Over the last year, the headlines became the rallying cry to make securing digital identities the top priority in every security program. But the responsibility does not fall solely on the public and private sector. As individuals, we are employees, partners, and consumers and have the responsibility to protect all credentials equally. We all need to contribute to the security of our digital ecosystem. Identity Security is everyone’s responsibility.
We are very proud to host the second annual Identity Management Day in partnership with the National Cybersecurity Alliance and are truly grateful to everyone who participated. While we use this day to raise awareness about the importance of securing digital identities, we hope the tips and best practices collected and the advice and perspectives shared during the conference help you make it a focus every day.
Identity Management Champions
Almost 200 individuals, organizations, and industry partners registered as Identity Management Champions, showing their commitment to improving the security of digital identities. They also provided their perspective on the key challenges facing us as the lines blur between our personal and professional lives, and as organizations of all sizes struggle with putting in place the appropriate measures to prevent identity-related attacks.
Resources from Around the Identity Community
Using the hashtags #IDMgmtDay2022 and #BeIdentitySmart, organizations around the globe shared their advice and best practices. In addition, the resources page of the Identity Management Day website has been populated with advice and other blogs in honor of Identity Management Day, as well as news coverage of Identity Management Day and is worth a look.
Identity Management Day Virtual Conference 2022
The first-ever Identity Management Day Virtual Conference brought together security leaders, vendors, and advocates to raise awareness, share best practices, and inspire organizations and individuals to take proactive steps to effectively manage and secure digital identities. The conference included 5 sessions and 22 speakers discussing the most important topics related to identity security today, including:
- Why are we still experiencing identity-related attacks and what can be done to prevent them (hint: MFA everywhere). Sean Deuby (Semperis), Manish Gupta (Starbucks), Martin Kuppinger (Kuppinger Cole), Clint Maples (Robert Half), Tom Sheffield (Target).
- SMBs are not immune to identity-related attacks and perhaps even more susceptible given resource and budget constraints, but there are resources that can help (hint: Center for Internet Security Controls). Lawrence Cruciana (Corporate Information Technologies), Phyllis Lee (Center for Internet Security), Harry Perper (Mitre) and Lisa Plaggemier (National Cybersecurity Alliance).
- Security Leaders should use Zero Trust as a way to articulate the business value of a security strategy and to deliver quantifiable results. Chase Cunningham (Ericom), George Finney (SMU), John Gilroy (FederalTech Podcast), Den jones (Banyan Security).
- So many things missing in identity – identity should be a security function and should translate the complexity of human relationships to the digital world and digital identities: Richard Bird (SecZetta), Eve Maler (ForgeRock), Jaime Lewis-Gross (Saviynt), Helen Patton (Cisco).
- The future of identity is evolution, not revolution – invest in identity-first approaches with a focus on machine identities, identity proofing and authorization. If you are involved with identity as a practitioner or vendor, you are on a rocket ship: Andrew Hughes (Ping Identity), David Mahdi (Sectigo), Paul Mezzera (Saviynt), Kristina Yasuda (Microsoft), Paul Zolfaghari (Carrick Capital).
Supporting the Next Generation
This year we established the Next Generation Fund to provide financial support to students on their path to an identity smart cybersecurity career. The donations collected will be presented to Per Scholas to provide skills training and access to employer networks to individuals often excluded from tech careers. There are over 2.7 million cybersecurity jobs unfilled, so I invite you to help fill the gap by donating to the fund.
Thanks to the National Cybersecurity Alliance for their continued partnership as we present the second annual Identity Management Day. All of this couldn’t have happened without the support of our Identity Management Day Committee Chair, Ravi Erukulla. Ravi is the VP of Analyst Relations and Customer Advocacy with IDSA member company Saviynt. Special thanks the rest of the Saviynt team – Devon Tackles, Kristina Ferrari, Kelly Hardy – Touchdown PR and Kristina Lanpheir for their contributions. See you next year – Tuesday, April 11th, 2023!
