| | OCTOBER 20208CIOReviewIN MY OPINIONREIMAGINING IDENTITY FOR A WORK-FROM-HOME WORLD By Jim Duchrame, Vice President of Identity Products, RSA SecurityTake a look at the year so far in business and technology; so much seems to have happened in a flash. Business executives and their teams have gone from commuting to the office to working from home. Gig workers are signing up in higher numbers than ever to deliver packages and people everywhere they need to go. We're all relying almost entirely on apps and websites for much of what we do in our daily lives ­ ordering food, catching the latest movies, even seeing the doctor. These changes in how we work and live have consequential implications for cybersecurity in general, and identity and authentication in particular. When so much happens virtually, gaining confidence in the identity of anyone seeking to access information or transact business becomes both challenging and critical than ever. The implications are even more consequential when you consider that these changes may not really be as sudden as they seem, nor as short-lived as we may have initially assumed. Instead, they are the continuation of fundamental trends that were already underway but now unfolding at an unprecedented pace. One example of change that's both ongoing and disruptive and requires us to rethink how we establish trust in identities is in today's workforce. We're living in a time when both the "who" and the "where" of the workforce are simultaneously transforming in ways that impact authentication and security. Even before recent global events, remote work and temporary work were already beginning to redefine the workforce for many organizations. In the RSA Digital Risk Report published at the beginning of 2020, dynamic workforce risk was consistently among the top three concerns in the future for organizations undergoing digital transformation. Workforce transformation as a part of digital transformation already existed at the time of the RSA study ­ just not yet at the scale or speed at which it continues now. World events that transpired after the RSA study was published have increased the urgency of security concerns stemming from workforce changes. One RSA customer, a major financial and insurance services firm, enabled around 7,000 employees, mostly claims adjusters, over a single Jim Duchrame
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