The cybersecurity industry has seen radical changes over the past year–changes that may alter the trajectory of the industry. 

In partnership with analyst firm Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), today Keeper announces Information Security and Compliance Future Trends 2024, a report that analyzes recent research and industry data to highlight key shifts in the cybersecurity industry and offer insights into current trends and future directions.

As the cybersecurity landscape evolves, organizations must adapt to emerging trends and technologies to effectively protect against evolving threats. In this blog post, we’ll explore current and anticipated trends related to Identity and Access Management (IAM), Privileged Access Management (PAM) and zero trust.

In addition to IAM, PAM and zero trust, the Information Security and Compliance Future Trends 2024 report explores trends and insights related to AI security, API security, data security/privacy, endpoint and email security, network security, regulatory compliance, SIEM/Observability, and Extended Detection and Response (XDR). 

Download the Information Security and Compliance Future Trends 2024 report to learn more.

IAM and PAM trends

IAM is a comprehensive framework and set of technologies designed to manage digital identities, control user access to systems and resources, and ensure that the right individuals have the appropriate level of access within an organization’s IT environment. PAM focuses specifically on securing and managing elevated or privileged access within an organization. 

IAM and PAM technologies work together to establish a robust and secure access management framework. IAM focuses on managing user identities and their access to resources, while PAM specifically addresses the unique security challenges associated with privileged accounts and elevated access within an organization’s IT infrastructure.

EMA reports Google search interest in IAM and PAM increased from 2019 through 2023, indicating that organizations and individuals recognize the importance of access controls. This aligns with our recent research on the criticality of PAM: 91% of IT leaders shared that their PAM product has given them more control over privileged user activity, decreasing the risk of potentially devastating insider and external breaches.

As emerging technology intensifies existing attack vectors and creates new threats, the stakes are higher than ever for IT and security leaders. According to our recent Insights Report, 95% of IT and security leaders believe cyber attacks are more sophisticated than ever before. Despite the evolving threat landscape, the fundamental rules of protecting an organization in the digital age remain relevant. Integrating solutions that prevent the most prevalent cyber attacks, including password management and PAM solutions, creates a layered security approach that stands the test of time.

At Keeper, we provide everything organizations need for a comprehensive IAM strategy: Single Sign-On (SSO) integration; PAM; and a password manager with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Role Based Access Controls (RBAC) and other security measures, including monitoring of end-user behavior for unusual login activity. We deliver this through our zero-trust KeeperPAM™ solution, which unifies three essential IAM products into one unified PAM platform: Keeper Enterprise Password Manager (EPM), Keeper Secrets Manager (KSM) and Keeper Connection Manager (KCM). 

Organizations prioritize cybersecurity solution consolidation

In recent EMA research, 45% of organizations cited tool consolidation as the most important factor when considering investments in new tools. This trend is expected to become the norm, as organizations continue to seek more simplified solutions to replace their existing cybersecurity and IT tools. Our recent research revealed that 84% of IT leaders wanted to simplify their PAM solution in 2023, highlighting this industry desire for simpler, consolidated tools.

Traditional PAM products are expensive, difficult to deploy and difficult to use – creating barriers to adoption. The industry needs modern, unified PAM solutions that address perimeterless, multi-cloud IT environments and distributed remote workforces. 

To address this need, Keeper developed KeeperPAM. 

KeeperPAM provides a range of benefits including being:

• Cost-effective: Fewer products to purchase and easier for IT to manage with fewer people.
• Fast provisioning: Seamlessly deploys and integrates with any tech or identity stack in a few hours.
• Easy to use: Unified admin console and modern UI for every employee on all devices – average training is less than two hours.
• Provides pervasive visibility: Simplifies auditing and compliance with organization-wide role-based access control, event logging and reporting.
• Built with world-class security: Keeper enables zero-trust transformation and is zero knowledge, relegating all encryption key management to the client.

To see KeeperPAM in action, request your demo today.

In addition to being cost-effective, easy to implement and engaging for end users, PAM solutions must provide essential functionality with zero-trust and zero-knowledge security.

Zero-trust approach drives security innovation

Zero trust is a cybersecurity approach centered on the principle of distrust by default, requiring continuous verification and validation for any access to resources within a network. Unlike traditional perimeter-based security models, zero trust assumes that threats exist both inside and outside the network. It emphasizes strict access controls and authentication measures, requiring users and devices to undergo rigorous verification before accessing any resources. 

In a survey conducted by EMA on organizations’ preparations for zero-trust initiatives, 62% of respondents indicated they were starting a zero-trust journey. The demand for zero-trust solutions and methodologies will increase alongside adoption efforts. 

Keeper’s cybersecurity platform enables zero-trust security and compliance by unifying enterprise password management, secrets management and privileged connection management – all built on Keeper’s proprietary zero-knowledge encryption model.

Zero trust is a philosophy that will drive security innovation for the foreseeable future. 

Keeper adopted zero trust and zero knowledge as foundational design and architecture principles from day one. Zero trust holds the potential to completely revolutionize the future of the cybersecurity industry and fundamentally change how information systems work and communicate, and Keeper is at the forefront of that revolution.

Continued transformation in cybersecurity

The cybersecurity industry is poised for continued innovation and transformation. Organizations that adapt to these changes will be better positioned to safeguard their assets and data against emerging threats and cyber attacks. Deploying PAM solutions and adopting a zero-trust approach is critical for organizations to strengthen their security posture and mitigate risks in an increasingly complex tech and business landscape. 

Download the Information Security and Compliance Future Trends 2024 report to learn more.