Bottom line:  The most valuable catalyst all digital businesses need to continue growing in 2019 is a Zero Trust Security (ZTS) strategy based on Next-Gen Access (NGA) that scales to protect every access point to corporate data, recognising that identities are the new security perimeter.

The faster any digital business is growing, the more identities, devices and network endpoints proliferate. The most successful businesses of 2019 and beyond are actively creating entirely new digital business models today. They’re actively recruiting, and onboarding needed experts independent of their geographic locations and exploring new sourcing and patent ideas with R&D partners globally. Businesses are digitally transforming themselves at a faster rate than ever before. 

Statista projects businesses will spend $190B on digital transformation in 2019, soaring to $490B by 2025, attaining a 14.4% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in six years.

Security perimeters make or break a growing business

80% of IT security breaches involve privileged credential access according to a recent Forrester study. The Verizon Mobile Security Index 2018 Report found that 89% of organisations are relying on just a single security strategy to keep their mobile networks safe. A typical data breach cost the average company $3.86M in 2018, up 6.4% from $3.62M in 2017 according to IBM Security’s latest  2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study.

The hard reality for any digital business is realising that their greatest growth asset is how well they protect the constantly expanding perimeter of their business. Legacy approaches to securing infrastructure that relies on trusted and untrusted domains can’t scale to protect every identity and device that comprises a company’s rapidly changing new security perimeter. All these factors and more are why Zero Trust Security (ZTS) enabled by Next-Gen Access (NGA) is as essential to digital businesses’ growth as their product roadmaps, pricing strategies, and services with Idaptive being an early leader in the market. To learn more about Identity-as-a-Service please see the Forrester report, The Forrester Wave: Identity-As-A-Service, Q4 2017 (client access required). 

Predicting the future of next-gen access and Zero Trust Security

The following are predictions of how Next-Gen Access (NGA) powered by Zero Trust Security (ZTS) will evolve in 2019:

• Behaviour-based scoring algorithms will improve markedly in 2019, improving the user experience by calculating risk scores with greater precision than before. Thwarting attacks start with a series of behaviour-based algorithms that calculate a risk score based on a wide variety of variables including past access attempts, device security posture, operating system, location, time of day, and many other measurable factors. Expect to see these algorithms and the risk scores they generate using machine learning techniques improve from accuracy and contextual intelligence standpoint in 2019. Leading companies in the field including Idaptive are actively investing in machine learning technologies to accomplish this today.
   
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adoption soars as digital businesses seek to protect new R&D projects, patents in progress, roadmaps, and product plans. State-sponsored hacking organisations and organised crime see the intellectual property in fast-growing digital businesses as among the most valuable assets they can exfiltrate and sell on the Dark Web. MFA, one of the most effective single defenses against compromised passwords, will be adopted by the most successful businesses in AI, aerospace & defense, chip design for cellular and IoT devices, e-commerce, enterprise software and more.
   
• Smart, connected products without adequate security designed in will proliferate in 2019, further challenging the security perimeters of the digital businesses. The era of smart, connected products is here, with Capgemini estimating the size of the connected products market will be $519B to $685B by 2020. Manufacturers expect close to 50% of their products to be smart, connected products by 2020, according to Capgemini’s Digital Engineering: The new growth engine for discrete manufacturers. The study is downloadable here (PDF, 40 pp., no opt-in). With every smart, connected device creating a new threat surface for a company, expect to see at least one device manufacturer design Zero Trust Security (ZTS) support to the board level to increase their sales into enterprises by reducing the threat of a breach starting from their device.
   
• Looking for greater track and traceability, healthcare and medical products supply chains will adopt Zero Trust Security (ZTS): What’s going to make this an urgent issue in healthcare and medical products are the combined effects of greater regulatory reporting and compliance, combined with the pressure to improve time-to-market for new products and delivery accuracy for current customers. The pillars of ZTS are a perfect fit for healthcare and medical supply chains’ need for track and traceability. These pillars are real-time user verification, device validation, and intelligently limiting access, while also learning and adapting to verified user behaviours.
   
• Real-time security analytics services are going to thrive in 2019 as digital businesses seek insights into how they can fine-tune their ZTS strategies across every threat surface and machine learning algorithms improve. Many enterprises are in for an epiphany in 2019 when they see just how many potential breaches they’ve stopped using a combination of security strategies including single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor Authentication (MFA). Machine learning algorithms will continue to improve using behaviour-based scoring, further improving the user experience. Leaders in the field include Idaptive who is setting a rapid pace of innovation in Real-Time Security Analytics Services.   

Conclusion

Security is at an inflection point today. Long-standing methods of protecting IT systems and a businesses’ assets can’t scale to protect every new identity, device or threat surface. When every identity is a new security perimeter, a new approach is needed to securing any digital business. The pillars of ZTS including real-time user verification, device validation, and intelligently limiting access, while also learning and adapting to verified user behaviours are proving to be effective at thwarting breaches and securing company’ digital assets of all kinds. It’s time for more digital businesses to see security as the growth catalyst it is and take action now to ensure their operations continue to flourish.

Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this and sharing their experiences and use-cases? Attend the Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series with upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam to learn more.