![Forging the Future at Machine Identity Security Summit [Day 1 Recap] - cover graphic](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.venafi.com%2F994513b8-133f-0003-9fb3-9cbe4b61ffeb%2F121e2066-7481-4425-9d2a-548c1903a7a8%2FSummit-blog_Post_1728x740.png%3Fw%3D864%26h%3D370%26fm%3Dwebp%26q%3D75%26fit%3Dcrop&w=3840&q=75&dpl=dpl_3EAuLccmwaq4KZ9GcZftJq5NbwLA){kind=small}
At day one of Machine Identity Security Summit 2024, we heard why forging the future of cybersecurity forces us to think bigger. Identity security is the future. And we need to evolve our machine identity management strategies to support the larger category of machine identity security. As Venafi joins forces with CyberArk, as announced yesterday, we’re accelerating our path to the future of cybersecurity by strengthening our foundation in machine identity management and improving machine identity security around the globe.
Two influential leaders. One vision.
In his keynote address, Venafi CEO Emeritus Jeff Hudson spoke about how Venafi, now a CyberArk company, is uniquely qualified to take the machine component of identity security to exciting new levels for the world’s leading organizations. He then invited CyberArk CEO Matt Cohen to share the amazing advantages of being able to manage all identity security from one unified platform. The unique ability to secure identities across the workforce, IT, developers and machines is a game changer for organizations who are rapidly evolving to future-proof their identity security. After all, identity is the foundation of security across the modern, innovative and connected enterprise.
Both speakers warned that developers are folks with the most privilege in any organization. And they agreed that that’s why it’s important that every identity is served up with the right level of privilege—through end-to-end identity security.
Then, in a candid conversation with Jeff Hudson and Ricardo Lafosse, CISO at Kraft Heinz, Ricardo emphasized the importance of elevating the role of CISO. You can’t just be viewed as a “Firewall Jockey.” You need to earn a seat at the table by elevating security to participate in higher-level risk-based conversations. He closed with a discussion of why identity is the foundation of zero trust.
The vital role machine identities play in identity security strategy
In this year’s product keynote, Setu Kulkarni, Venafi VP of Product Management and Shivajee Samdarshi, Venafi Chief Product Officer were joined by Amy Blackshaw, VP, of Product Marketing at CyberArk. Together, they shared why the technology that has propelled Venafi into global leadership in machine identity management is extremely complementary with the CyberArk suite of solutions for identity security. Given the number of machine identity problems that organizations must solve for multiplied by the growing number of types of machines and machine identities creates an unacceptable amount of risk and complexity.
The best way to reduce that risk and complexity? “Provide a Unified Control Plane for Machine Identity Security that delivers the most modern, most trusted and most connected capabilities for automating secure access between machines regardless of their execution environment.”
Insights on machine identity security trends
Katie Norton, Research Manager, DevSecOps and Software Supply Chain Security at IDC, shared her insights on why, as organizations increasingly rely on interconnected systems and automated processes, the security of machine identities has become a critical component of a robust cybersecurity strategy. Katie shared data and perspectives on the growth, types and complexity of machine identities. Katie also shared why those trends will very soon be compounded by “future” factors, such as AI, short-lived certificates, and quantum computing—which will be here sooner than we think.
How do we address these challenges? “Organizations must adopt machine identity tools that enable enforcement of least-privilege and automate the lifecycle of ALL machine identities and their credentials across environments and teams.”
Conclusion
After a full day of breakout sessions that illuminated the most pressing issues in machine identity security, I felt that attendees left the panoramic views of Boston’s State Room excited about the expansive possibilities that Venafi and CyberArk hold for the future of machine identity security. Check back for a recap of tomorrows sessions.