Intelligent CIO North America Issue 04 | Page 44

INVESTING IN IDENTITY AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT ( IAM ) IS NOW , MORE THAN EVER , CRITICAL TO FACILITATING A SECURE REMOTE WORKFORCE .

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CIO OPINION

INVESTING IN IDENTITY AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT ( IAM ) IS NOW , MORE THAN EVER , CRITICAL TO FACILITATING A SECURE REMOTE WORKFORCE .

Ian Pitt , CIO at LogMeIn

Why IAM is key to securing a remote workforce

Ian Pitt , CIO at LogMeIn , discusses the benefits that a strong IAM framework can provide to organizations .

The transition to remote work has undoubtedly impacted companies worldwide , and day-to-day business operations have shifted to support a long-term remote workforce . Now , seven months after the initial COVID-19 outbreak , a large majority of employees are still working remotely with no end in sight .

For many companies , the pandemic has forced organizations to rethink their security strategy as employees work from various locations .
Despite this transition , employees still need to seamlessly access applications and files through a secure and reliable connection to maintain daily operations . Investing in identity and access management ( IAM ) is now , more than ever , critical to facilitating a secure remote workforce .
Security challenges of a remote workforce
As more companies adopt a work-fromanywhere culture , leaders have had to anticipate the challenges that will arise from this expansion of the office perimeter and evolving cybersecurity landscape . Today ’ s hackers seek opportunistic moments in time to capitalize on fear and anxiety .
The COVID-19 crisis has paved the way for cybercriminals to seize apprehension and infiltrate often-outdated home networks and unmanaged personal devices in this new remote work environment .
To better defend against security threats such as shadow IT , phishing and credential stuffing attacks , IT and security teams must ensure basic
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