Access Chaos the Hidden Security Trend in 2022

Bryan Jones, CTO (March 14, 2022) – In my regular discussions with customers, partners, and other vendors, I’m often looking for emerging trends and tailwinds that will drive the next cycle in the industry. As COVID-19 swept the globe over the last 2 years it rapidly transformed business operations and security priorities in the process. Since then, the world has been constantly adapting to a “new normal,” and it will come as no surprise that consensus is difficult to find in 2022.

In this article, I will talk about four key trends I see driving the industry in the first half of this year.

RETURNING TO THE WORKPLACE

This month we have seen the majority of the NASDAQ listed companies reintroduce a return to work policy. It is not surprising that each policy is different and that they are creating confusion and panic among employees. Creating a different policy is entirely justifiable because many businesses, even in the same industry, operate differently and have different risks.

What is common though is an entirely new set of macro challenges that all businesses are facing. It is changing month by month and is creating chaos for those responsible for the safety, security, and compliance of people and facilities.

Both of these areas are sweet spots for RightCrowd solutions. Our solutions are highly configurable and offer customers the opportunity to lock-in safety, security and compliance, embedding their own policy and regulatory requirements. Our suite of Intelligent Workplace Access solutions is designed to get companies back in control of this area.

WORK FROM HOME – WORK FROM ANYWHERE – HYBRID WORKING

Knowledge Workers are increasingly reluctant to return to the office after 2 years of working remotely. The consensus across companies is the productivity of remote workers is mixed, but almost universally employees are favoring companies that allow this. Many have made decisions to relocate, retire, or switch companies based on the remote working policies of employers. 

This trend aligns strongly with our RightCrowd Access Analytics and RightCrowd Presence Control offerings. As people leave organizations, how do you ensure that they no longer have access to all systems? RightCrowd solves this. As people may only come into the building four times a year how do you ensure they should be in the physical place they are? RightCrowd solves this as well.

THE GREAT RESIGNATION

Staff turnover across the United States is higher than average and currently sitting at 33% per annum compared to 28% in 2019. The “Big Tech” companies are seeing tenure for skilled workers down below 18 months. The fact that many people have never met their colleagues in person or been into an office is further eroding cultural bonds, loyalty, and tenure.

A hidden risk in this mix is the processing of access for joiners, movers, and leavers. Even in large companies it is still performed with a combination of manual and automated procedures. The sheer volume of transactions and the lack of integration ensures that terminated employees still have access well after they resigned, and that many current employees have inappropriate access for their current role. We call this Access Chaos^TM, and solving this is a strength at RightCrowd.

ACCESS CHAOS AND INSIDER THREAT

A 2022 industry survey identified that 32% of executive respondents’ biggest challenge was “Insider Threat Management”. What is absolutely compelling is that many current industry-standard processes and systems continue to create and compound Access Chaos^TM and Insider Threat.  

The Vice President of Digital Transformation at a major bank recently laid it out very simply for me:

• I have 4 times more people in my security system than I have current employees
• People have worked from home for 2 years and with changing roles and schedules I can’t tell whether their access is correct or not
• We didn’t plan for this – we know the solution is a complete reset of the access system database, but this will take years and capital that I didn’t plan for
• I know I have a problem but we just cannot see where to start

Overwhelmingly I see that many of the business requirements accelerated by the pandemic have compounded previously hidden access risks for security departments. Once somebody is enabled with physical access, companies of every size struggle to identify and manage inappropriate access, particularly during times of great change. We created RightCrowd Access Analytics because we knew there was a way to get security teams back in control of their security environment and create market conditions to position RightCrowd as a leader in this space.

For more information on RightCrowd Access Analytics please contact us.