Identity Fabric: Why it's Important for Identity Security
Mar 20, 2023
Mar 20, 2023
Understand what an identity fabric is and its significance for modern Identity Security. Learn why it's crucial for protecting digital identities.
Identity control and management can be a challenge. With remote work becoming the norm, employees can work from anywhere – making it more difficult to track users and endpoint devices. And the growing prevalence of business-led IT means that employees may use unsanctioned software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools. Users may even share credentials or abandon SaaS tools, resulting in identity sprawl and an unsecured SaaS perimeter.
The identity fabric is consistent with cybersecurity mesh architecture (CSMA), which is quickly becoming the gold standard for enterprise security. A composable, scalable architecture centered on securing identities can mitigate risk and decrease the likelihood of a cyberattack. Learn more about the benefits of using an identity fabric in your enterprise security framework.
Today, many businesses are using a range of cloud computing services. While these tools help organizations stay nimble, control costs, and quickly scale up, they also present a security risk. And unfortunately, many security solutions are still siloed, making it difficult to get a holistic view of identity security. This can lead to functionality gaps, operational inefficiencies, and security risks.
An identity fabric offers a more comprehensive approach to identity and access management (IAM). The identity fabric framework seeks to integrate IAM tools across an enterprise to authenticate end users and control access. An identity fabric may include:
Identity fabrics can be used in combination with other authentication technologies, like Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) or multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Using an identity fabric approach offers several advantages for your organization:
Security breaches can significantly impact your operations, especially if private customer or employee data is leaked. By continuously authenticating identities and controlling application access, you’ll minimize the risk of attacks that can hurt both your company’s reputation and your bottom line.
If you’re shifting your organization’s approach to identity security, you’ll want to carefully vet any third-party services that offer user authentication. You’ll want a security framework that offers comprehensive discovery, monitoring, and enforcement. Keep these factors in mind when putting an identity fabric solution in place:
Rather than depending on just one method, such as network traffic, a strong identity discovery solution can detect users on managed and unmanaged devices, whether they are on or off the corporate network. You can make your discovery framework stronger by integrating data from other sources, like threat intelligence platforms or network security systems.
A policy control and enforcement solution sits on top of the discovery layer. By applying a centralized policy across different tools, you can collect user information, minimize security gaps, and prioritize potential risks.
The monitoring layer of CSMA can calculate a real-time risk assessment for identities and applications. Unlike many security products, ongoing identity monitoring takes a dynamic approach to security. Risk isn’t static – for example, an application could become more of a risk as more and more employees begin to use it. A risk monitoring tool like a SaaS Security Control Plane (SSCP) can assess these kinds of changes in risk over time.
When it comes to identity security, weaknesses can often be traced back to human error. These include:
Rather than using security products in silos, more and more companies are realizing that they need to shift toward a composable security architecture. However, enterprises still need a way to access SaaS applications and digital tools seamlessly and securely. Recommended by Gartner, a CSMA approach is becoming the industry standard for minimizing attack surfaces and eliminating standalone solutions.
For comprehensive identity control and security protection, partner with Grip. Our SSCP sets up in just minutes and provides a centralized dashboard where you can:
Our SSCP serves as the ideal solution for many concerns, whether you’re looking for an alternative to CASB, want to promote more secure SaaS offboarding, or simply want to enhance SaaS risk management. If you’d like to learn more about how Grip’s solutions fit into a mesh security framework, request a demo or a complimentary SaaS security risk assessment today.
Gain a complete view of your SaaS usage—including shadow SaaS and rogue cloud accounts—from an identity-centric viewpoint. See how Grip can improve the security of your enterprise.
Fill out the form and we’ll send you our Datasheet.
Give us a test drive.
Fill out the form and we’ll get in touch with you.
Fill out the form and watch webinar's video.