Step 5: Protect Identities, Not Gateways
Digital certificates are the proven means of securing an identity. Traditionally a complex and expensive system, certificates are now available from many vendors that provide them to organizations more cost-effectively via the cloud.
A cloud-based service can deliver a company-owned certificate, an Internet-based certificate, or a government-generated certificate into any form of credential that will protect an identity based on whichever standard is adopted by the user.
An identity can be used across different environments using the same technology. The significant advantage to this method is that it removes the proliferation of passwords, duplication of identities, and counterfeiting of goods. A digital certificate cannot be copied, altered, or transplanted from a credential.
From protecting your log-on across multiple sites to encrypting your email and hard disk, embrace multifactor authentication to avoid being the next victim.