IBM Security Expands Multifactor Authentication Integrations

IBM Security has expanded its partnership with other security firms, in an effort to get more multifactor authentication (MFA) technology into the hands of its customers.

The expansion of IBM Security’s partner ecosystem is a direct result of the growing number of data breaches, and the fact that passwords alone are no longer enough to secure personal data.

Multifactor authentication (MFA) technologies such as hardware-based tokens, biometrics and mobile authentication are now seen as the best way to combat the huge amount of personal data now held by cybercriminals around the world.

Multifactor Authentication

The fact that cybercriminals now have a wealth of personal data means that they stand a greater chance of cracking the humble password. And countless surveys have shown that most people’s password security regime is very weak, hence the growing uptake of multifactor authentication.

Indeed IBM Security points out that organisations are increasingly turning to ‘different types of authentication methods’ to find the right balance of tech to allow for the holy grail of security, privacy and user experience across different scenarios.

It cited a SecureAuth survey from 2016 that found that 93 percent of organisations are now using MFA.

“The future of authentication hinges on an organisation’s ability to adapt and combine authentication methods based on risk,” said IBM security, as it announced the fact that new partner integrations for IBM Security Access Manager are available via the IBM Security App Exchange.

These integrations with four leading edge authentication providers are being offered because IBM Security admits that managing and integrating the wide variety of MFA options is no easy feat.

Big Blue thus hopes to provide customers with easy access to more MFA technologies via IBM Security Access Manager (ISAM).

Easy Integration

“The new Authentication section of the App Exchange will feature apps from industry leading partners including BuyPass, DualAuth, Imageware and Yubico,” said IBM.

ISAM it should be remembered is the single platform that allows firms to centralise their access management across the web, mobile and cloud technologies. It already comes pre-integrated with its own in-house mobile multifactor authentication capability (IBM Verify), but now the new MFA applications from these partners can be integrated with IBM Security Access Manager via prebuilt connectors.

“Stronger collaboration between security providers in the IAM space is critical in helping our joint customers adopt stronger authentication options that go beyond the password, and ensuring that these technologies are integrated in a way that is both simple and secure,” said IBM.

Multifactor authentication has been around for a while now and it has been adopted by many technology firms including Microsoft, Twitter and Apple, to name but a few.

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