Identity Management Day, launched in 2021, was marked for this year on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. The event functions to bring awareness to people about the evolving cyberthreat landscape as well as to educate business leaders and consumers on how they can better secure their online presence.
In addition, the day seeks to inform business leaders and consumers about the dangers posed by casually or improperly managing and securing digital identities. This is through a series of events designed to raise awareness and to share best practices across the information technology industry.
Looking into the importance of identity controls for Digital Journal is Philipp Pointner, Chief of Digital Identity at Jumio.
A digital identity is the body of information about an individual, organization or electronic device that exists online.
Pointner opens up by discussing the theme of this latest of days marked by an information technology related issue. Pointner says: “Identity Management Day highlights the importance of keeping our digital identities secure and promotes the use of identity-centric security best practices.”
It is also important to keep abreast of the main changes impacting on the information technology arena. Here Pointner states: “As the cybersecurity landscape evolves, business leaders and information technology decision makers must remain aware of the new ways that hackers are able to steal identity-related information.”
Of the hot topics, Pointner observes: “Credentials still remain one of the most coveted data types for hackers. Sixty percent of hacking-related data breaches are linked to stolen or lost credentials. Therefore, it is crucial that organizations implement identity-centric best practices to keep employee and customer information safe and secure.”
In terms of concrete recommendations for businesses, Pointner suggests that: “To ensure the security of customers and employee identity information, companies must strengthen their security protocols to prevent hackers from stealing credentials from all angles.”
As an example, the digital identity expert suggests: “Utilizing stronger identity verification capabilities like multi-factor authentication (MFA) with biometrics to confirm a user is who they are claiming to be protects credentials even further.”
MFA is an authentication method that requires the user to provide two or more verification factors to gain access
Pointner closes out by saying: “By properly verifying users using biometrics and utilizing multiple enhanced security measures like MFA, organizations can contribute to a safer internet community and keep digital identity information out of harm’s way.”
