Is it just me, or does it seem like the occurrence of security breaches is becoming more prevalent these days? One of the most recent that popped up in my inbox involved Capital One, where a hacker was able to access about 100 million credit card applications, ultimately taking over thousands of Social Security and bank account numbers. It’s one of the largest data breaches ever to hit a financial institution. Capital One says it expects the breach could cost between $100-150 million to remediate.
When Will the Next Shoe Drop?
Financial and insurance companies face challenges like this all the time. They have complex systems that are responsible for managing millions– if not billions–of data entries, many of which contain personal information that can put consumers at risk of identity theft. These business-critical systems must run like a well-oiled machine and be architected to prevent access to unauthorized users – whether inside or outside the organization. And while enterprises grow and invest in strategies and technologies that mitigate risk, it’s critically important to regularly assess current practices to determine what’s working, and what’s not. Staying ahead of vulnerabilities must always be priority one.
In other industries, like manufacturing, shifts in products and platforms expose additional risks and challenges. Very often, IoT device manufacturers may not have in-house Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) expertise, but companies and customers purchasing their products will greatly benefit from the trust and security that PKI can provide over the lifecycle of a deployed device.
Leading PKI as a Service (PKIaaS) providers offer comprehensive platforms for IoT device & credential management combined with libraries that can be embedded in the devices for easy provisioning and certificate management from cradle to grave.
Avoid the Crash
You don’t want to be under the next shoe when it drops and crashes…so don’t put yourself in that position. PKI is a robust, trusted way to authenticate and encrypt critical information, and is a proven method for effective security control. Gartner recommends that security professionals involved in Identity and Access Management (IAM) initiatives should:
- “Leverage certificate management tools to manage and monitor SSL/TLS certificates”
- “Focus on enabling automatic outage detection and mitigation, compliance and policy requirements, and crypto-agility.”
While the benefits of PKI are widely known, the changing landscape of regulatory and compliance laws, business operations, along with the evolution of cryptography are variables that must be taken into account when managing your PKI over time. Proper PKI management incorporates multiple factors including continuous monitoring, reporting and auditing in a diligent manner. That’s why considering a professionally managed PKI is a sensible approach that you can invest in with confidence.
Manage PKI Complexity
Deploying and managing a PKI in-house can be complex, but it’s a critical tool to enable trust in your business ecosystem and secure digital assets. It’s not just about finding the right hardware and software. It’s about finding the right PKI expertise required to run it. PKI can also be a challenge to adapt over time as your business grows and the security landscape changes. Only the right partner with the right tools and processes will make it easier to handle PKI management in an automated and robust manner.
When you migrate to PKIaaS with Keyfactor, you are no longer responsible for managing your PKI in house, but you always retain complete control and ownership over your Root CA keys. You’ll get all the benefits of owning a PKI without facing the complexity of managing it on your own.
Focus on Progress Not Problems
PKIaaS will enable your organization to realize operational efficiencies and allow your team of experts to focus on running your business. Your PKIaaS partner will take on design, deployment, and management of your infrastructure, giving you greater visibility into security operations, and a scalable solution to meet the demands of your growing enterprise or IoT device product lines.
We are all human, and mistakes are inevitable. Your PKIaaS partner is responsible for keeping your system running smoothly, while incorporating necessary toolsets and features that are continuously developed to improve operations over time. Not to mention the cost and time savings by relieving expensive IT talent from mundane day-to-day tasks like patching PKI servers and publishing CRLs. With Keyfactor, you’ll minimize the risk of human error by utilizing a robust managed PKI tool and leveraging the experts behind it to do the heavy lifting for you.
