Archive for2017

Optimal IdM provides a few best practices to keep passwords safe including this quote on multi-factor authentication (MFA). “2FA does a good job of allowing only individual account owners access to their login credentials,” Bohren said. “If hackers do succeed in guessing a password, they must still breach additional authentication steps before they can reach important data.” Continue reading the full story on eSecurity Planet. ...

After reading our blog “Initiating Steps On The Path To GDPR Compliance” and completing your data mapping exercise, you should now have an understanding of what data your company collects, how it is used, where it is stored, who has access, and when and how it is deleted.  What should you do next? For the next step, you need to assess the identified data flows and rate their importance and sensitivity.  You may need to have different rating scales to consider, both from the company perspective and an individual’s viewpoint.  Proprietary information does not mean much to an individual, just like a social security number does not mean much to the company’s overall survival.  So, data’s value is determined by the owner’s perspective. ...

Optimal IdM, a leading provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, today announced it will be presenting at InfoSec World 2018 Conference and Expo, March 19-21 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Jeff Bohren, Chief Software Engineer, Optimal IdM will discuss, “Bridging the Protocol Gap on Cloud Identity Projects” on Mon., March 19 at 3:20 p.m. The breakout session will help attendees learn the origin of protocols and when to use them, best options to use with mobile apps, how to deal with situations outside of specifications and security concerns to consider. “Bridging the divide between newer authorization and federation protocols, such as OAuth2 and OpenID and connecting to older federation protocols like SAML2 and WS-Federation, presents some unique challenges,” said Bohren. “We will discuss those challenges and look at some practical, real-world solutions.” Bohren has over 30 years of software development and architecture experience and over 20 years of knowledge in identity management and federation. He served on several OASIS technical committees including SAML, SPML, and DSMLv2. He was the BMC Software representative to OASIS, Project Liberty, and OpenAuthentication.org. “InfoSec World 2018 brings together practitioners, researchers, and experts at every level to create an interactive forum that helps security professionals learn about the latest advances in cybersecurity and the critical threats facing their organizations,” said Katherine Teitler, Director of Content, MISTI. “We are especially pleased with the content that will be presented at this year’s conference and are proud to have Optimal IdM join our program lineup. The knowledge, experience, and strategies shared will be invaluable to InfoSec World attendees.” InfoSec World 2018 features expert keynote addresses, stimulating panel discussions and interactive roundtables, hands-on tech labs, as well as informative breakout sessions. Additionally, pre- and post-conference workshops and summits on CISO Leadership, Cloud Security, and Privacy and Risk are scheduled. To top it off, this gathering provides a rare opportunity for information security professionals to network in an intimate yet vibrant setting, with more than 1,000 attendees from a range of industries, professional backgrounds, and countries. ...

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By Katherine Teitler of INFOSEC INSIDER Read how our own Jeff Bohren got into identity access management via way of a Master’s Degree in aerospace engineering. Jeff will be presenting a breakout session entitled, “Bridging the Protocol Gap on Cloud Identity Projects” at the InfoSec World Conference in Orlando, Florida, March 19-21, 2018. ...

LDAP Virtual Directories, such as Optimal IdM’s Virtual Identity Server (VIS), are not a brand new technology. Instead, they have been around for many years. They have quietly solved business issues without much fanfare or publicity. Only recently, has the topic of LDAP Virtual Directories hit the mainstream. In fact, just a few years ago, it was nearly impossible to find Virtual Directory sessions at industry conferences, while this year’s Directory Experts Conference and Digital ID World conference had several sessions on the topic. This is good news for CIO’s, IT managers and companies in general as the benefits and use cases of Virtual Directories become better known. ...

Optimal IdM, a leading provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, today announced it has received OpenID Connect (OIDC) certifications Basic OP and Implicit OP for The OptimalCloud, strengthening security, compatibility and performance for its customers. OpenID Connect Certification is a program that enables organizations to certify that their OpenID Connect implementations conform to specified profiles of the OpenID Connect standard. The certification program is a tool to ensure that implementations by different parties will successfully interoperate. The OpenID Foundation is a non-profit organization that manages the efforts to increase adoption of the OpenID standard across the web. ...

If you are reading this you have heard of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and are concerned whether it applies to you. Since it applies to all European Union citizens, no matter where they are located in the world, it is very likely that it does. The question of enforceability, especially if you don’t have an EU presence, is a different issue. But most multi-national companies are following the requirements down to their supply chain, so if you are not compliant, you may find business opportunities drying up. The first step to compliance is to understand your data. You need to do an exercise called data mapping. Data mapping for GDPR is not the same as matching up database schemes. It is more like a data inventory and it is a fundamental requirement for your privacy compliance strategy. How can you protect something if you don’t know that you have it? In data mapping, you act as a journalist, analyzing your data flows, and answering the five W’s of reporting; Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Data mapping can benefit your business in other ways too, such as identifying key data sources, eliminating duplicate data stores, and consolidating data to provide for a smarter use. The healthcare industry went through similar efforts fifteen years ago with the advent of HIPAA. ...

Identity management vendors offer systems designed to link on-premises and cloud user authentication systems. A cohesive identity management system is often the first place a business starts to address hybrid cloud security challenges. Read more! ...