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150 %. The Thales survey found the pandemic ’ s effects have had a significant impact on security infrastructure , particularly on access management and authentication frameworks , pushing organizations to adopt modern security strategies like Zero Trust to support the demands of a more mobile and remote workforce .
Era of Remote Working – Concerns catalyze change
According to the index , respondents have many different systems deployed for remote access . When asked about the technologies that were in place , VPN was the most common , with 55 % ( AU ) and 63 % ( NZ ) of IT professionals identifying the capability .
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure , cloud-based access and Zero Trust network access / software defined perimeter ( ZTNA / SDP ) closely followed . However , when asked what new access technologies respondents were planning to deploy due to the pandemic , nearly half of respondents globally ( 44 %) indicated ZTNA / SDP was the top technology choice .
Thales also explored respondents ’ plans to move beyond traditional VPN environments and found that almost half of organizations expect to replace their VPN with ZTNA / SDP ( 44 % AU / 41 % NZ ), and 47 % of NZ organizations also expect to replace VPM with conditional access , while respectively 50 % ( AU ) and 49 % ( NZ ) expect to move to a Multi-Factor Authentication ( MFA ) solution .
This confirms the need for more modern , sophisticated authentication capabilities is driving change in many organizations and is perceived as a key enabler of Zero Trust security .
“ Seemingly overnight , remote access went from being an exception to the default working model for a large swath of employees . As a result , businesses are navigating a volatile and complex world , and adopting a Zero Trust model of cybersecurity will enable them to continue to conduct operations safely amidst the uncertainty ,” said Francois Lasnier , Vice President of Access Management solutions at Thales .
“ One of the core barriers businesses face when starting their Zero Trust journey is the balance between locking down access without interrupting workflow . People require access to sensitive data in order to work and collaborate and business leaders will need to ensure that a drop in productivity doesn ’ t become an unwanted side effect . The research shows that IT
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