In my recent post, I discussed how in today’s world, identity is ubiquitous – it reaches into almost everything we touch, while identity theft and fraud have become near constant topics in the news.

Recently, our CEO, James Litton sat down with the South Texas chapter of ISSA as part of the organization's podcast series on cybersecurity. Their conversation covered a wide range of security and identity and access management (IAM) topics, including identity and the Internet of Things, the future of passwords, contingent workers, IAM and the cloud, and much more.

Over the past two decades, my work in information technology has exposed me to home end users, as well as corporate environments of every shape and size, throughout most sectors of the industry. These experiences have provided a unique perspective into the struggles that individuals and organizations face regarding personal information and proper user identity and data management.

It is a challenging reality of the retail sector that employees are traditionally the weakest link to deterring digital security threats, such as system breaches and data theft. In a complex environment where employee turnover, seasonal workers, a mobile workforce, and shifting roles are a constant challenge, protecting the organization from security threats requires a vigilant approach to access and identity governance.

According to Statista, the market for identity and access management is expected to grow to 7.1 billion dollars by the year 2018. This is up from 4.5 billion dollars in 2012; and much of this growth can be attributed to the fact that so many organizations are looking to upgrade their identity management software to better meet the security and workflow needs their company faces.

Unfortunately, there is no odometer on your current identity management solution that tells you it is time for an upgrade. Instead, knowing when you need to look at making a change can be determined by these four key factors.

Intruders Can’t Drive You Nuts If You Don’t Give Them the Keys!

*Disclaimer: This article originally appeared in the EDUCAUSE, The Inside Line, blog series. 

In higher education as in corporate America, we're witnessing a shift in employment strategies toward increased hiring of contingent workers—employees, either full-time or part-time, hired for one year or less, with a specific end date. A January 2014 report from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce called "The Just-In-Time Professor" states that 50% of university workers are now adjunct or nontenured faculty, a substantial increase from only 20% in 1970.

Earlier this year, James Litton, our CEO, appeared on Texas Business Radio, the syndicated radio show that features leading businesses, people, and events from the Texas business world.

From seasonal employees to specialized contract workers, employment of contingent workers has dramatically increased in recent years. With 46% of businesses adding contingent workers in 2015, this workforce has proven to be resourceful, necessary, and here to stay.  While there are clear benefits to this type of employment, there are also major security risks if the access of these employees is not properly managed.

The breaches of Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center and the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have been hot topics in the last month. Hollywood Presbyterian because it’s so fresh in our minds and the OPM because of the fallout resulting from it, including House Oversight Committee hearings and the (forced) resignation of its CIO.