Identity Management: New Challenges Demand New Solutions15 February 2006
from identity proofing, to userprovisioning, to access control.
Organizations depend on identity systems to run their businesses every day,and to enable the products and services that will drive competitiveadvantage for them in the future. But there are increasing challenges.Identity theft, one of the fastest-growing crimes in the country, hasalready touched one in every 20 adult Americans, according to the FTC. So,as businesses grapple with identity management issues across anincreasingly heterogeneous mix of infrastructures and environments, it isbecoming increasingly important that they leverage identity managementsolutions that can help simplify their IT infrastructure, reduce risks andsupport business initiatives focused on revenue growth or profitimprovement.
Incorporating a broad set of solutions, IBM Identity Management Servicesallow organizations to engage at any point in their identity managementlifecycle and at every level of an organization, from business strategy, toapplications, to IT infrastructure. The IDMS approach is designed toprovide more robust identity management by reducing the number of systemsinvolved; reducing costs by automating and lowering technical supportneeds; increasing efficiency of access control processes, improvingproductivity and usability for both users and administrators; and helpingclients meet their ever-growing regulatory compliance needs.
"While people often think of identity management in 'defensive' terms, oneof the most important benefits of IDMS is that it can help organizations toenable new services and business models that might otherwise be too riskytoo implement," said Cal Slemp, IBM's vice president of security andprivacy services. "Financial institutions, for example, are underincreasing pressure to eliminate business line silos and take acompany-wide view of their customers, in order to better provide them withthe products and services that meet their individual needs. Yet, thisimperative challenges traditional identity management processes, controlsand governance structures. IDMS is designed to help our clients minimizerisk and fraud loss, as well as, help them develop the new processes andgovernance they'll need to offer robust identity-based products andservices."
IDMS was also created with the understanding that identity theft and otheridentity issues are moving targets. For example, in its most recent GlobalBusiness Security Index Report, IBM's Global Security Intelligence teamreported the growing prevalence of "spear" phishing, a highly targeted formof spam e-mails that cause much of today's identity theft. Phishingoverall is on the rise, accounting for an average of one in every 304emails, compared to one in every 943 in 2004.
On the other side of the equation, regulatory directives, policyrecommendations and evolving best practices are effecting change inidentity management competencies such as strong authentication. Forexample, the U.S. Federal Government's HSPD 12 initiative establishesstronger, more uniform standards for issuing government identitycredentials. The interagency Federal Financial Institutions ExaminationCouncil (FFIEC), which promotes uniformity in the supervision of financialinstitutions, recently issued new guidance on the risks and risk managementcontrols necessary to authenticate the identity of customers accessingInternet-based financial services.
To address these and other current and emerging needs, IDMS offers aportfolio of complementary services that can be implemented as integratedsolutions or individual components. Key elements of IDMS include briefings,assessments and workshops; industry-specific identity managementarchitectures and custom design services; and solution implementations andhosted services. IDMS utilizes best-in-class identity management productsand technologies from IBM Tivoli and key IBM Business Partners including,ActivIdentity, ADT Security Services, Axalto, Cogent Systems, Encentuate,Exostar, GE Security, Lenovo, Passlogix, Verisign, Viisage, and others.
IDMS and the IBM Information Security Framework
IDMS also utilizes IBM's Information Security Framework (ISF), which wasalso announced today. The ISF is an IBM intellectual property asset thatis designed to help clients better understand their entire securitylandscape. When ISF and IDMS are leveraged together, clients can reap thebenefits of an even more robust set of assets and services to help themmeet their security needs.
IBM developed the ISF in response to clients' needs to simplify and speedthe planning and execution of their security programs. The ISF covers eightcore areas and provides "best practices" developed by IBM professionals forplanning and deploying the necessary related capabilities, organized inmultiple maturity levels. These areas are:
-- Governance-- Privacy-- Threat mitigation-- Transaction and data integrity-- Identity and access management-- Application security-- Physical security-- Personnel security
The ISF is designed to enable clients to review and assess their entiresecurity landscape and develop a pragmatic, applicable roadmap to maintainan effective security program based on their needs. It builds upon IBM'sresearch, extensive portfolio of security offerings, and leadership inperforming assessments and developing, deploying and managing securitysolutions for clients globally.
For more information on IBM Identity Management Services and IBM'sInformation Security Framework visit http://www.ibm.com/services/security.
About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years ofleadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from acrossIBM and key IBM Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services,solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to takefull advantage of the new era of on demand business. For more informationabout IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com.
Contact:Adam EmeryIBM Corporation914-766-4696adame@us.ibm.com
SOURCE: IBM
Source: marketwire
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