Prepared by
Dr. Edward Amoroso
Chief Executive Officer, TAG Infosphere Inc.
Research Professor, NYU
Introduction
The cybersecurity risk of having single points of failure (SPOF) in an IT infrastructure should be pretty obvious to any enterprise security practitioner. That is, if some malicious adversary can create serious problems by simply targeting a single process, single function, or other single entity, then the likelihood of success for an attack campaign increases considerably.
SaaS-based Identity and access management (IAM) usage, as evidenced by the deployment of tools such as Okta, is a great example of the type of essential IT infrastructure component that bad actors will target. When the IAM system for an enterprise is broken or degraded, for example, then the business is probably also broken. IAM is thus a great target for cyber threats.
For this reason, the motivation to create good strategies to mitigate the existence of single points of failure (SPOF) is high – and represents the purpose and topic addressed in this article. Below we present three such strategies, differentiated at a high level, and organized based on the broad management, technical, and operational steps involved in implementation.
Three Strategies
The three strategies we propose below are designed to help practitioners approach the problem of preventing SPOFs from causing serious issues in the achievement of the local enterprise mission. We restrict our focus to SPOFs that are part of SaaS IAM infrastructure versus those associated with adjacent services such as power or facility services.
Strategy 1: Establish Redundancy and Failover
The first approach we recommend that enterprise security teams consider involves the establishment of redundancy and failover mechanisms. This will be especially useful for SaaS IAM components such as Okta. Redundancy could involve creating duplicate components or systems that can seamlessly take over if the primary system fails.
In the context of IAM, this might mean deploying multiple instances across geographically diverse data centers. In the event of a serious failure or outage in one location, the redundant instance can continue to provide essential identity and access services, ensuring uninterrupted user access.
Failover mechanisms complement redundancy by automating the process of switching from a failed component to a redundant one. The most secure and cost-effective strategy, however, would involve working with a commercial partner that specializes in establishing good cyber resiliency, and IAM resilience vendor Acsense is a great commercial option.
Strategy 2: Develop Distributed and Multi-factor Authentication Architectures
A second approach that can mitigate SPOFs in IT architectures, and IAM systems in particular, would involve implementing distributed and multi-factor authentication (MFA) solutions. By diversifying the authentication methods and spreading them across various systems and factors, the system becomes less reliant on a single point for user verification.
For instance, Okta can integrate with multiple authentication providers, including biometric scanners, smart cards, and mobile authentication apps. Such diversity is critically important as enterprise teams continue to replace their perimeter controls with a more identity-focused virtual perimeter.
In addition, enforcing MFA ensures that users must provide at least two forms of authentication (e.g., something they know, something they have, or something they are), thus reducing the risk of unauthorized access, even if one factor fails. In such cases, just as in the previous case, partnership with a cyber resiliency vendor such as Acsense will help to ensure SPOF avoidance.
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Strategy 3: Provide for Continuous Monitoring
The third approach we recommend for SPOF avoidance involves continuous monitoring and establishment of good disaster recovery plans. Cyber resilience in IAM systems is not only about preventing SPOFs but also about being prepared for them. Continuous monitoring and well-defined disaster recovery plans are crucial in this regard.
Continuous monitoring involves real-time tracking of system performance and security events. In the case of Okta, it can include monitoring for unusual login patterns, unauthorized access attempts, or abnormal resource usage. Early detection of potential issues allows for proactive measures to be taken before a failure occurs.
As with the previous two strategies, we like the idea here of establishing a sound base of IAM resilience through partnership with a vendor such as Acsense. Readers interested in initiating a source selection process in this area, including obtaining more detailed information on vendors such as acsense, can contact TAG for assistance.
About TAG
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