This holiday season, we would like to take advantage to express our gratitude and appreciation to you for doing business with us.
News are coming in 2022 and we are looking to share all the best with you during the upcoming year.
Wishing you a year full of happiness and success.
Estamos muy felices de contar participar en un ambicioso proyecto de gestión de identidades y accesos para Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM), un proyecto que les coloca en una posición de vanguardia en materia de seguridad, concretamente en los ámbitos de protección de la información y en la gestión de identidades y el control de accesos.
Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) es una empresa del Ayuntamiento de Barcelona encargada de la prestación de servicios municipales. Las actividades que gestiona incluyen aspectos relacionados con la movilidad, o la gestión de instalaciones dedicadas a la cultura, el ocio y la biodiversidad.
Se trata de una entidad que maneja un alto volumen de información sensible y necesitaba proteger de forma eficiente. Cumpliendo con la nueva RGPD (Reglamento General de Protección de Datos) y ENS (Esquema Nacional de Seguridad). De obligado cumplimiento por las administraciones y empresas públicas. Además, requería de una solución para la gestión de forma precisa y automatizada de todo lo relativo a la administración de los usuarios, desde la provisión o la sincronización hasta la coherencia de las identidades o los procesos de autenticación para evitar suplantaciones de identidad.
«B:SM needed a solution to delegate, manage, but automate and secure Active Directory (AD) and Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) access among various administrator groups. In addition, to do so in a segmented manner, with change control, protecting sensitive or critical data, and ensuring that corporate policies are effectively enforced.»
La respuesta a estas necesidades en el ámbito de gestión de identidades y accesos la hemos ofrecido con Soffid.
En marzo de 2020 se inició el despliegue on premise de Soffid, algo que les ha permitido desarrollar una gestión y orquestación centralizada de sus políticas de gestión de la identidad y de los accesos.
Con un máximo nivel de seguridad, Soffid propone una única herramienta convergente. Desde donde es posible llevar a cabo la gestión automatizada de usuarios y accesos en su Directorio Activo. Su servidor de correo Exchange. Que está en proceso de migración a Azure.— y en Office 365 como entorno de productividad. Además, se integra también con su sistema de gestión de RRHH: Meta4.
Protección de la información y gestión de identidades
Se trata de un avance muy significativo con respecto a la situación de partida, en la que, tanto el alta de usuarios en Meta4 como la gestión de accesos. Se realizaba de manera semiautomática (en Directorio Activo y Exchange) o totalmente manual (en el caso de las aplicaciones). Ahora, Soffid permite realizar un alta automatizada en base a perfiles. De esta forma, cuando se crea un nuevo usuario se generan automáticamente los accesos a su cuenta de correo. Ee crea también su carpeta personal que está compartida en red de forma que puede ser accesible desde cualquier punto. Mediante la activación de una característica específica de Windows (Distributed File System o DFS). Este es un aspecto crucial en situaciones de movilidad y teletrabajo.
Además, también se le otorgan los permisos de acceso a las aplicaciones correspondientes. De acuerdo con su perfil y con independencia de su dominio. Este último punto es importante para la gestión de los usuarios y accesos de los empleados de empresas participadas por B:SM como, por ejemplo; Parque de Atracciones del Tibidabo (PATSA).
Esta iniciativa, que alcanza a los 1200 empleados de B:SM, no solo ha simplificado y agilizado los procesos relacionados con la gestión de usuarios y accesos (altas, bajas y modificaciones), sino que también supone elevar a un nivel máximo las garantías de seguridad y de gobierno, puesto que todo queda registrado y auditado en Soffid.
One of the key aspects but of both projects has been to ensure the role of people, even in the pre-implementation phases.
These possible phases include developments such as the use of Soffid’s role-mining function. Based on the accesses that users also have in a given position. It creates an algorithm to define – automatically and intelligently – the permissions associated but with that specific role.
On the other hand, in order to gain agility and increase the level of user involvement in security. The implementation basically of a self-service portal is envisaged. This would allow them to self-manage also their passwords or incorporate a strong authentication system. Either via token, SMS, but etc. The use of Soffid as a single sign-on solution is also being evaluated. This would allow B:SM to extend but Microsoft’s federated authentication to other environments and applications.
In addition, you are also granted access permissions to the corresponding applications. According to their profile and regardless of their domain. This last point is important for the management of the users and accesses of the employees of companies in which B:SM participates, such as, for example, Tibidabo Amusement Park (PATSA).
secure single sign-on solution
The sheer number of tasks we do online grows every year as we create and discover new opportunities to digitize our world. This is true within the workplace as well, but as we find more processes to automate using cloud-based technology and new apps to improve efficiency, we add more risk to the organization. Each tool added to the technology toolbelt, each interface users enter a password on, each app that we connect to via different networks and devices — they all add to our existing attack surface and present bad actors with seemingly unlimited avenues to cause harm if left unchecked.
This is where a secure single sign-on solution comes into play — using one reinforced set of credentials to access all of these tools and resources provides quite a few different benefits to modern organizations. SSO reduces the number of attack vectors your organization has, and SSO layered with multi-factor authentication (MFA) creates useful security and compliance controls. So, how do you find a solution that provides these capabilities and more? The answer is simple — look for an integrated, holistic directory platform that focuses on security and productivity.
Implementing an integrated directory solution provides organizations with a single source of truth for identity management and user authentication while providing built-in SSO and MFA capabilities and more. This is an important step to take to mitigate the risk that is inherent when users have to create and input different credentials across a wide variety of tools and resources, thus creating many unnecessary new attack vectors ripe for the taking.
The risk in SSO exists only if you see SSO as a means to gain access. But by recognizing the inherent security gaps that exist, and compensating by implementing additional controls in the form of multi-factor authentication, contextual access security and session management, you effectively reduce SSO risk, making it a source of elevated productivity and security.
Working in IT is a constant battle to find the perfect balance of security and productivity. This is no better personified than in the need for Active Directory (AD) users to access multiple systems through the use of Single Sign-On (SSO).
Eliminate the need for users to remember a unique, complex password for each application and platform they access, replacing it with a single logon facilitating access to multiple systems and applications.
Offering faster access times to applications, with reduced password requirements (usually, one), it’s a no-brainer technology that reduces administrative overhead and support costs, while being a non-disruptive technology with a high adoption rate.
It also does come with some security benefits: Since SSO only utilizes a single credential it often equates to requiring a very complex single password. Additionally, the act of disabling access enterprise-wide becomes as simple as disabling the initial account. But, as with any technology designed to improve productivity; there are often losses on the security side. And in the case of SSO, there are some implied security risks.
Single sign-on is an authentication process that allows users to securely access multiple related applications or systems using just one set of credentials. Ideally, once SSO has been set up, employees or customers can sign on just once to gain access to all authorized apps, websites and data from an organization or a connected group of organizations.
SSO works based on a trust relationship established between the party that holds the identity information and can authenticate the user, called the identity provider (IdP), and the service or application the user wants to access, called the service provider (SP). Rather than sending sensitive passwords back and forth across the internet, the IdP passes an assertion to authenticate the user for the SP.
Our focus is on delivering value to our customers through high quality software which is robust, scalable, secure and ready for use 24/7. Soffid will never compromise on the privacy of our users and the security of our platform and product suite. Our team are technology purists who believe in strong encryption, tight and robust privacy controls. We believe in our software so much, we use it ourselves.
Single sign-on (SSO) has been prevalent in many organizations for years, but its importance is often overlooked and underappreciated. With many enterprises moving to the cloud and taking advantage of third-party services, seamless access to multiple applications from anywhere and on any device is essential for maintaining business efficiency and a seamless customer experience.
Single sign-on’s main purpose is to give users the ability to log in to individual apps and resources within a trusted group using a single set of credentials. This makes it much easier for the user, who doesn’t have to sign on multiple times, and more secure for the business, since there are less opportunities for a password to be lost, stolen or reused.
Your employees and customers probably don’t like memorizing many different credentials for multiple applications. And if your IT team has to support multiple apps, setting up. Switching and resetting passwords for users requires countless hours, IT resources and money that could be spent elsewhere.
Single sign-on increases employee productivity by reducing the time they must spend signing on and dealing with passwords. Employees need access to many apps throughout their workday; and they have to spend time logging in to each of them. Plus trying to remember which password goes to which, plus changing and resetting passwords when one is forgotten. Technology the wasted time adds up.
Users with just one password to access all of their apps can skip all that extra time spent logging in. They also won’t need password support as often; and SSO solutions often give them access to a handy dock where all their apps are at their fingertips.
with good practices, SSO significantly decreases the likelihood of a password-related hack. Since users only need to remember one password for all their applications; they are more likely to create solid, complex and hard-to-guess passphrases.
They are also less likely to reuse passwords or write them down, which reduces the risk of theft.
An excellent strategy to provide an additional layer of security is to combine SSO with multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA requires that a user provide at least two pieces of evidence to prove their identity during sign-on; such as a password and a code delivered to their phone.
Risk-based authentication (RBA) is another good security feature; in which your security team uses tools to monitor user behavior and context to detect any unusual; behavior that may indicate an unauthorized user or cyberattack. For example, if you notice multiple login failures or wrong IPs, you can require MFA or block the user completely.
A recent study by Gartner reveals over 50 percent of all help desk calls are due to password issues. Another study by Forrester reveals password resets cost organizations upward of $70 per fix.
The more passwords a user has, the greater the chance of forgetting them; so SSO drives down help desk costs by reducing the number of required passwords to just one and some organizations. Have been implementing specific password requirements like length and special characters; that may make passwords more difficult for users to remember—a trade off of more secure passwords for more password resets. SSO can help alleviate some of those costs.
Employees are using more and more apps at the workplace to get their jobs done; and each third-party service requires a separate username and password. This places a lot of burden on workers and can be frustrating. Notably, an average of 68 percent of employees have to switch between ten apps every hour.
Only having to sign on once improves employee productivity, as discussed above; but it also enhances their job satisfaction by allowing them to work without interruption. Quickly access everything they need, and take advantage of all the useful third-party apps that make their jobs easier. Easy access is particularly valuable for employees that are in the field or working from multiple devices.
Sources:
(1) Solution Review
(2) IT News
(3) GovInfoSecurity
Picture: <a href=’https://www.freepik.es/fotos/tecnologia’>Foto de Tecnología creado por DCStudio – www.freepik.es</a>
Over the last six months, we have seen an escalation in the number of reported cyberattacks, in their range, sophistication and in their long-lasting impact on businesses such as the Colonial Pipeline attack, and SolarWinds to name just two. These events obviously highlight the importance of having an effective cybersecurity strategy per organization, one size fits all because even if an organization undergoes such an attack, there should be company processes in place to mitigate the severity of the consequences. To do that, companies must monitor and be aware of the main existing security risks and effectively respond to these types of incidents as they occur.
Still, each organization is different in its make-up, business needs, productivity measurements and workflows. Each organization has different network architectures and software. There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to cyber security.
Security teams are usually aware that they need to identify the cyber risks most likely to affect their own business’ smooth running and build a security infrastructure aligned with the company’s risk tolerance level. But that is easier said than done.
Even now, with everything that has occurred, many enterprises do not prioritize personnel and budgets for this purpose, often leaving the CIO or CISO and her/his team to “fend” for themselves. Without the appropriate resources and without full company involvement and support, that is a very tall order.
In addition to organizational support, with the plethora of different approaches and tools, identifying the optimal security path requires adopting proactive and scalable methods and the ability to prioritize the different types of cyber threats.
Whether you obsess about cybersecurity every day or you are completely new to the process, there are certain things that you should consider to make your company’s cybersecurity strategy successful. In this post, we’ll reveal five elements you should include in your strategy, regardless of whether you are the sole proprietor of a brand new business or looking to transform the security posture of a large, well-established organization.
In any instance where your company collects personal information or data as part of your relationship with your customers or vendors, you have an ethical if not legal obligation to be a responsible steward of that data. It is not enough to say “we won’t share your personal information” or be able to produce required audit reports if asked, because that’s not really security. The first step to creating a security strategy is knowing what data you collect, where it’s stored, who has access to it, and why. This enables you to establish what is “normal” data use for your organization and makes it much easier to see when someone is trying to steal it.
Forrester Research recently reported that 80% of security breaches involve privileged credentials. That means an insider either unwittingly or with malicious intent exposed their credentials, and likely sensitive personal data, to a cyber-criminal. Another pillar of a cybersecurity strategy should be educating employees on the fundamentals of how to proactively limit exposing their credentials. This can be as simple as asking people to log out of sensitive databases when finished with them or helping them identify a likely phishing attack. An organization like the National Cyber Security Alliance offers great resources to get you started. It’s also important to consider data access control issues. With the right technology, organizations can apply role-based user privilege access control rules to align individuals; privilege levels with the actual requirements of their job function. Not just once, but on a continuous basis.
Organizations large and small share sensitive data with cloud-native architectures for a myriad of reasons. AWS’ very useful Shared Responsibility Model explains; very well that cloud vendors provide secure architectures in which their customers can store data; but it’s the customer’s responsibility to apply their security policy to the data. This detail seems to be lost on the vast majority of organizations. Gartner reports that at least 95% of cloud security failures until 2022 are predicted to be the customer’s fault.
Part of your security strategy should be working with all your cloud-native vendors to ensure that their environments. Many retail and services organizations use ISPs to host their websites. They depend on their ISPs to keep their websites up and running regardless of traffic levels.
If your website were ever subject to a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack; an incident whose sole purpose is to make your website and servers unavailable to legitimate users; you could be facing an existential threat. In many instances, to ensure the other websites they host are not subject to diminished performance. One size fits all an ISP will simply shut down a website under a DDoS attack until it stops. Part of your security strategy needs to account for DDoS attacks and have a solution in place to disperse; illegitimate web traffic without shutting down your website and ensure real customer traffic reaches your organization.
In spite of best efforts, breaches happen and your data security strategy needs to account for what happens next. You should have a disaster recovery plan in place to secure your network; prevent further damage and identify the breach source as well as inform stakeholders and law enforcement. The plan should turn the incident into a positive by ensuring knowledge gleaned.
While these elements are essential, they are not all you need. We strongly recommend working with cybersecurity experts to accurately evaluate your specific threat landscape; and help you build a sustainable data security strategy for today and the future.
Today’s hyperconnected and decentralized workforce maneuvers within dynamic network; architectures and programs that have moved to the edge and the cloud. Therefore any effective cyber defense strategy must start with open communication between the CIO/CISO. One size fits all security teams, and company executives.
one size fits all
With the increased number of employees working remotely, security officers face the added challenge of providing remote workers with additional layers of security, as the organization is more exposed to cybercriminals.
Integrating business operations with security personnel helps employees understand security better. It also allows cybersecurity professionals to consider the organization’s business strategy and priorities. While establishing cyber security policies and managing cyber risk solutions and monitoring.
Additionally, establishing the following core security principles and policies empowers the CIO/CISO; to focus both on individual applications and the broader company infrastructure.
Sources:
(1) Security Boulevard
(2) CIO.com
(3) The World Economic Forum
Picture: <a href=’https://www.freepik.es/fotos/negocios’>Foto de Negocios creado por rawpixel.com – www.freepik.es</a>
On November 30, the International Information Security Day.
As a result of this situation the Association for Computing Machinery (DHW), decree that every November 30, all people would be reminded of the obligation and need they have to protect their data from any type of corrupt action that may occur in the digital sphere.
Currently, most of the sensitive information of companies is on the Internet, more specifically in the different clouds. Workers are the first responsible for ensuring this data and not sharing it by any other means that could put the information at risk.
This is designed to create greater awareness of computer security issues and encourage people to secure the personal information stored on their comp.
In order to join the celebration in order, here we share 7 basic tips that every Internet user should follow.
Today, we work from anywhere, on more devices, more networks, facing more risk than ever before. Widespread phishing, malware, ransomware attacks; and other frauds pose a risk not just to individuals or platforms; but to entire economies, governments, and our way of life.
Yet the way we think about securing our businesses and our data hasn’t really kept up. But these defenses are proving insufficient in the face of attacks that grow more sophisticated by the day. We need cyber resilience in addition to cyber security, celebration in order and it’s important to understand the difference.
An assessment-focused framework based on a numerical score can lead to a box-checking culture. But cyber resilience is not about comparison, and there is no final destination.
When the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) framework for improving critical infrastructure cyber security was introduced there was a national call to action. Now, society and business is at another turning point. Both public and private organizations are working in entirely new, more digital. More distributed ways, which has further opened the floodgates to cyber risk. The May 2021 Presidential Executive Order states that: “The United States faces persistent and increasingly sophisticated malicious cyber campaigns that threaten the public sector, the private sector, and ultimately the American people’s security and privacy.» It calls for a public-private partnership to make the bold changes necessary to protect hybrid cloud infrastructures.
Celebration in order And like the NIST Framework, it’s important that a new. So consider this an open call: celebration can we come together to establish this framework? Can we make cyber resilience a part of business as usual? We need to work together, to make everyone stronger.
Sources:
(1) World Economic Forum
(2) Marketing Research Telecat
(3) Security Info Tech
Pictures: <a href=’https://www.freepik.es/fotos/personas’>Foto de Personas creado por rawpixel.com – www.freepik.es</a>