KuppingerCole Analysts

Matthias and Martin continue their sub-series of the Analyst Chat about Trends and Predictions in 2023 and beyond. This time, it’s about Passwordless Authentication. Martin elaborates on the importance of Passwordless Authentication for the whole Access Management process. Companies should implement a passwordless authentication solution soon to get rid of poor user experience and security risks.

Everything we do in the digital world, is done by our digital representation of the physical world. Asanka Abeysinghe of WSO2 invented the idea of the "digital double" - a replication of people and things in a digital ecosystem. He is a guest on our videocast and discusses with Martin Kuppinger how the digital double can become a reality, its benefits and how it relates to consumer identity management.

In this podcast episode, Alexei Balaganski and Matthias discuss the increasing use of ChatGPT and other machine learning-based technologies in research and the potential risks associated with their use. Alexei offers a strong opinion on the topic, describing the risks of plagiarism and lack of originality that can result from over-reliance on automated tools. He argues that human analysts provide invaluable opinions and genuine research that cannot be replicated by machines. He strongly discourages their use and reliance, and encourages the creativity and innovation of human researchers. The book by Stanisław Lem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summa_Technologiae

In this podcast episode, Martin Kuppinger and Matthias explore the upcoming trend of IGA (Identity Governance and Administration) solutions to have an increasing level of integration with Data Governance and Software Security products. The integration of these solutions will provide a comprehensive coverage of ownership not only of systems and authorization objects, but also of data and code, ensuring a complete chain of custody. They delve into the importance of this integration, the benefits it offers, and how it will help organizations manage their identities and data more efficiently and securely. They also discuss the potential challenges and considerations that organizations need to be aware of while integration these solutions.

With the rapid expansion of IT environments, adoption of the cloud, and the ongoing Digital Transformation, the need to provide secure access to organizational resources has become paramount. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions are designed to consolidate network and security components, simplify management and licensing, and improve usability. SASE is the union of a number of different networking and security technologies designed to improve security posture as well as connectivity for remote offices, cloud services, contractors, and remote employees, while driving down the cost of connectivity. John Tolbert is a guest in the Analyst Chat again and will give us some insight into this topic.

Cyberattacks have been intensifying over the past few years as cybercriminals continue to devise new strategies to launch sophisticated attacks and gain unauthorized access. The tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that were once only used by well-funded state actors are being commoditized by cybercriminals. As a result, some vendors realized that the traditional approaches and tools of cybersecurity have failed to keep up. Parallel to SIEM solutions, a class of incident investigation and response platforms has emerged focusing on creating more streamlined and automated workflows for dealing with security incidents. Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) products are the latest iteration of this evolution. SOAR vendors provide solutions that offer centralized coordination, collaboration, and management for forensic analysis and incident response. KC Open Select will launch tomorrow on February 14, 2023! Stay tuned - this free online tool will kickstart your tools choice to a new level. Learn more: https://go.kuppingercole.com/open-select

Sometimes a company comes to a point where new software or a new tool is required. This is never an easy decision to make quickly. Dr. Phillip Messerschmidt has worked with many different clients who have found themselves in this situation. He will explain five of the most common misconceptions and problems he has encountered in his experience - and offer some recommendations on how to avoid them.

Is digital data really every organization's most precious possession, its "crown jewels"? Alexei Balaganski takes a different perspective towards a widely accepted opinion. He instead claims that data is not your most valuable asset. In fact, it can be a toxic liability without intrinsic value, since business value is only created when data is moving or transforming, producing insights, analytics, etc. Read Martin's Leadership Compass here: https://www.kuppingercole.com/research/lc81120/data-quality-and-integration-solutions Learn more about KC Open Select: https://go.kuppingercole.com/open-select

Who has not heard of the statement that "Data is the new Oil". But oil needs to be refined and so does data. The challenge of gathering, integrating, cleansing, improving, and enriching data across the complete range of data sources in an organization, for enabling use of that data as well as enabling data governance and supporting data security initiatives, that is the topic of this episode. Martin Kuppinger joins Matthias and explains this market segment and its relevance on the occasion of the publishing of a new Leadership compass covering "Data Quality and Integration Solutions".

The PAM market is changing and expanding. Paul Fisher talks about the latest trends for Privileged Access Management, the role of CIEM, mergers and newcomers in this important market segment.

A new year brings along a new service from KuppingerCole Analysts. Our host Matthias sits down with Christie Pugh, Digital Products Manager to discuss KC Open Select, our new interactive shortlisting service, the concept behind it, how it helps you prepare for the future, how it compares to our Leadership Compasses, and more. The landscape of solutions in a market segment can be overwhelming. KC Open Select helps you to get a clearer overview of the market for free. Check it out now: https://go.kuppingercole.com/open-select

Trust no one, always verify. We know that Zero Trust phrase already. But this principle is rather abstract - how and where exactly should we do that? Martin sits down with Jackson Shaw, Chief Strategy Officer at Clear Skye to discuss one very important part of Zero Trust: Identity and Access Management. Because you can only verify what or who you know - they need an identity to get access.

Another year gone already! It's time to take a look back at 2022. Martin Kuppinger and Matthias talk about what happened in the past year and identify top trends in IAM and Cybersecurity. They go beyond technology but also look at processes and business models. By this, they also provide an outlook to what to expect in 2023. With this episode, the Analyst Chat goes into a short Christmas break. We'll return on January 16th.

The application landscape in organizations is getting more and more complex. Applications from vendors are more plentiful - or they differ very much from each other - and the combination of on-prem and cloud applications is no longer unusual. It's easy to lose track of all the different risks that are coming with that. Application access governance helps in unifying the different security perspectives. Martin sat down with Keri Bowman from Saviynt to take a deeper look into this topic.

Alejandro and Matthias continue their conversation about passwordless authentication. This time, the topic is the use of biometrics (and possible security and privacy concerns related to their use) as an authentication factor.

Research Analyst Marina Iantorno works on determining market sizing data as a service for vendors, service providers, but especially for investors. She joins Matthias to explain key terms and metrics and how this information can be leveraged for a variety of decision-making processes.

Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) combines the traditional User Access Provisioning (UAP) and Identity and Access Governance (IAG) markets. Nitish Deshpande joins Matthias for the first time on the occasion of the publication of the Leadership Compass IGA 2022, which he has created. They both have a look at this evolving and fascinating market segment. Leadership Compass Identity Governance and Administration: https://www.kuppingercole.com/research/lc81107/identity-governance-and-administration-2022

Only a week has passed since John Tolbert, our Cybersecurity Research Director, spoke at CSLS about ransomware and how to combat it. Today, he reports on specific threats posed by ransomware attacks to the healthcare industry, particularly in the US. But in the end, these are just examples of the threats against any user of IT. Links to the mentioned ransomware attacks: Medibank Common Spirit Lake Charles Health System (US) Helpful documents for cybersecurity in healthcare: CISA - Stop ransomware MITRE - MEDICAL DEVICE CYBERSECURITY

Deep Fakes, AI as friend and foe, Business Resilience, Mis-, Dis- and Malinformation: The Cybersecurity Leadership Summit has taken place in Berlin and covered all of this and much more. Martin Kuppinger and Matthias look back on the event and identify their Top 5 Trends from CSLS2022 in Cybersecurity and beyond.

"Passwordless authentication" has become a popular and catchy term recently. It comes with the promise of getting rid of the risk associated with passwords, however, organizations will add a significant layer to the overall security of their IT infrastructure. Research analyst Alejandro Leal rejoins Matthias to explain how this can be achieved in reality with today's products and services. He gives an overview of the market, the technologies and recent developments in this area.

CIAM solutions are designed to address specific technical requirements that consumer-facing organizations have that differ from traditional “workforce” or Business-to-Employee (B2E) use cases. John Tolbert has revisited this market segments for the updated Leadership Compass CIAM and provides an update to the analyst chat episode 58 from December 2020. Cybersecurity Leadership Summit takes place on November 8 – 10 in Berlin and online. Join us there.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are increasingly being promoted as an essential security tool for end users. This is not about the traditional access to corporate resources from insecure environments, but rather about privacy and security protection, but also about concealing one's actual location on the Internet. Alexei analyzes the operation and effectiveness of these tools and explains his view on the question of whether VPNs are really needed for security and privacy. Cybersecurity Leadership Summit takes place on November 8 – 10 in Berlin and online. Join us there.

The question whether using a cloud service alters risk is not simple to answer. Mike Small sits down with Matthias and explains, that every organization has its own set of circumstances, and the answer needs to take these into account. He explains the important factors to look at, and what organizations should understand when assessing their risks in a cloud and hybrid world. Cybersecurity Leadership Summit takes place on November 8 – 10 in Berlin and online. Join us there: https://www.kuppingercole.com/events/csls2022 Find more on our website: https://www.kuppingercole.com/ Feel free to contact us with questions! [email protected]

Cybersecurity often seems like a dry subject. And as long as it is practiced successfully, its benefits can only be seen in the absence of damage. However, Marina Iantorno, who is taking part in the Analyst Chat for the first time, will discuss the actual risks associated with inadequate IT security and how they affect organizations specifically. Cybersecurity Leadership Summit takes place on November 8 – 10 in Berlin and online. Join us there: https://www.kuppingercole.com/events/csls2022

Sometimes Vulnerability Management has to take care of current threats very quickly: Christopher Schütze is today's guest in this episode and explains which processes are necessary when a system needs to be updated very quickly, for example because there is a current threat, e.g. a "zero day" attack actively being exploited or a vendor recommends an update....

A key issue for many companies beyond technical cybersecurity is cyber resilience. This refers to the ability to protect data and systems in organizations from cyber attacks and to quickly resume business operations in the event of a successful attack. Martin Kuppinger, Mike Small, and John Tolbert will explore this important topic at the Cybersecurity Leadership Summit in Berlin. For this special episode of Analyst Chat, they join Matthias for a virtual panel discussion to identify key actions on the path to a cyber resilient enterprise. Meet us at Cybersecurity Leadership Summit: https://www.kuppingercole.com/events/csls2022 Find more on our website: https://www.kuppingercole.com/ Feel free to contact us with questions! Matthias: [email protected]

How do you implement modern cybersecurity leadership between compliance, threat protection, privacy and business enablement? To answer this question, Matthias invited the CEO of KuppingerCole Analysts, Berthold Kerl, who was and is active in various roles as a leader in cybersecurity. Together they explore questions such as how important the knowledge of basic cybersecurity technologies is and what the necessary management tasks are in an organization?  

It is always easy to blame people, i.e. users, for data breaches and ransomware attacks. But is that really still true today? Martin Kuppinger and Matthias discuss this cybersecurity myth and finally defend users against unjustified accusations. Meet us at the Cybersecurity Leadership Summit!

Verified identity refers to digital identities that have been verified to describe a real-world identity in digital form. A growing range of service providers support organizations to achieve this for customers, citizens and employees alike. Annie Bailey rejoins Matthias and gives an overview of what "Providers of verified identity" are and which types of services and benefits beyond mere verification should be considered. The Leadership Compass will be available here once published.

Zero Trust is rapidly gaining popularity as a modern alternative to traditional perimeter-based security. While it is (rightfully) mainly considered a concept rather than a product, a new market segment has developed. Those solutions apply this concept to network-based access to existing applications and other systems by creating a logical identity- and context-based overlay over existing (and presumed hostile) networks. Alexei Balaganski has examined this new market for KuppingerCole Analysts research and talks to Matthias about how this can speed up ZT deployments. 

Customer Data Platforms (CDP) are a fairly new addition to the pool of consumer identity centric management solutions. KuppingerCole Fellow Analyst Roland Bühler joins Matthias for the first time and he explains the full picture of consumer identity and detail what differentiates CDPs from other solutions, such as DMP, CRM or Marketing Automation Solutions. Here are the links to the documents that Matthias and Roland are talking about: Customer Data Platforms, Machine Customers - The Impact of Customer Bots on Customer Journeys

Microservices are increasingly becoming the new normal for enterprise architectures, no matter where they are deployed. Alexei Balaganski and Matthias discuss why doing this properly is essential and which aspects need to be considered, way beyond just talking about transport encryption or API security.

The IT environments have become complex, and this will not stop as more technologies such as Edge Computing start to take hold. Paul Fisher looks at the full scope of entitlements across today's multi-hybrid environments. He explains how this new market segment between the cloud, on-premises, privileged accounts, and DevOps has developed and what DREAM means in this context.

Europe is on a "Path to a Digital Decade", which envisions 80% of EU citizens using a digital ID card by 2030. A part of that journey will be self-sovereign identities. Research Analyst Alejandro Leal joins Matthias to continue their discussion on the digital transformation in public services. Self-sovereign identities, the new eIDAS regulation, and the impact of both on how interactions between citizens and the state will change, are a controversial topic in the public discussion as well.

Web Application Firewalls (WAF) have been around for quite some time to protect web applications through the inspection of HTTP traffic. But with a changing nature of web applications and the ever changing threats landscape they nee to evolve constantly. Richard Hill sits down with Matthias to explain newest developments in the market of WAFs, that is demanding increasingly for intelligent solutions.

With CYFIRMA's products, you can take a look at your business through the eyes of a cybercriminal. But to know what they know, they need to take steps into the dark side of the World Wide Web. Osman interviews Kumar Ritesh from CYFIRMA about their work on the Dark Web.

Imagine paying your taxes digitally on your mobile phone by using your digital ID that is also used for easily applying for a parking permit online. Sounds like the future? In Estonia, this has been a reality for 20 years. Research Analyst Alejandro Leal joins Matthias for the first time for the Analyst Chat. They talk about the changing landscape of citizen-facing government processes and the impact of the digital transformation on the public sector, how Estonia can be a role model and what we can learn from their limitations.

Do you know what information about your company is out there and can be used by cybercriminals? What are they interested in? Are they actually targeting your company and planning to exploit it? These are many questions that you may want to consider answering. After all, part of a good defense strategy is knowing your enemy. Kumar Ritesh wanted to solve this challenge and founded CYFIRMA to help others with a complete, comprehensive view, on one platform. Learn more about how they help you look through the eyes of cybercriminals.

Graham Williamson has teamed up with John Tolbert to research the current state of the Operational Technology (OT) and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) sectors. They documented the ability of the main industry players to support a coordinated approach to detecting, responding to, and recovering from, cybersecurity attacks and intrusions. Graham joins Matthias to provide insight into this market on the occasion of the publication of the Market Compass Cybersecurity for Industrial Control Systems. For feedback, please reach out to Matthias at [email protected].

The previously distinct but now converged fields and product lines of Endpoint Protection (EPP) and Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) are covered in the brand new KuppingerCole Analysts Leadership Compass on EPDR (Endpoint Protection Detection & Response). Lead Analyst John Tolbert joins Matthias to give a sneak peek into this market segment and shares some results of the evaluation as well.

Secure Collaboration solutions focus on enabling data-centric security to facilitate virtual collaboration. Annie Bailey talks with Matthias about this market segment that provides increasingly flexible, interoperable, and therefore even more secure solutions.

Consumer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) is an emerging market with a strong demand for solutions. Especially with the increasing digitization of the workplace, the market is growing and there are more and more vendors entering this market. Our analyst John met with Sadrick Widmann from cidaas, one of the leading IAM solutions in Europe, to talk about the importance and relevance of CIAM.

Martin Kuppinger and Matthias conclude their conversation about the opening keynote Martin held at EIC 2022 in Berlin. They look at how future IT will look like and how the overall transformation towards this future state can be managed.

Martin Kuppinger and Matthias discuss topics from the opening keynote Martin held at EIC 2022 in Berlin. They start with the role of leaders and decision makers in a consistently changing global environment.

The Identity Fabric paradigm manifests an important cornerstone of the KuppingerCole Analysts AG research and advisory. Products in that area cover a wider range of capabilities including Access Management and IGA, and beyond. Martin Kuppinger joins Matthias to provide more details about this evolving market sector, and on which vendors and which products/services to watch.

Access Management refers to the group of capabilities targeted at supporting an organization's access management requirements traditionally found within Web Access Management & Identity Federation solutions, such as Authentication, Authorization, Single Sign-On, Identity Federation. Richard Hill joins Matthias for the first time to talk about this topic and the recent developments in that area as reflected in his Leadership Compass on Access Management.

Shortly before EIC, Graham Williamson and Matthias sat together virtually and discussed the recent publication of the Market Compass on "Policy Based Access Management". In this episode Graham gives a great introduction in this evolved market segment and talks about hybrid and cloud-native use cases. They hint at several sessions on policy-based and cloud-native access control at EIC as well, so for those interested in learning even more on modern authorization, either the Market Compass itself or the EIC recordings are perfect starting points after listening to/watching this episode.

SOCaaS (Security Operations Center as a Service) is a growing trend in cybersecurity, where core security functions are uniformly delivered to enterprises from the cloud. Warwick Ashford explored this in a recently published Market Compass and provides an overview of his findings.

John Tolbert and Matthias discuss the question of whether companies in retail, finance, healthcare, insurance, etc. are really able to keep up with the scale and sophistication of attacks aimed at committing fraud? Are they considering FRIP solutions for specific use cases?

A recently published study shows that the use of strong authentication in enterprise environments is at a very low level. John Tolbert explains this finding to Matthias and together they discuss how to find a way out of this situation.