From banks to retail stores to your kid’s Roblox account, it seems no one is safe from security threats these days. Password breaches are so common that it takes a massive incident for most people to take notice. Weak passwords and lack of understanding about best practices are behind many of these incidents, yet it is still notoriously difficult to achieve user compliance with password guidelines.
Most organizations understand the need to take cybersecurity seriously, especially those in the IT industry. But when it’s your customer’s data and sensitive information at risk, the stakes suddenly seem much higher. That’s why MSPs entrusted with managing IT infrastructure and systems for their client base need a comprehensive, efficient solution that will keep data safe and reduce the risk of breaches.
Identity and Access Management Challenges
Access management is a complex issue that encompasses organizational infrastructure and policies as well as end-user behavior. To successfully protect sensitive data, you need a solution that addresses these six challenges:
1. Multiple Access Points
The proliferation of connected devices combined with the increasing frequency of remote work has created a huge number of access points to manage and protect. Whether an employee is accessing files from the computer in their cubicle, from their laptop at home, or from a tablet at a coffee shop, you still need reliable, comprehensive security.
Think of your IT system like a house. The more doors a house has, the greater the possibility that someone will forget to lock one. If there are many people living in the house, that possibility increases exponentially since effective security depends on their willingness and ability to follow recommended practices for door locking. To protect the house, you need a guaranteed way to ensure that every door will be locked, every time.
2. Weak Passwords
As the number of devices and applications grows, so does the number of passwords that must be created and remembered. This often results in people using the same password over and over again or creating weak passwords that are simple to remember.
Of course, the problem with this is that weak passwords make it easy for hackers to break through. To protect their data, companies must commit to teaching and enforcing strong password practices. In addition, they can use a password manager like Password Boss to automate logins, easily share passwords as needed, and protect access with two-factor authentication.
3. Access Visibility
Administrators need to know who has access to which applications, what level of access they have, and what they are able to do with that access. This is important not only for protecting sensitive data, but also for security audits. MSPs need a way to create centralized visibility to ensure the right people (and only the right people) can access the data they need.
One way to do this is to implement a privileged access management solution like AutoElevate by CyberFOX. AutoElevate allows you to remove local admin rights without creating usability issues or access problems.
4. Manual Provisioning and Deprovisioning
When an employee is hired or terminated, their security rights need to be granted or removed quickly. However, it can take time for IT administrators to go through and manually grant or revoke access for each application and each employee. You’ll need to know what permissions they need, what applications they need access to, what level of access they should have, and more. It’s helpful to automate this process by standardizing access based on a role rather than an individual user.
5. Security Integrations
Identity and access management is user-focused, but it also needs to integrate with other key security measures such as threat analysis, vulnerability scanning, risk management protocols and others. These integrations are crucial for maintaining compliance with security protocols, monitoring and reporting, mitigating risks, and handling access requests.
6. User Buy-In
The unfortunate truth is that many users just don’t take access management seriously. No matter how much information you provide or how many security guidelines you enforce, at the end of the day users can still create weakness in your security protocols if they don’t follow safe password practices.
Your Trusted, Secure Identity and Access Management Solution
At CyberFOX, we help MSPs solve their identity and access management challenges with powerful solutions. Our multi-pronged approach gives you total control over the who, when, and where of identity access management. Designed specifically for MSPs, our comprehensive, efficient solutions protect your customer data with:
- Two-Factor Authentication
- Role-Based Access
- Remote Control Integration
- Secure Password Sharing
- Multi-Layered Security
- MSP Management Portal
- Multi-Device Access
- Built-In Dark Web Scanning
- Auto-Logins
Contact us to learn how we can take the guesswork out of identity and access management for MSPs!
