Independent Study Links Rise in Remote Workforce with Considerable Security Risk in Post-COVID Era

83% of survey respondents report the rise in remote workers increases the risk of a security incident

The expanded attack surface due to the remote workforce requires comprehensive PIM capabilities to protect privileges across accounts, endpoints, and access pathways

BeyondTrust, the worldwide leader in Privileged Access Management (PAM), released the results of a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of BeyondTrust titled, “Evolving Privileged Identity Management (PIM) In the Next Normal,” November 2020. The study was commissioned to evaluate PIM challenges in the “new normal” created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The online survey was conducted with 320 IT and security decision makers in North America, Europe, and Asia.

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed an immediate and massive shift to a remote workforce. This created new vulnerabilities by expanding organizations’ attack surfaces. The pandemic has created a situation where virtually all remote employees need privileged access to perform their jobs and has hastened the “identity as the new perimeter” paradigm.

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This survey uncovers the requirements for creating a secure remote workforce that protects the business with PIM in the post-COVID era. Key findings include:

The impact of COVID-19 on the acceleration of the remote workforce

• 91% forecasted increase in size of remote workforce, versus 45% before the pandemic
• 53% of US workers reported wanting to w************* more, even after the pandemic is over

The inadequacy of perimeter-based network security and legacy remote access technologies, like VPN, in securing remote workers

• 83% believe the increase in remote workers increases the risk of a security incident
• 47% rank “Preparing for an Increasingly Remote Workforce” as a Top 5 security priority for 2021

A comprehensive PIM solution mitigates threats by protecting privileges across accounts, endpoints, and access pathways

• 91% of respondents agree that PIM plays a crucial role in securing remote workers
• 86% of respondents say their organizations will invest more in PIM over the next two years to address the risks related to remote working
• 56% report that improved IT administration efficiencies are the top benefit of PIM

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“The findings of this global survey confirm the fact that the pandemic has accelerated the borderless enterprise and brings identity to the forefront of the new perimeter,” states Morey Haber, CTO and CISO at BeyondTrust. “To protect their assets, enterprises must secure their data throughout their IT estate. This requires comprehensive PIM solutions that enable uncompromised access to applications and data from anywhere, by any user or device.”

The definition of who requires privileged access can no longer be reserved for IT administrators; it must include use cases related to remote working. Having robust access controls allows employees to conduct their jobs wherever they are, without incurring risk. PIM strategies must go beyond traditional password management and include a holistic approach, including endpoint privilege management and secure remote access.

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