Embracing the Governance of Things: Expanding Identity Management to the IoT Era and Beyond

The proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT), on-premises applications, custom-developed apps, and digital certificates has transformed how we live and work. From smart devices to specialized enterprise software and secure communications, organizations face the challenge of managing and securing an ever-growing number of devices and applications. This is where the concept of the "Governance of Things" becomes essential.

The Evolving Technological Landscape

By 2030, it's estimated there will be over 50 billion connected devices globally. Organizations increasingly rely on on-premises applications and custom software to meet specific needs, often integrating them with cloud services and third-party platforms. These technologies are integral to business processes and decision-making but also pose unique challenges and expand the potential attack surface for cyber threats:

• Exponential Growth: Managing millions of devices, applications, and certificates with unique configurations.

• Diverse Protocols: IoT devices and custom apps use various communication protocols, complicating integration.

• Increased Vulnerabilities: Each connected device and application is a potential entry point for attacks. Compromised certificates can also lead to data breaches. 

• Regulatory Compliance: Navigating complex regulations like GDPR and industry-specific standards.

• Complex Certificate Management: Digital certificates require timeline renewal and revocation to avoid vulnerabilities, and can be difficult to track without centralized management. 

Limitations of Traditional Identity Governance

Traditional Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) systems focus on human user identities, struggling with scale and diversity of non-human identity types, certificate management, unique lifecycles of devices and apps, integration hurdles for on-prem and custom apps, and security risks from insufficient management. 

Introducing the Governance of Things

The "Governance of Things" extends IGA principles to encompass IoT devices, applications, and certificates, focusing on their identities, access controls, and compliance. The key components include: 

1. Identity Management: Assigning unique, verifiable identities to devices and applications using credentials and certificates.

2. Access Control Policies: Defining who or what can interact with devices and applications.

3. Lifecycle Management: Managing onboarding, maintenance, and decommissioning of machine identities securely.

4. Certificate Management: Incorporating certificate management into the broader governance framework by adopting a centralized management plane, defining clear usage policies, continuously tracking to detect issues, and automating issuance, renewal, and revocation processes.

This ultimately allows for seamless integrations, streamlined compliance and auditability with data protection measures, and improved security monitoring. 

How Natoma Can Help

Natoma offers comprehensive solutions to help organizations manage IoT devices, applications, and certificates effectively. The Natoma platform allows organizations to: 

1. Mitigate risks: Identify and resolve vulnerabilities early, and continuously monitor non-human identities for unintended behavior. 

2. Improve security: Reduce the risk and impact of unauthorized access by centralizing management or all non-human entities. 

3. Scalability: Adapt to growing numbers of devices and applications by handling large-scale environments efficiently. 

4. Operational efficiency: Provide automation and seamless integration with existing systems, streamlining processes and reducing errors. 

The Road Ahead

Implementing a Governance of Things strategy first involves understanding your organization’s current maturity and establishing a path forward:

1. Assessment: Evaluating current technologies and challenges.

2. Policy Development: Crafting tailored governance policies.

3. Solution Deployment: Integrating Natoma's tools with existing systems.

4. Training: Educating staff on new policies and tools.

5. Continuous Improvement: Adapting to new threats and regulatory changes.

To better assess your current processes and determine where to begin, you can use our Maturity Model to evaluate your organization’s current posture.

Conclusion

The rapid expansion of connected technologies presents both opportunities and challenges. A robust Governance of Things framework is essential for enhancing security, ensuring compliance, and enabling innovation. By extending IGA principles to devices, applications, and certificates—and leveraging Natoma's expertise—organizations can build a secure and efficient connected future.

Embracing the Governance of Things is not just about technology; it's about establishing trust, fostering innovation, and ensuring sustainable growth in the digital age.