Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2023. Read them in this 15th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Why Zero Trust and Authentication Will Be At The Forefront of Cybersecurity this year
As the world continues to bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic, many trends that we saw take hold, like remote and hybrid work, are
looking like they are here to stay.
2023 will also see an increase in security
technology that can be more simplified like authentication and the opportunity
for Zero Trust strategies to be further embraced. To get a sense of what to
expect we have some insights from two security experts with StrongDM.
Tim Prendergast and Justin McCarthy form StrongDM had this to say
about what we should look out for in the coming year:
Tim Prendergast, CEO, StrongDM
As we head into the new year, I
think we will see the security market continue to build toward practical
applications of zero trust philosophies, as the industry gets its feet under
itself in terms of figuring out how to talk with customers about what 'zero
trust' means and how it is supposed to work. For their part, I think customers
are reaching a tipping point of being very well-educated in this market, and I
think that will cause established companies to reposition product portfolios
into a focused 'zero trust' messaging platform, to address the customer
opportunity.
One of the biggest trends that
will absolutely continue into 2023 is the decentralization of the traditional
corporate headquarters. We have emerged from the pandemic into a new working
reality which is that the best people live where they want to live. This has
led businesses to the compromise of creating a place where they can work and be
contributing to the company's goals but also, they can be happy and have a
fulfilling personal life. I think that the cliche work-life balance that so
many people have struggled with for so long has finally gotten to a place where
it feels attainable with a decentralized workplace. No one wants a job where
they occasionally get to have a life, too. I think that's a fair expectation.
There are also other benefits to being decentralized, especially when you look
at the distribution of people in city centers, traffic is horrible and it's not
great for the environment. People being able to work from wherever they happen
to be, but still have opportunities for occasional on-site or human interaction
is the future. People want their time to be spent in meaningful ways, not just
filling seats in the office between eight and 6 p.m. I don't think that's a
reality. We have the technology to have productive conversations and get a lot
of work done. In the end, I think that's better for the economy and the planet.
It's why we've always been a remote-first business - because as a company that
sells a SaaS solution, we don't need to physically be in the same location to
build our product.
Justin McCarthy, co-founder and CTO, StrongDM
In 2023 I believe we'll see
rebellion against systems that aren't respectful with our time. Systems that
generate ample noise and minimal signal. When it comes to the demands on our
attention in 2023 and beyond, less is more.
Security technology is one area that has
been requiring too much of our attention and energy for too long. It's frustrating
because there's so much friction where it isn't necessary. There's a better way
but consumers of security technology will have to demand it and developers and
engineers have to work on it.
One small example: authentication. As we
enter into 2023 we'll look to WebAuthN, Passkeys, and other passwordless
systems to improve the user experience and reduce the burden on IT teams.
That's where we'll really start to feel the difference. And with this feeling
will come elevated expectations that then get transferred to every other aspect
of our IT systems and security environments. Hopefully, it will push us to ask
why it can't be simplified?
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