Cyber Defense Magazine Special Annual Edition for RSA Conference 2021

Here at Axiad, we speak with customers every day about to adapt their business processes to this new
reality, without sacrificing security – whether they’re wondering how to prevent escalating phishing
threats, automate their credential management process, or encourage employees to follow best security
practices. Many of them feel overwhelmed by the number of new technologies they need to address all
of these concerns.
Cybersecurity can be hard enough without an identity crisis. That’s why we’re sharing our tips on how to
take the holistic approach to consider all the identities on your network and fully secure them all.
Tip 1: Think about every identity within your organization
The first mistake a lot of organizations make when planning their identity management strategy is not
considering every identity on their network. Sure, a lot think about their users and what types of
credentials they’ll need for their various systems. But what about the numerous machines on a company’s
network, like mobile devices, servers, applications, and IoT devices? Machines are dramatically
increasing, and require a solution that will identify these identities, authenticate them, and then secure
their interactions across the network.
IT leaders need to consider PKI-based solutions for managing their machine identities, so their IT teams
can issue certificates to their machines, track what is on their network, and encrypt the communication
between the devices. This will prevent falsified entities from entering the network and putting data at risk.
With the scalable Axiad PKI solution, businesses can continually issue and manage digital certificates for
every type of machine as they join the network.
Tip 2: Consider how to verify emails and documents crossing your network
In the face of phishing threats, many companies focus their investments in anti-malware software or new
technology to prevent the threats from getting through. Unfortunately, some of these emails will inevitably
slip through the cracks. That’s why we recommend IT leaders take an identity-centric approach to help
their employees secure their emails and protect themselves against scams.
Enterprises should implement email and document signing with certificates to accomplish this. By digitally
signing emails, email recipients can quickly confirm the identity of the sender and ensure that the email
is legitimate. The same goes for documents – if you can digitally sign a contract or purchase request with
a certificate, your business can operate with a higher level of trust. This also reduces the wet-ink hassle
of printing and scanning documents while working remotely.
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