Everyone seems to be talking about public key infrastructure (PKI), cryptography, and machine identities these days. But don’t take my word for it.
On August 5th at 1 PM Est, David Mahdi VP, Gartner will be presenting on this exact topic.
As the world digitally transforms, non-human or machines will rise to conduct and transact critical elements of business and society. Yet, all of this hinges on PKI and cryptography; and it must be orchestrated, managed, and automated.
I had a chance to sit down with Mahdi before his live webinar to get just some of the insights he will be presenting.
How Paradigm shifts have made machine IDs a priority
“Digital transformation isn’t slowing down, it’s only accelerating.” How many times have you heard this? Well, it might be a tired old saying but it’s true.
However, while developers continue to lead the charge in building the tech stacks for tomorrow, others are accelerating the move to digital as well.
Non-IT leaders are now building the software for the future. Gartner predicts that By 2024, 80% of technology products and services will be built by those who are not technology professionals.
This is a huge paradigm shift. With the proliferation of low-code development tools and RPA bots, security leaders are having to deal with more connected machines now more than ever.
And when you combine the ability for more people to build software with hyper-automation, you end up having a machine identity sprawl that needs to be securely managed.
Prioritizing Cryptography as Critical Infrastructure
David breaks down how cryptography should be viewed as critical infrastructure in an easy-to-understand framework.
It all starts with understanding how digital business and data are connected. You can’t simply focus on getting setting up cloud networks and deploying applications without focusing on securing the data flows between them.
Without securing the data and their machine identities, you have no digital trust. And to establish digital trust, you need to use and view cryptography as critical infrastructure.
Developing a Machine Identity Management Strategy
Machine identity management is now an imperative for IAM success. Gartner goes far as to say that “establishing an enterprise-wide strategy for managing machine identities, certificates and secrets will enable the organization to better secure digital transformation.”
And while there are different types of machine identities, one thing is for sure: PKI and digital certificate management is now mainstream.
According to Technology Insight for X.509 Certificate Management, “Security leaders that successfully reposition X.509 certificate management to a compelling business story, such as digital business and trust enablement, will increase program success by 60%, up from by less than 10% today.”
David will discuss how to think about a comprehensive strategy and how to approach the lifecycle management of these identities. It’s not about buying more tools. Tools can help, but establishing a Crypto Center of Excellence (CCoE) provides a comprehensive approach to managing cryptography challenges for today and also the future.
