PKI Thriving as Authentication and Authorisation Technology
Survey from Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) Ubizen reveals 84% of respondents use or plan to use digital certificates
A survey* conducted by Ubizen, the principal provider of Managed Security Solutions (MSS) for global businesses, has revealed that 84% of respondents are using digital certificates or plan to do so, contradicting reports that the technology is dead. The majority of organisations see digital certificates as an effective means to secure web servers (77%) and authenticate and authorise users (70%). Other popular uses for the technology noted in the survey include securing email and VPNs.
Implementation remains a concern, nearly half the respondents (47%) cited the complex administrative and organisational procedures needed to establish and maintain a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) as a significant deterrent to implementing the technology, but increasingly companies are turning to outsourcing to overcome these challenges. 40% of respondents outsource (or plan to) the monitoring and management of the security infrastructure that ensures PKI is used and working effectively.
“While digital certificates are widely accepted as the most secure way to fulfill security needs such as authentication, confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation, investing in the infrastructure needed to create these certificates has proven to be complex and expensive – not to mention a barrier to adoption,” said Bart Vansevenant, Director of European Security Strategies. “Outsourced and co-sourced solutions deliver a cost-effective way for companies to add additional security through identity management. In addition, co-sourced PKI can offer another layer of strategic security review for the customer and allow enterprises to focus on their core business.”
A recently published report by Forrester Research showed that Europe’s managed IT security market will grow to Euro 4.6 billion in 2008. Demand for IT security services is increasing because enterprises are finding it more and more difficult to find the skills internally to deal with an increasingly volatile IT security environment. With EU approval of digital signatures, Forrester expects managed PKI certificates to grow rapidly at a compound annual growth rate of 52%, reaching Euro 1.1 billion in 2008.
With Ubizen OnlineGuardian Certificate Management, Ubizen has invested in a managed PKI service that is well received by the market. It powers the Belpic project that provides an electronic identity card to each Belgian citizen over a period of five years. Ubizen OnlineGuardian Certificate Management generates and manages the digital certificates that are stored on the e-ID cards.
The full findings of the Ubizen survey can be downloaded at www.ubizen.com/securitysurvey
About Ubizen
Ubizen(r) is the principal provider of Managed Security Solutions for global businesses.
Companies rely on Ubizen OnlineGuardian(r) services to manage, monitor and support security devices 24x7x365. Ubizen’s Professional Services complement Ubizen OnlineGuardian managed services, by helping enterprises plan and implement security policies and infrastructures. Ubizen is also pioneering solutions for Application Security. For more information visit www.ubizen.com.