Agency IT leaders see IAM essential to security, but lag on implementation

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Three-quarters of state and local government IT officials say the ability to automate the management of identity access management (IAM) is essential to their IT security. However only 28 percent of state IT officials — and 15 percent at the local level — are fully or partially operational with IAM solutions at their agencies, according to a new survey.

That gap could become more pronounced over the next year as the demand for modern IAM solutions grows. Among agencies considered "mainstream" technology adopters, 59 percent of executives expect to support more internal applications — and 45 percent expect to support more citizen-facing applications — a year from now. 

One in four respondents said their agency manages more than 30 applications for employees; seven in 10 said they support five or more citizen-facing applications.

As agencies increase the number of applications used by employees and citizens, the greater the chance of users falling into poor password practices, heightening the risk for data breaches, the report warned. The study, The Growing Need for Identity and Access Management Tools in State and Local Government, was produced by StateScoop and underwritten by Okta.

Roughly half of state and local government respondents reported their agencies have yet to begin implementing single sign-on technology, which reduces the risk of poor password practices where multiple applications are available.

One of the most alarming findings showed that authenticating and disabling user access is currently taking much longer than it should.

One in six respondents said it currently takes four hours or more to disable user access privileges, suggesting agencies face continued risk of data exfiltration by departing employees. Meanwhile, one in four respondents reported it takes four hours or more to activate new users, indicating a missed opportunity to onboard new employees and contractors quickly and improve users experience.

The report concludes with recommended steps agencies can take to better secure their IT environments.

StateScoop is the leading media brand in the state and local government IT market. StateScoop gathers top leaders from across government, academia and the tech industry to discuss ways technology can improve government.

Contact:
Wyatt Kash
[email protected]

SOURCE StateScoop

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