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Why Identity and Access Management Plays a Central Role in the Cloud?

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In the typical 21st century company, everything is globally networked – from teams to processes to IT systems. For IAM systems, this means that they must take these flexible structures into account and support them on a conceptual level. The topic of „cloud computing“ plays a central role in this. When they hear the word „cloud“, many people think of applications for end customers, such as Google Photos. Although these are only relevant to business customers to a limited extent, more and more cloud services for companies are coming onto the market that are similar to them: Salesforce.com, file hosting services à la Dropbox or Office 365, to name just a few. Such services must be taken into account in the company-wide IAM concept. How does a company now gain access to the applications operated in the cloud? In this context, SCIM (System for Cross-Domain Identity Management) is gaining importance. It is now considered the de facto standard for this form of provision. It remains to be seen whether the current trend will continue and lead to more application providers taking up this standard. The SCIM interface is currently supported by many, but by no means all cloud providers. Numerous users of Beta Systems IAM solutions are already setting up their cloud applications via the SCIM connection. Provisioning in private cloud environments Long before the term „cloud computing“ entered the normal vocabulary, companies started outsourcing individual IT applications or complete IT environments to external providers. From the IAM system’s point of view, these are invariably private cloud environments, as the target application is operated off the company premises. The different cloud-specific billing models (usage-based or subscription) have no influence on the technical implementation of this IAM approach. The challenge is rather to operate the IAM system across the entire IT landscape with its distributed IT platforms and complex organisational structures. Providing accounts whose associated applications run in a private cloud environment requires a robust, low-maintenance and autonomous concept for accessing the external applications. A similarly complex picture arises in the event that an IAM system must also manage applications that are run in independent branches or sister companies from an organisational perspective. Beta Systems recommends agent-free connection concepts in this area. Together with fault-tolerant, bidirectional communication and a concept for rapid deployment, the IAM software serves as an intermediary that gives the user maximum control over his external application network. IAM as a service in the Cloud IAM concepts are becoming more sophisticated as companies increasingly look for ways to reduce costs in IT. Therefore, a trend towards lean systems has been observed in recent years. Moving IAM to the cloud is one way to realise this goal. Economies of scale, lower requirements to operate the IAM solution and preconfigured governance concepts and applications are the advantages that customers expect from this. At present, not all expectations can be fulfilled, but many such advantages can already be achieved through the cloud-based use of IAM. The operational costs of an IAM solution can also be significantly reduced as soon as the solution is operated in a private cloud environment. Manage external users Working in a team with external partners or service providers is the norm these days. Be it freelancers, partners, suppliers or customers – these external users need access to specific applications of the company. For IAM systems, this modern division of labour leads to the necessity of introducing decentralised administration concepts. The constantly growing number of external user types makes it difficult for the HR department to control onboarding and offboarding processes. In this scenario, IAM can only work if possibilities for decentralised administration of (often project-specific or time-limited) access rights are found. The IAM system should therefore provide functions for flexible internal security (ISEC) and take organisational structures (access codes) into account. In this way, companies can assign administration rights to individual users on a fine-grained level and ensure the selective processing of access rights for individual user groups. Cooperation with other IAM bodies The management of external users is about more than just administration by means of decentralised concepts and remote connection. More and more applications are based on so-called identity federations. The resulting trust relationships between several identity solution providers and identity & access management systems make it possible to manage each individual identity in a single system. At the same time, a cross-system single sign-on functionality is provided, with which the leading systems identify users across all connected systems (SAML assertion). By taking over control tasks for the users to be identified by the IDP, the IAM solution provider can support interconnected systems and identity providers (IDPs). A central IAM system for cloud services Access management for cloud services can be controlled by an already existing IAM system on the local server (on-premise). An example process. A user is created on the local server. After approval by the supervisor, the identity management system creates the user on the local server as well as for all other required systems, for example for an external cloud application. Alternatively, the entire IAM system can be outsourced to the cloud. In this case, users, roles and authorisations are managed both locally and in the cloud systems used from the cloud IAM system. The market offers independent solutions for this from both established and new IAM manufacturers. Some solutions can also be operated exclusively in the cloud. As a conclusion we can say that the role of IAM is to ensure complete cloud security for business organizations employing policies and multiple verification steps within a specific framework. It is an impressive way to manage, control and protect information on the cloud network. By following robust IAM strategy businesses can detect, manage, and control user identities across the entire system and prevent future threats and data breach risks. Using the cloud without an IAM connection inevitably leads to a dead end, as administrative tasks have to be performed multiple times and manually. This not only costs money and time, but

Best Practices for Successful Risk Management

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Markets and their requirements are currently changing faster than ever before. Digitalisation is advancing, and more and more companies are shifting processes to the cloud. Artificial intelligence is producing results that were previously not thought possible – the outcome is uncertain. Considering these developments, smart risk management is becoming indispensable for companies of all kinds. A robust and customised risk management process not only helps your organisation reduce uncertainty. It can also tip the proverbial scales when it comes to delivering critical value to your customers. This article explains risk management, how to implement enterprise-wide risk management and the link between risk management and information security. What is risk management about? Risk management in a company systematically identifies, evaluates and deals with potential risks. These risks could affect the company’s objectives, assets and stakeholders. Every company has its own risks, depending on the industry and context. An effective strategy requires tailored processes to analyse and appropriately manage the risks. As the use of online technologies in the business context increases, so do the threats. Examples include home office and cloud services to which companies are exposed. Dealing with these risks in a planned manner is essential for a company’s information security. Certification to ISO 27001 is particularly important for those companies that work with large amounts of personal data. This is even more true for companies in critical infrastructures, e.g. the healthcare and financial sectors. ISO 27001 is the international standard for information security and lays the foundation for a company-wide information security management system (ISMS), which in turn defines measures for risk management in the company. This makes the ISMS a particularly important element for the long-term success of a company. Development of a risk management process Risk management according to ISO 27001 follows a process that comprises three central steps: Below we look at each of these steps in detail and provide you with useful best practices. Are you ready? 1. Identification and assessment of risks There are various approaches to identifying and assessing risks for a company. Approaches focusing on assets to be protected, on vulnerabilities, on threats and on scenarios are particularly common. Each variant has certain advantages and disadvantages and areas of application in which it is particularly useful.Before you start with the actual assessment of risks, you must first decide on a basic perspective for the analysis. Basically, there are two categories: qualitative and quantitative risk analyses. 2. Develop a risk treatment plan Once the potential risks to an enterprise have been identified and assessed, a risk treatment plan must be developed. This is used to manage or eliminate the risks. Regardless of the industry, four ways have been established to deal with risks to businesses. „Avoiding the risk“ in this case means doing everything possible to eliminate the cause of the risk. This may include stopping certain activities, no longer serving certain markets or no longer pursuing certain projects. Avoiding the risk makes sense above all when the risk is very likely and the possible consequences would be particularly fatal. If a company decides to „reduce risk“, it takes measures to reduce the risk or mitigate consequences. These include the introduction of measures, processes or guidelines. This option makes sense if the probability of occurrence is low and the possible consequences are significant for the company. In „transferring the risk“, the risk is transferred to another party, for example by taking out insurance or outsourcing certain activities to a third party. This option is always chosen if the possible consequences of a risk would be high and the company itself cannot or does not want to take countermeasures. In this option, the risk and its possible negative consequences are accepted. Instead of taking countermeasures, one prepares as far as possible, e.g. through monitoring or contingency plans, and includes the negative consequences as costs in calculations. This option always makes sense if the possible negative consequences of a risk are relatively small and the company is prepared to bear them. 3. Review and check for residual risks After the risk treatment plan has been completed, it must be reviewed for its effectiveness and possible residual risks. If residual risks are identified, they can be assessed using the above approaches and integrated into the existing plan. The final review is to ensure that the internal risk management is designed for the long term and is continuously monitored and controlled. Any changes in business processes or the business context must be taken into account and may lead to changes in the risk treatment plan. Cybersecurity and compliance are complex and becoming more complicated as more sophisticated threats emerge across the globe. Comprehensive cybersecurity, driven by senior management, can provide flexible and responsive solutions to these issues and protect businesses with an exceptionally secure and robust infrastructure. PATECCO offers you competent expert advice and solutions tailored to you in order to optimally support you in your risk management. In addition, we support you with ISO 27001 certification, your DSGVO compliance and develop individual strategies for your company-wide risk management.

Security Information and Event Management as an Early Warning System for IT security

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Security Information and Event Management, or SIEM for short, is of great value for IT security. With a good SIEM strategy, IT risks can be detected more quickly, defensive measures can be focused more precisely and compliance reports can be generated automatically. Today, cyber attacks are often so sophisticated and complex that they are only detected very late or not at all. The longer it takes for an attack to be detected, however, the greater the potential damage. However, there is no lack of indications of new IT threats or traces of attacks. Signs of security incidents can be found in log data, for example. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)systems collect data from a wide variety of sources such as networks, systems and applications. By analysing this data, security incidents can be detected and remediated at an early stage. In this article you will learn more about SIEM and how it can help you protect your business from security risks. What is a SIEM system? The definition of a SIEM system is a combination of software and hardware that allows organisations to monitor their network security. SIEM systems are able to analyse logs from various systems and generate alerts when suspicious activity is detected. SIEM systems are usually part of a company’s larger security programme and can help detect and combat threats more quickly. SIEM systems can also help monitor compliance with security regulations. SIEM systems are an important tool for network security, but it is important to note that SIEM systems are only as good as the data they process. SIEM systems can only generate alerts if they are properly configured and process the right data (keyword: use case tuning). SIEM systems alone cannot eliminate threats, but they can be an important part of a larger security programme. SIEM systems are most effective when combined with other security tools and measures. A SIEM is a key component of an enterprise IT security management system. It serves as a central event management tool in the Security Operation Centre (SOC). We are happy to support you in the selection and implementation of a suitable SIEM solution for your company. What are SIEM systems used for? SIEM systems are primarily used to monitor and analyse security data. This includes data from firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS) and other security systems. SIEM systems can also be used to correlate data from different sources. This gives security analysts a better overview of the security situation in their network. SIEM systems are also used to detect security threats and incidents. How does a SIEM work? A SIEM is an approach to centrally collect and analyse data from various sources in real time. SIEM enables security officers to detect and respond to threats faster by correctly analysing critical information from multiple sources. SIEM typically involves a combination of software and hardware that can collect and analyse security data from networks, endpoints, applications and users. SIEM solutions typically provide a dashboard-based view of the organisation’s security posture and enable security officers to respond quickly to threats. SIEM is an essential component of a comprehensive security strategy. However, SIEM solutions can also be complex and expensive, making them prohibitively expensive for many companies. SIEM is an essential part of a comprehensive security strategy, but it is important to remember that SIEM is only as good as the data it analyses. SIEM solutions need to be carefully selected and configured to ensure that they work properly. Choosing the right SIEM solution If companies decide to use SIEM solutions, they should consider organising workshops either internally or with SIEM partners. This will allow them to coordinate their project scope and timeframe. To determine the size of your organisation and the time it will take to achieve it, you must first determine the use case and prioritise to determine the log sources required. SIEM solutions should be evaluated based on four main factors: Functionality, Cost, Integration and Maintenance. SIEM functionalities must meet the needs of security analysts. SIEM solutions should be able to be integrated into the existing security infrastructure and the SIEM system must be regularly kept up to date. SIEM partners should be regularly audited to ensure that they are providing the required SIEM functionality and services. By reviewing these four SIEM assessment factors, companies can ensure they find the SIEM solution that best suits them. SIEM solutions should be evaluated for features, cost, integration and maintenance to ensure they find the SIEM solution that best suits them. Why do you need a SIEM? As said above,  SIEM can help detect and remediate threats faster. SIEM provides real-time monitoring and analysis of security data from multiple sources. SIEM can also help ensure compliance with security regulations. A SIEM can be a valuable tool for companies to improve their IT security. However, SIEM can also be very complex and expensive. SIEM solutions are usually only affordable for large companies. SIEM is also a relatively new concept, so it can be difficult for many companies to implement SIEM. SIEM also usually requires a high level of IT expertise. SIEM is therefore not always the best solution for all companies. SIEM should be carefully considered before a company decides to deploy SIEM. The advantages of Security Information and Event Management at a glance It is impossible to completely avoid security-critical incidents in the modern IT environment – but early detection and recording of dangers increases the chance of keeping any damage as low as possible. If you play to its strengths, a SIEM system provides you with the perfect basis for this. In particular, the real-time reaction to detected security events is one of the decisive strengths of such a solution: the automated algorithms and AI tools detect dangers at a point in time when normal security precautions are often not yet or not at all effective. Another advantage of a good SIEM solution is that all security events are automatically documented and archived in a tamper-proof manner. This makes

The Advantages of a Passwordless Authentication Within a Zero Trust Security framework

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The rapid shift towards more remote working and the associated explosion of devices has dramatically increased the number of cyber threats. With this in mind, companies face the challenge of protecting their highly complex cloud-based technology ecosystems, as employees, software and even partner organisations can pose a threat to the security of valuable systems and data. As a consequence, the zero-trust approach has established itself as a popular security framework. What is Zero Trust? In a Zero Trust architecture, the inherent trust in the network is removed. Instead, the network is classified as hostile and every access request is checked based on an access policy. An effective zero trust framework combines several tools and strategies and is based on one golden rule: trust no one. Instead, each entity (person, device or software module) and each access request to technology resources must provide enough information to earn that trust. If access is granted, it applies only to the specific asset needed to perform a task and only for a limited period of time. The role of zero-trust authentication Because password-based, traditional multi-factor authentication (MFA) can be easily exploited by cybercriminals, an effective zero-trust approach requires strong user validation through phishing-resistant, passwordless MFA. It also requires establishing trust in the endpoint device used to access applications and data. If organisations cannot trust the user or their device, all other components of a zero-trust approach are useless. Authentication is therefore critical to a successful zero-trust architecture, as it prevents unauthorised access to data and services and makes access control enforcement as granular as possible. In practice, this authentication must be as smooth and user-friendly as possible so that users do not bypass it or bombard the helpdesk with support requests. The advantages of passwordless authentication Replacing traditional MFA with strong, passwordless authentication methods allows security teams to build the first layer of their zero-trust architecture. Replacing passwords with FIDO-based passkeys that use asymmetric cryptography, and combining them with secure device-based biometrics, creates a phishing-resistant MFA approach. Users are authenticated by proving that they own the registered device, which is cryptographically bound to their identity, through a combination of biometric authentication and asymmetric cryptographic transaction. The same technology is used in Transaction Layer Security (TLS), which ensures the authenticity of a website and establishes an encrypted tunnel before users exchange sensitive information, for example in online banking. This strong authentication method not only provides significant protection against cyber attacks, but can also reduce the costs and administrative tasks associated with resetting and locking passwords with traditional MFA tools. Most importantly, there are long-term benefits through improved workflow and staff productivity, as authentication is designed to be particularly user-friendly and frictionless. Zero trust authentication requirements at a glance It is important that organisations looking to implement a zero trust framework address authentication as early as possible. In doing so, they should pay attention to the following points: 1. Strong user validation A strong factor to confirm the identity of the user is the proof of ownership of their assigned device. This is provided when the authorised user verifiably authenticates himself on his own device. The identity of the device is cryptographically bound to the identity of the user for this purpose. These two factors eliminate passwords or other cryptographic secrets that cybercriminals can retrieve from a device, intercept over a network or elicit from users through social engineering. 2. Strong device validation With strong device validation, organisations prevent the use of unauthorised BYOD devices by only granting access to known, trusted devices. The validation process verifies that the device is bound to the user and meets the necessary security and compliance requirements. 3. User-friendly authentication for users and administrators. Passwords and traditional MFA are time-consuming and impact productivity. Passwordless authentication is easy to deploy and manage and verifies users within seconds via a biometric scanner on their device. 4. Integration with IT management and security tools Collecting as much information as possible about users, devices and transactions is very helpful in deciding whether to grant access. A zero-trust policy engine requires the integration of data sources and other software tools to make correct decisions, send alerts to the SOC and share trusted log data for auditing purposes. 5. Advanced policy engines Deploying a policy engine with an easy-to-use interface enables security teams to define policies such as risk levels and risk scores that control access. Automated policy engines help collect data from tens of thousands of devices, including multiple devices from both internal employees and external service providers. Because using risk scores instead of raw data is useful in many situations, the engine also needs to access data from a range of IT management and security tools. Once collected, the policy engine evaluates the data and takes the action specified in the policy, for example, approving or blocking access or quarantining a suspicious device. Traditional password-based multi-factor authentication is now a very low barrier for attackers. An authentication process that is both phishing-resistant and passwordless is therefore a key component of a zero-trust framework. This not only significantly reduces cybersecurity risks, but also improves employee productivity and IT team efficiency.

Why Identity and Access Management is Critical for Cyber Security in 2023?

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In PATECCO’s latest whitepaper, we will provide you a clear understanding why IAM is critical for cyber security in 2023 and how it helps you to keep your enterprise safe and secure. The series of articles describe the role of Identity and Access Management which is integral to an organization’s overall security posture, adaptability, and resilience against evolving cyber threats. Let’s get started! Click on the image and download the document:

How Artificial Intelligence Helps Minimizing Cyber Risks

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The digital age has opened up numerous opportunities for us, but at the same time we are exposed to entirely new cyber threats. Never before we have been as connected as we are today – across all sectors and areas of life, in industry, business and society. Especially through the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, processes are becoming more and more automated and optimized. The challenge for cybersecurity is that every exchange of data must be secured and protected from unauthorized access. Furthermore, cybercriminals are constantly looking for ways to compromise networks and steal sensitive data. These techniques are becoming increasingly advanced and can be difficult to detect by humans or traditional defense solutions. For this reason, organizations are looking to AI techniques to strengthen their cybersecurity defense plan. Artificial intelligence in cybersecurity can help companies understand and defend against these threats. How can companies protect themselves against cyber risks? As already mentioned, the application of AI has significantly impacted people’s lives. We now have machines that can drive cars, understand verbal commands, distinguish images, and play games.  This is the reason why AI and machine learning have become indispensable to information security, as these technologies are able to quickly analyze millions of data sets and detect a wide range of cyber threats – from malware threats to phishing attacks, ransomware and zero-day vulnerabilities. These technologies are constantly learning, using data from past cyberattacks to identify potential threats. Regarding IT security, companies must ensure that they develop and operate a holistic security concept. In addition to using the appropriate protection products such as firewalls, virus protection or backups, this also includes active management of the IT components. All network components must not only be permanently patched and updated, but also continuously monitored. This ensures that security gaps are detected as quickly as possible. IT monitoring tools can be used not only to continuously monitor networks, servers, applications and other IT components to ensure that they are functioning properly, but to measure the performance of IT systems and detect security incidents, as well. Active monitoring is usually difficult for companies to implement, which is why support from a managed service provider is advisable. AI for cybersecurity can help you detect threats masquerading as normal traffic, and can process and analyze a large amount of data more thoroughly and in less time.            A managed service is responsible for the provision and management of a company’s IT infrastructure. In doing so, we ensure that the customer’s IT infrastructure is always available and functional. Integrated services such as update management and monitoring, significantly increase the IT security. Of course the MSP use special software and AI-supported tools to ensure that potential attackers do not take advantage of artificial intelligence. Proper vulnerability management is the best way to secure an organization’s network. As mentioned earlier, a lot of traffic flows through an organization’s network, and it is imperative to detect, identify, and protect that traffic from malicious access. Unlike human security personnel, AI can quickly learn network behavior to identify vulnerabilities in the system, allowing organizations to focus on ways to mitigate those risks. In this way, vulnerability management can be improved and the enterprise can secure its network systems in a timely manner. Given the speed at which cyber threats evolve, it’s a fact that traditional rules-based security systems can’t keep up. This is where AI systems come into play. AI technologies are equipped with advanced algorithms that detect malware activity, perform pattern recognition and identify anomalous behavior before the system is compromised. Machine learning algorithms can learn from historical data and behavior patterns to identify new and emerging threats, including malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks. AI systems can help identify your IT inventory, a documented record of all tangible and intangible assets. Cybercriminals are always trying to target these assets. Using AI in cybersecurity, you can predict how and when a cyberattack will occur and plan accordingly to allocate resources to the most vulnerable areas. One of the key benefits of incident response automation is its ability to significantly reduce the time it takes to detect, respond to security threats and remediate security incidents. AI and ML-powered tools can monitor network traffic, user behavior, and system logs to detect unusual activities that may indicate a cyberattack. This allows organizations to identify potential threats much more quickly than would be possible using manual methods, enabling them to take action before any significant damage is done. Cyberattacks are becoming more advanced, and cybercriminals are finding more creative ways to carry out their evil plans. That’s why companies are turning to AI to strengthen their defenses and mitigate cyber risks. AI offers so many cybersecurity benefits, including vulnerability management, risk prediction, threat detection, and network traffic monitoring. We hope this article has given you some insight into the use of AI in cybersecurity.

How to Implement Zero Trust With Privileged Access Management

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Zero Trust and PAM both emphasize the importance of access control. As we know, Zero Trust adopts a least privilege approach, ensuring that users and devices have only the necessary access rights to perform their tasks. PAM focuses on managing and controlling privileged accounts, which have elevated privileges and access to critical systems and data. By integrating PAM within a Zero Trust framework, organizations can implement strict controls over privileged access, reducing the risk of unauthorized or excessive access. Guide to implementing Zero Trust with Privileged Access Management: Implementing Zero Trust with Privileged Access Management (PAM) involves combining the principles and practices of both approaches to enhance security and minimize the risk of unauthorized access. In this article will be presented a step-by-step guide to implementing Zero Trust with Privileged Access Management: Remember that implementing Zero Trust with Privileged Access Management is an ongoing process, and it requires commitment, regular monitoring, and a proactive approach to security. It’s recommended to engage with security professionals and consider consulting with experts to ensure a robust implementation. What is the interaction between zero trust and privileged access management? As already mentioned, Zero Trust and Privileged Access Management (PAM) are two complementary security concepts that work together to enhance overall cybersecurity. While Zero Trust focuses on the principle of not trusting any user or device by default, PAM specifically addresses the management and control of privileged accounts. Zero Trust and Privileged Access Management (PAM) interact in several ways to strengthen overall security and mitigate the risks associated with privileged accounts. Here’s a closer look at their interaction: By combining the principles and practices of Zero Trust with the capabilities of Privileged Access Management, organizations can enhance their security posture, minimize the risk of unauthorized access, privilege misuse, and potential security breaches involving privileged accounts. The interaction between Zero Trust and PAM helps organizations enforce strict access controls, implement strong authentication, monitor privileged access activities, and make risk-based decisions to protect critical assets and sensitive data.

What Are the Differences Between Active Directory und Azure AD?

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As managed service providers we are often asked by the clients whether an on-premises Active Directory or Azure AD is the best option? The decision on this question is not easy to make, because more and more cloud services are also spreading into traditional data center environments. Even though Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and Microsoft Azure Active Directory look very similar, they are not interchangeable and there are a few key differences. Administrators considering a move to Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) for the authentication and authorization, need to understand exactly how the cloud-based platform differs from a traditional on-premises Active Directory (AD). With Azure Active Directory, Microsoft offers a directory service for the cloud. Even though the name is similar to Active Directory, the differences are serious. In this article, we are going to compare Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) and examine the most important differences. A local Active Directory is initially a combination of several services to manage users and systems. These include the Active Directory Domain Services and the Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS). AD DS is the central database that provides all directory services. AD DS is therefore the actual core of an Active Directory. Microsoft Azure Active Directory cannot create and manage the same domains, trees and forests that AD DS can. Instead, Azure AD treats each organisation as its own tenant, accessing Azure AD through the Azure Portal to manage its employees, passwords and access rights. Companies that opt for one of Microsoft’s cloud services, be it Office 365 or Exchange Online, are tenants or subscribers of Azure AD. On one hand, Azure Active Directory is a multitenant, cloud-based directory and identity management service from Microsoft. It combines core directory services, application access management, and identity protection into a single solution. Furthermore, Azure Active Directory is designed to support web-based services that use REST API interfaces for Office 365, Salesforce.com, etc. Unlike pure Active Directory, it uses completely different protocols (Goodbye, Kerberos and NTLM) that work with service protocols such as SAML and Oauth 2.0. With Azure AD, single sign-on scenarios can be implemented very easily. In addition to seamless networking with all Microsoft online services, Azure AD can connect to hundreds of SaaS applications via single sign-on. In this way, employees can access the company’s data without having to log in again and again. The access token is stored locally on the employee’s computer. You can also restrict access by setting up expiry dates for these tokens. On the other hand, Active Directory focuses on authenticating server services in the data centre. The service was not designed to deal with the challenges of authentication for cloud services. Active Directory does not natively support the connection and management of smartphones and tablets. In most cases, third-party tools are needed here. Azure Active Directory is directly connected to Microsoft Intune and therefore already offers functions for the management and connection of modern devices. Active Directory focuses on desktop computers and local servers. However, these devices can also become part of Azure AD and benefit from the functions of Microsoft Intune. It’s important to note that only Active Directory offers support for group policies. The group policy function does not exist in Azure AD. There are policies in Azure as well, but they are not compatible with group policies. Companies that rely on Azure AD and Active Directory must therefore build two policy infrastructures that take different approaches and thus support different settings. AAD is managed either in the Azure Portal or with PowerShell. In internal networks, Azure AD will certainly not be ready to replace Active Directory any time soon. In the cloud, Azure AD is better suited in most cases, but not every local server application can be easily moved to the cloud and use Azure AD. For example, it is not possible to extend the schema in Azure AD. Applications that require schema extensions must be installed in Active Directory. Trust positions between domains also do not exist in Azure AD. Administration in Azure Active Directory is delegated through Role Based Access Control (RBAC). Functions such as Privileged Identity Management (PIM) and Just-in-Time (JIT) are already firmly integrated here. These technologies also exist in ADDS, but must first be set up manually via server services. In most cases, separate servers are even required for this. Azure AD and local Active Directory can work together. Microsoft offers the possibility to synchronise local user accounts and group with Azure AD. The necessary tools are provided free of charge. Single sign-on scenarios can also be mapped in this way. If local Active Directory user accounts are required in Microsoft Azure, a domain controller can be operated in Azure that is connected to the local Active Directory. In most cases, companies therefore rely on Active Directory in the local data centre and Azure AD in the cloud. Through synchronisation, user accounts are available everywhere and can be used in a way that makes sense and can be implemented with the respective infrastructure. Microsoft Active Directory and Azure AD are suited to a particular IT environment. So, in which case you can use either solution or a combination of both? If you have an established on-prem intranet, then Microsoft AD is the best option. You probably have AD installed if the network is large enough and runs Windows Server. As mentioned above, Azure AD is designed for cloud authentication. This makes it the perfect IAM solution for organizations with a large cloud footprint. It also makes sense to consider Azure AD if you plan to move to the cloud. Combination of both solutions ensures seamless authentication between on-prem and cloud resources. As a conclusion we could say that Microsoft AD or Azure AD is not a matter of choice or preference. It’s more about what best works for your authentication needs. If you need a robust and integrated solution for managing user identities and access to applications

DKB Customer Success Story: IAM Tool Implementation and Segregation of Duties

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Do you enjoy reading customer success stories? If yes, download PATECCO latest whitepaper. It describes how a renowned German banking institution overcomes a number of security challenges by means of unique combination of strategies, methods, and integration of an IAM tool, coupled with robust segregation of duties practices. This customer success story serves as a good example and as an inspiration for the financial companies to be more active, to be alert and to be more responsible in providing security, efficiency, and compliance in the dynamic landscape of the banking industry. Click on the image and download the document:

What are Insider Threats and How Can Identity Governance and Administration Prevent Them?

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Insider threats are a major and growing concern for organizations, as the human factor is often the most difficult to control and predict when it comes to data security and privacy. With digitization, the amount of digital data is growing exponentially, and with it comes an increase in the number of systems and human interactions with data. More interaction means that data is exposed to more security vulnerabilities. The potential risks from insider threats are numerous, including financial fraud, data corruption, theft of valuable information and malware installation. These incidents can lead to data breaches that expose sensitive information such as personally identifiable information (PII) or intellectual property (IP) and can result in large fines, while their detection is no easy task for security teams. What are insider threats in cybersecurity? Insider threats are cybersecurity risks that originate within the organization itself. They can be caused by users with legitimate access to the organization’s assets – including current or former employees, contractors, business partners, third-party vendors, etc. Insiders can vary significantly in awareness, motivation, intent, and level of access. Traditional security measures such as firewalls or antivirus systems focus on external threats and are not always able to detect threats originating from within the organization. In addition to being invisible to traditional security solutions, attacks from insiders can be more difficult to detect or prevent than attacks from the outside and can go unnoticed for months or years. Difference between internal and external threats In many ways, insider threats can do far more damage than external threats. This is because an insider threat potentially has direct access to sensitive data and critical applications, which it can exploit by moving laterally and vertically until it reaches its desired target. For example, it is easy for cybercriminals to hack an administrator’s account to gain access to the root server and database system. Most companies are also not adequately protected against attacks from the inside, making them much easier to carry out than attacks from the outside. And in many cases, the attacker can carry out his malicious activities undetected. For example, a hacker can trick a user into giving him his credentials, which then allows him to log in as a legitimate user and steal data without being noticed. He could also gain access to a trusted insider, and then lie in wait until he achieves his goal. Without IGA tools, administrators would never notice this because there are no guardrails to guarantee a minimum level of privilege. Finally, the measures that protect against external threats are largely useless against internal attacks, as they are simply bypassed. Therefore, specialized solutions are needed to effectively combat them. How IGA can help mitigate insider threats An IGA tool is a fundamental protection against insider threats. That’s because it addresses the core of what makes insider threats dangerous and effective – identity theft. GA provides a streamlined way to manage an organization’s identities, including user accounts and access rights. Ensure that employees, contractors and outsourced IT departments can only access network resources designated for them. In addition, access rights can be granted or revoked automatically, depending on the situation. For example, if the system suspects that an account has been compromised, it can revoke all privileges to prevent the account from further penetrating the network. This is also useful for tracking down and deleting orphaned accounts that are easy targets for insider attacks. IGA tools also have monitoring and analysis capabilities that constantly check user activity. If an irregularity is detected, the account in question can be immediately blocked as a preventative measure. In other words: IGA is like a watchful eye, keeping an eye on the network around the clock. A robust IGA solution combines user lifecycle management, role-based access control, and automated auditing to reduce the risk of unauthorized data breaches. It also enables organizations to scale and keep up with changing business needs thanks to the following capabilities: Insider threat indicator monitoring Robust monitoring and security analytics detect any suspicious activity that could indicate an insider threat. This allows malicious access to be quickly detected and patterns used to identify potential threats before they cause real damage. A comprehensive IGA solution also helps protect against data loss by alerting when files are accessed without authorization. Such a solution can even detect when privileged users gain unauthorized access to sensitive data and take it out of the organization. With this feature, potential internal threats can be quickly identified and action taken before damage is caused.

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