right Access: Only authorized users with a legitimate “need-to-know” should be able to access sensitive data. This includes granting the right level of access – no more, no less than necessary.
• Trustworthy Identities: Are the individuals accessing your data who they say they are? Can you vouch for their security practices? Implementing strong identity controls is key.
• Continuous Vigilance: Security isn’t a one-time event. Organizations need ongoing processes and mechanisms to review and approve access rights, ensuring they remain appropriate throughout the data’s lifecycle.

The Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA) reinforces this point. Their report, “Guide to Identity Defined Security,” reveals a sobering truth: Most data breaches involve compromised credentials. Another IDSA report, “2023 Trends in Securing Digital Identities,” highlights that nearly all identity stakeholders (96%) believe more robust identity security could have prevented past data breaches.

While data security strategies may vary based on an organization’s business model, the core principles remain the same:

• Identify Your Valuables: Know where your sensitive data resides.
• Ownership and Accountability: Know who is responsible for collecting, using and protecting it.
• Reduce Risk: Minimize exposure and potential threats.

Managing access using existing IAM tools, especially across platforms and environments, is not the same as deeply understanding and controlling the risk of permissive and standing access to sensitive data. Rather than using disparate security tools to manage the growing web of identities across the increasing amount of data in business environments, a holistic approach that can address data security threats from an identity security perspective is needed. Such solutions need to act as bridges, providing security teams with valuable insights into identity and data security, including visibility into:

• Internal and external data exposure
• Users with excessive or unnecessary access to sensitive information
• Risky user activity patterns

The IDSA, in their “Guide to Identity Defined Security,” refers to the core components of these tools as critical elements in “implementing a Zero Trust framework.” Here’s the core principle:

“Protecting an organization’s most sensitive data and systems requires identifying all users and assets, then implementing safeguards to ensure proper authentication and authorization. Access should be granted based on the principle of least privilege, with heightened scrutiny for privileged accounts.”

The key to effective data security and risk management lies in a comprehensive data security solution with robust identity security features. By prioritizing user access control, data discovery and classification, and continuous monitoring, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and safeguard their most critical assets.