In today’s digital landscape, businesses of all sizes and industries are increasingly relying on digital channels to interact with customers. 

As a result, managing customer identities and access has become a critical business requirement. This is where Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) comes in.

What is CIAM?

CIAM is a subset of identity and access management (IAM) that focuses on managing the digital identities and access controls of customers as opposed to employees.

CIAM solutions provide a centralized platform for organizations to manage their customer’s identities, preferences, and consent across various digital touchpoints like websites, mobile apps, and social platforms.

The CIAM solution of an organization is what allows customers to safely sign up and log into online applications and services and manage their accounts, profiles, and security settings.

The main objective of a CIAM solution is to deliver a great customer experience while protecting customer data.

Key Elements of CIAM

Self-Service Registration and Account Management

The most important element of any CIAM solution is the ability for a user to sign up for your service by themselves. Making this process streamlined and intuitive for potential customers is critical. 

Considering that the average conversion rate of a website in 2022 was 3.65%, avoiding any inconveniences during registration that may deter visitors from completing the sign-up process need to be considered and avoided at all costs.

Personalization

CIAM solutions enable organizations to offer personalized experiences to customers based on their preferences and behaviors.

This also allows users to manage their accounts themselves to update information like their email, home addresses, security, and consent preferences. 

Any CIAM solution also has to allow users to reset passwords and go through authentication protocols without involving an IT professional.

Centralized Customer Profiles

Having customer profiles that are centralized across applications and devices is a key element of CIAM.

This allows users to update their details in one interface and those details be updated on all interfaces, removing any data silos and preventing frustration or duplicate work for the customer.

Scalability

Particularly when operating within a large enterprise, cybersecurity professionals have to be sure that the system is scalable and capable of handling potentially millions of users. 

Take OpenAI for example – upon the release of ChatGPT, it amassed over 1,000,000 users in only 1 week.

Single Sign-On

Single sign-on (SSO) is a feature of CIAM being utilized very effectively by Google. It allows a user to sign into one application and automatically be signed into a suite of other applications.

For example, when a user signs into Gmail, they’re automatically signed into Youtube, Google Drive, and any other G-suite application. 

Consent Management

In the digital-first, always-on society we live in, people want to be in control of their privacy preferences when they’re online. 

CIAM solutions enable customers to manage their data privacy preferences and give explicit consent to data sharing and usage – a must for any organization handling customer data.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

MFA is a login procedure, often backed by artificial intelligence, that adds an additional layer of security in an attempt to prevent fraudulent logins. This is achieved by requiring a user to use more than one authentication method to gain access to a system.

This allows for a better means of accessing software, applications, and systems that’s much safer than the traditional username and password method that’s easy for hackers to exploit.

MFA is increasingly becoming regarded as a basic security requirement with more and more data privacy laws starting to demand it. 

Modern CIAM supports AI-powered adaptive authentication which uses contextual behavioral analytics and administratively defined policies to decide what authentication is required under a specific set of circumstances.

Identity Verification and Fraud Prevention

To protect against fraudulent activities such as account takeover, fake account creation, and identity theft, robust identity verification and fraud prevention features are central to any comprehensive CIAM strategy.

With fraud at its highest level in the last 20 years – according to PwC’s 2022 report in which they stated 51% of organizations had experienced fraud in the last two years – the focus on fraud prevention has to be higher than ever to protect customers and companies. 

The Importance of Getting Your CIAM Right

Adherence to Privacy Laws 

Failing to meet data laws such as GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA can be costly for an organization in terms of both finances and reputation. 

Regulation authorities determine how an organization collects, stores, and shares personal data. In order to meet these legal requirements, your CIAM needs to be top of mind. 

Acquire and Retain Customers

A lot of time, energy, money, and resources go into attracting new customers to a business. 

One of the first interactions a user has with your business is the registration process which makes it a critical part of the customer acquisition journey – getting this process wrong isn’t an option for businesses in such a competitive landscape. 

Likewise, if your system isn’t user-friendly causing inconvenience to customers on a daily basis – they’ll likely look elsewhere, increasing churn and reducing the lifetime value of each customer to direct hit your bottom line.

Improve User Experience

In a world where convenience is so important for consumers – getting your user experience right has never been more important. 

There are no second chances when it comes to pleasing customers.

Hubspot reported that 88% of customers are less likely to return to a site after a poor user experience.

So how exactly does CIAM improve the user experience?

Registration

Making the registration process as seamless as possible avoids deterring potential customers right at the point of joining.

By enabling convenient registration options like social registration, and minimizing the information a customer requires when joining, the process can be as seamless as possible. 

Authentication

CIAM solutions allow for a variety of multifactor authentication options, giving users the freedom to decide what authentication methods are most convenient for them.

Authorization

Solutions continuously authorize access using adaptive authentication. Variables such as device, location, behavior, and more are used to determine the risk of the current session throughout that session. 

Varied methods of authorization can be deployed based on the level of risk.

For example, during low-risk conditions users may leave and return without signing in again. Opposingly, a user that is acting suspiciously may be required to re-authenticate – increasing the security of the user’s account.

Self-Service

Tasks such as profile preference management, contact preferences, password reset, help requests, and security preferences should all be modifiable by the user manually.

This not only provides the user with a more seamless experience but relieves pressure on support teams. 

Multichannel Support

Implementing an effective CIAM system ensures that users have fluidity between devices.

CIAM allows for flexibility on entry points across all devices, reducing the inconvenience to all users which ultimately increases the retention rates of customers.

Users expect their experience to be as fluid as the Apple ecosystem, in which they can access anything on any of their devices, from anywhere, anytime via their iCloud account.

This is the fluidity that users now expect in their experience with any company – and a comprehensive CIAM solution helps achieve this.

How is CIAM Different From IAM?

Most companies have some form of employee identity and access management, whether it’s swipe cards to access physical locations, usernames and passwords to access systems, or more complex passwordless authentication systems.

On the face of it, IAM and CIAM may seem the same. However, they actually have significant differences in terms of functionality.

Check out our article on CIAM vs IAM for a full breakdown

Employee vs Customers

This one might not be too much of a surprise but one of the main differences is that CIAM is focused on customer access to digital assets compared to IAM being primarily focused on employees.

User Experience

IAM is designed for employees who are familiar with a system meaning that the user’s experience isn’t usually top of mind when designing it.

CIAM however, is designed for non-technical users so being as user-friendly as possible is crucial.

Data Privacy

A great majority of measures that companies take to protect customer data with their CIAM strategy are driven by regulatory compliance requirements and restrictions.

Their IAM strategy is of course influenced by these regulations but is also driven by the need to protect intellectual property and combat other cybersecurity threats.

Performance and Scalability

For most enterprises, the rate of new customer onboarding is often much higher than the rate of new employee onboarding.

Arguably, this means the amount of data collected by a CIAM solution is exponentially greater than the amount of data collected by an IAM solution – millions of customers versus hundreds or thousands of employees.

Whether the system can handle that huge amount of data is crucial when choosing or designing your CIAM strategy.

Choosing the Right CIAM Solution

As explained above, getting your CIAM solution right is critical to the security and loyalty of your customers!

Getting it wrong could result in reduced conversion rates of prospects, existing customers seeking alternative solutions, hefty fines from regulation authorities, or your CIAM solution simply not being able to handle the volume of data.

Here are some factors to consider when choosing a CIAM solution:

Security: Security needs to be top of mind for a CIAM solution, without it you could land yourself in legal, financial, and reputation trouble. Features such as multi-factor authentication, encryption, and compliance with relevant data privacy regulations are essential.

User experience: Getting this wrong will simply mean fewer customers and reduced satisfaction. Ensuring that your CIAM solution is intuitive and user-friendly across multiple digital channels is non-negotiable.

Scalability: Your CIAM solution must meet demand and scale with your business as it grows. Look for a solution that can handle a high volume of users and is flexible enough to adapt to changing business needs.

Integration: Your CIAM solution has to be able to integrate seamlessly with your existing systems. Systems to consider are your CRM, marketing automation, and other backend systems.

Popular CIAM Vendors

There are several popular CIAM vendors in the market, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

RediMinds recommends choosing one of the leading solutions:

Okta: A cloud-based identity management solution that offers network security solutions and provides a unified security infrastructure that allows for a seamless experience for users.

Transmit Security: Provide uncompromising security, fraud prevention, and customer experience with modular, orchestrated identity services.

RediMinds are a certified security implementation partner for both Okta and Transmit Security.

So, if you’re looking to improve your CIAM solutions then speak to one of our experts today.

When it comes to cybersecurity models, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Designing a security system from scratch just isn’t an option for most enterprise companies – that’s why it’s common practice to pick a publicly available framework.

One of the most popular of which is the Zero Trust cybersecurity framework, estimated to reach a market value of 59.43 billion by 2023.

(source: Adroit Market Research)

This article will cover:

• What it is
• Why it’s important
• Threats to traditional security
• Why your business should be implementing Zero Trust
• Challenges faced with Zero Trust
• Implementing Zero Trust

What is the Zero Trust framework?

The Zero Trust security model has been around for over 10 years. But, it wasn’t until the past few years that it became clear how to implement it efficiently and cost-effectively, thus companies have only really started adopting it more recently.

The principles of zero trust are simple:

“Never trust, always verify – every request from every user, in or outside the organization must be authenticated, authorized, and encrypted in real-time”

Adopting Zero trust as an organization changes the concept of ‘perimeter’ from being location-based to identity and access-based – a concept that’s integral in today’s age of remote working, cloud computing, and hybrid storage systems.

That brings us to…

Why Is Zero Trust So Important in Today’s Digital Landscape?

The last few years have seen an exponential change in the digital landscape and thus, a significant change in how companies operate. Specifically, the shift to remote and hybrid remote working.

Such a shift has brought about increased exposure to cyber threats that were previously not even a consideration.

With more and more employees working outside of the office, users are accessing potentially critical company information and data on unsecured networks.

This, coupled with the fact that cybercriminals are becoming more and more sophisticated, forever finding new and improved ways to exploit weaknesses in an organization’s system, leaves organizations more vulnerable than ever to cyber threats.

Zero trust is an excellent way to combat these issues – by simplifying security efforts and effectively verifying user identities both before and during every user’s session. This allows for suspicious behavior to be picked up in real time.

So, it’s no surprise that Hartner captures a 60% YoY growth rate in companies adopting Zero trust.

Threats to Traditional Network Security

Cyber Attacks Becoming More Sophisticated

As technology advances, so do cybercriminal tactics. Traditional security methods like firewalls and antivirus software are no longer enough to protect you against new and more advanced threats.

In this new era of the digital landscape in which traditional security methods aren’t a match for malware, phishing, and ransomware attacks that cybercriminals are deploying today.

Increased Number of Remote Employees

With more and more employees accessing company networks from outside the office, this has created a larger attack surface for cybercriminals to target.

Many remote employees and devices may not have the same level of security as those within the office – this is what’s referred to as edge cybersecurity. 

While using personal devices for work purposes can increase the risk of data breaches as they may not be as secure as company-issued devices.

An alternative solution to Zero Trust is to use a VPN. On the face of it, they work relatively well by funneling access through a private connection when accessing an unsecured connection, essentially encrypting the user’s online activity.

However, VPNs have a significant drawback versus zero trust. Because VPNs work on a policy of implicit trust for network access, in the event that just one user is compromised, the intruder gains access to the entire system.

This kind of access in the wrong hands could have catastrophic results.

Additionally, VPNs aren’t ideal for scalability on complex networks and offer no risk detection features.

Why Your Business Should Be Implementing Zero Trust

Improved Inventory of Infrastructure

For Zero Trust to work effectively, it requires an organization to have an accurate inventory of infrastructure. This means a full log of users, devices, programs, and services.

This is what allows IT teams to allocate who has access to which parts of the network. Simply put – holes in the inventory infrastructure equals holes in the organization’s cybersecurity.

Improved Data Protection

Due to the fundamental principles of zero trust, users attempting to access critical company data are subject to the identity and validation process before they are granted access.

This allows an organization to define who can be granted access and when.

Additionally, once a user gains access they are continually monitored and re-authorized. This allows for any abnormal behavior to be flagged in real-time.

The Zero Trust framework also takes advantage of micro-segmentation which involves dividing the network into smaller, more secure segments. This approach helps to reduce the attack surface of the network and minimize the impact of a successful attack.

In the event of a breach, the attacker will be limited to a smaller portion of the network, reducing the overall risk to the organization.

Increased Network Visibility

The Zero Trust framework provides a comprehensive view of all network activity.

Because all devices and users accessing the network are verified and authenticated, this generates an abundant amount of information in regard to network activity.

The resulting data logs contain who and what accessed the network, what applications and software they accessed, and for how long – visibility that helps an organization detect and respond to security threats more effectively and quickly.

The powers of machine learning can be harnessed here to augment this process and automatically detect patterns of normal behavior and more importantly, when out-of-the-ordinary activities are taking place, in real-time.

Check out our article for more on artificial intelligence in cybersecurity.

Improved Compliance With Industry Regulations

Many regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the United States, require you to implement robust security measures to protect sensitive data.

The Zero Trust framework provides ways to implement the requirements in a structured and consistent manner.

For example, the principle of authenticating and verifying all devices and users accessing a network complies with the regulation to secure access control.

Adopting the Zero Trust framework within your organization means that you can take advantage of advanced security tools like encryption and data loss prevention (DLP) technologies – more tools that help your organization protect sensitive data and comply with regulatory requirements.

Streamline Security Policy Creation

Traditional security measures often operate independently from one another.

This leaves parts of your organization’s infrastructure vulnerable and susceptible to cyber-attacks – and if there’s one thing cyber criminals are good at, it’s exploiting a weakness in a system.

Zero Trust helps with this as it allows for one global policy that can be created and implemented throughout the whole infrastructure.

Flexibility When Changing Technologies

As an enterprise expands and evolves, so do the business processes and technologies used – technologies like apps, data, and services.

As the Zero Trust framework isn’t tied to any one specific technology or system, when a change in technology is required, the Zero Trust security framework can be easily adapted to the new environment. The policies and controls that are put in place for securing access to resources remain consistent, regardless of the technology being used.

For example, if an enterprise decided to switch from using a traditional on-premise infrastructure to a cloud-based infrastructure, the Zero Trust framework can be applied to the new environment, allowing for a seamless and secure transition.

Challenges of Zero Trust Implementation

Integration With Existing Systems

The barrier to entry when adopting the Zero Trust security framework is largely dependent on the current infrastructure of the organization.

If your organization requires a lot of new technologies and updates for successful implementation, this of course takes time and money.

This can cause problems for organizations as they need to ensure that the new system integrates seamlessly with their existing network, applications, and security tools.

Addressing Cultural Resistance to Change

As a whole, people don’t like change. This means that the idea of adopting a new security model may result in pushback from employees.

This is why it’s critical to effectively communicate the benefits that the new security model will bring to the organization. Check out our article on employee cybersecurity training for our recommended training best practices.

Addressing Budget Constraints

As mentioned above, depending on the current infrastructure of the organization, implementing the Zero Trust framework seamlessly may require investment in new technology and tools, as well as hiring new staff, subject matter experts, or retraining existing employees.

Sometimes it can be difficult to secure key stakeholder buy-in for company improvements that don’t directly impact the bottom line of the business.

This is why the importance of money saved with increased security needs to be outlined, highlighting the risk of not getting your cybersecurity right.

This shouldn’t be too hard considering that IBM reported that the average cost of a data breach in the United States is $9.44 million.

Implementing Zero Trust

Often when people look at the Zero Trust framework, they instantly think of applying it to all applications and data sets immediately – which is a momentous task for large enterprises.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Zero Trust framework can be implemented step-by-step in a gradual process.

By starting with specific applications or data sets or even types of users that the organization deems to be vulnerable assets to the business. For example, remote workers using their home or public networks.

Assessing Current Security Framework

The first step in implementing the Zero Trust framework is to take a look at the existing infrastructure.

This includes identifying any vulnerabilities, assessing the existing security systems, and understanding the current threat landscape.

This information can be used to determine what changes need to be made to the current security practices and what tools and technologies are required to effectively implement Zero Trust.

Defining the Zero Trust architecture

With a thorough assessment of current security measures and risks, you can define your Zero Trust architecture.

This involves creating a roadmap that outlines the steps required to implement Zero Trust, as well as defining the policies, processes, and technologies that will be updated.

Selecting the Right Tools and Technologies

A key component of the Zero Trust model is the use of the right technologies that are best suited to your organization.

Whether you’re going to implement multi-factor authentication, passwordless authentication, encryption, security information, and event management (SIEM) systems, it’s important to take into consideration factors like cost, ease of integration, and scalability.

If your identity and access management solution isn’t fully serving your organization, get in touch with one of our experts today to discuss your best way forward to better secure your systems.

Want to find and fix the weaknesses in your cybersecurity system? Get in touch today to speak to a RediMinds Fraud Red Testing Expert about how we can help. 

With all threats identified, it’s time to carry out a risk assessment to evaluate the likelihood of each identified threat occurring and the impact on the company’s most critical data.

No system is 100% impenetrable, meaning vulnerabilities to some degree will always appear and need to be dealt with – and some threats will be more dangerous than others. The crucial thing here is the prioritization of potential threats to tackle the most critical weaknesses first.

3. Utilize End-To-End Data Protection

Implementing end-to-end protection is an approach used to secure data from unauthorized access – preventing potential alterations or loss of data.

End-to-end protection is integral to any enterprise cybersecurity because it helps protect sensitive information, meet compliance requirements, prevent data breaches, and maintain business continuity.

End-to-end is really the last line of defense in a cybersecurity system. In the event of a data breach, the idea is that the encrypted data adds an extra layer of security such that the data is not readable.

4. Take Advantage of Your Enterprise Architecture

Having a comprehensive view of an organization: its structure, processes, and data flows allows for a seamless upgrade to any cybersecurity system.

Having this structure mapped out clearly can be utilized to identify and prioritize potential security threats. Incorporating security into the architecture of a company ensures that security is integrated into all aspects of the organization.

When implementing any new cybersecurity improvements, it’s critical to keep the entire architecture of the company in mind to guarantee seamless implementation.

5. Choose an Appropriate Identity and Access Management (IAM) Solution

IAM is a system designed to identify, authenticate and authorize. This enables the right employees and job roles in an organization to have access to the right tools they need to do their work at the right time.

This is best practice for creating a separation of duties and responsibilities that’s vital to enterprises in order to:

• Conform to regulatory compliance
• Reduce human error
• Streamline IT workflows
• Improve data security
• Improve data confidentiality
• Detect insider threats in real-time

6. Conduct Regular Cybersecurity Training

In a new world that relies so heavily on technology, it’s easy to forget about the basics – human input.

In fact, it’s reported that 95% of cybersecurity breaches are actually caused by human error, according to the world economic forum. A statistic far too staggering to ignore.

There’s no denying the importance of keeping your teams up to scratch with cybersecurity training. Be sure to check out our article on employee cybersecurity training for our round-up of tips to make your training more effective.

7. Implement Strong Password Policies

Implementing strong password policies is critical for any enterprise cybersecurity program.

The importance of having a strong password is often overlooked in organizations and left to the employees, hence the staggering statistic that 80% of data breaches are linked to a weak password.

To really appreciate the importance of a strong password, just take a look at how much longer it would take a hacker using brute force tactics to guess a password of 16 characters, using every keyboard symbol (47,000,000,000,000,000 years) versus just 4 numbers (0.3 milliseconds).

(Photo credit: University of South Wales)

We have an entire article on password best practices to cover this in more detail.

Have a Cohesive Incident Response Plan in Place

Clear steps to take in the event of a security breach or other cybersecurity incident is critical to any enterprise cybersecurity program.

An effective incident response plan will include

Defined roles: The responsibilities of team members in each department in the event of an incident

Evidence preserving: Including the procedure for collecting information such as logging system activity, preserving hard drives, and retaining relevant communications

Communication protocols: Reporting and updating stakeholders such as employees, customers, and regulatory authorities

Containment and mitigation procedures: The set of actions that will be taken to limit the impact of an incident such as isolating an infected system and disabling compromised accounts

Having a well-developed incident and response plan in place enables organizations to minimize the impact of a security breach by acting quickly and effectively when the time comes.

9. Work With a Reputable Managed Security Service Provider

Cybersecurity requirements are now so complex that they’ve often outgrown the expertise of even the most well-developed internal IT teams. In fact, Sophos found that 54% of companies state cyberattacks are too advanced for their IT teams to handle on their own.

It’s common practice for an organization to seek an outside service provider to help monitor and respond to threats.

Rediminds are a certified security implementation partner for the most reliable of those solutions, Okta and Transmit security. So, whether you’re looking for help with your fraud prevention or identity and access management solution, get in touch today and find out how Rediminds can help!

• High-security vaults that can only be opened at certain times of day by certain individuals
• Huge teams of security staff
• Well-thought-out contingency plans for when there is a physical threat
• Enterprise Cybersecurity Best Practices

Relatively speaking, defending digital assets against cyber criminals is a new form of security in comparison – physical money has been around for 100’s of years, the internet has only been around since 1983.

That’s why in this article, we’ll cover:

• What Is Enterprise Cybersecurity?
• Why It’s Important for Your Business
• Who Is Exceptionally Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks?
• Recent Examples of Cybersecurity Breaches

What Is Enterprise Cybersecurity?

Enterprise cybersecurity in its most simplistic form is “everything that protects a company’s digital information from falling into the wrong hands.”

This includes any data about the company, its employees, customers, or partners. Whether it be data that’s stored physically on-site, on the cloud or a combination of the two.

Why Is Enterprise Cybersecurity Important for Your Business?

As per Gartner’s 2022 study, 88% of companies now consider cybersecurity a business risk rather than an IT problem.

This is no surprise considering 96% of companies proved to be vulnerable to external attacks in a Positive Technology 2022 study.

Here are 5 reasons why cybersecurity is so important for enterprises:

1. Prevents data breaches
2. Slows down hackers
3. Protect customer data
4. Prevents reputation loss
5. Prevent financial loss

1. Prevent Data Breaches

Data breaches occur when sensitive, confidential, or protected data falls into the wrong hands.

This is usually the result of a hacker breaking into the company system, an inside employee maliciously gaining access to the data, or an employee unintentionally losing or exposing the data.

In fact, 95% of cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error. That’s why thorough and consistent employee cybersecurity training is highly critical to ensuring every member of your team is alert and equipped to spot cyber threats.

This, coupled with a well-executed identity and access management solution, ensures only the correct users have access to data and only when they need it, mitigating the risk of a data breach.

2. Slow Down Hackers

The goal of a hacker is to find a weakness in a system and exploit it – usually for their own financial gain.

As the old saying goes “you’re only as strong as your weakest link”.

A well-defined cybersecurity solution should of course include a proactive fraud detection and prevention solution to assess any weaknesses within the business systems in order to make them stronger. This in turn makes it more difficult for hackers to find and exploit them.

For example, just take a look at how much longer it would take a hacker using brute force tactics to guess a password of 16 characters, using every keyboard symbol (47,000,000,000,000,000 years) versus just four numbers (0.3 milliseconds).

Check out our full article on password best practices to ensure your password policies are up to scratch.

Creating an IAM strategy right through to execution and ongoing maintenance is no easy task.

If you’re looking for an implementation partner to support you in developing or refining the IAM strategy for your organization, visit our IAM solutions page to find out more about how RediMinds can support you.