Consumers today are becoming increasingly concerned about data security and privacy as a result of the countless breaches that have made news headlines over the past few years. The need for establishing digital trust is on the rise.
In response to this growing demand for digital trust, many companies have made efforts to improve the user experience while also enhancing security, data privacy and fraud detection.
A new research from Unisys Corporation found that IT professionals reported three incidents on average where sensitive information had been lost last year, with some respondents reporting 11 losses for the year. Respondents also reported an average of nine incidents per month where they had to address highly severe security issues. The survey finds broad recognition of the need to address security challenges to enable digital transformation and points to the need for “zero trust” models for cybersecurity.
The survey, conducted by information insights company Information Services Group (ISG), asked over 400 enterprise IT professionals in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific to assess their security operations. The findings illustrate high levels of awareness among respondents of their challenges as well as the need to establish digital trust with their customers as they transform their businesses to cloud and mobile platforms.
As a result of these findings, ISG is forecasting that 60 percent of businesses globally will suffer a major service failure due to the new security issues introduced by shifting workloads to the cloud and enabling mobile and remote employees. The research indicates that between 2016 and 2020, on-premises workloads will decline from 55 percent to 20 percent of all workloads.
To address the challenges associated with digital trust, researchers recommend the adoption of the “zero trust” model – an approach to security that recognizes threats emanate not only from outside the perimeter, but also from malicious insiders within trusted zones.
The zero trust approach of granting least privileged access to all users requires a combination of microsegmentation and security services such as security information and event management (SIEM), endpoint protection and risk assessment, eliminating the need to buy new gear, rip and replace or add complexity to an already unwieldy architecture.
“In the era of digital transformation, security professionals recognize that digital trust is table stakes – a requirement that, if not met and delivered as part of the experience for stakeholders of the enterprise’s value chain, will upend organizations everywhere,” said Doug Saylors, research director, ISG. “Enterprises that are first to adopt and leverage digital trust fabrics will realize competitive advantages driven by combinations of deeper customer intimacy, operational excellence and product leadership.”
The survey showed that IT professionals recognize the need to address threats coming from outside their enterprises as well as the need to create security-focused cultures within them.
When asked to choose from among 12 IT security challenges at their enterprises, the top challenge was “external threats,” selected by 43 percent of respondents. It was followed by security challenges related to 24×7 operations (selected by 36 percent) and challenges related to legacy technologies (selected by 34 percent).
“Trust in digital business is earned during every digital interaction with the enterprise,” said Tom Patterson, chief trust officer at Unisys. “This means establishing strong bonds of trust throughout their ecosystems of employees, partners, suppliers and customers. By operating resistant and resilient systems, establishing trusted identities, and focusing passionately on client success, it is possible to make trust your critical success factor.”
