Being a business owner means that you will be under a lot of stress and a seemingly endless list of tasks on a daily basis. As your business grows, the number of cryptographic keys that you use will also increase. This goes to say that at one point, you will probably switch to a key management system that is suited for the needs of your business. You will not have to worry about your assets being exposed with a reliable key management system, especially if you get one that?s customized so that it fits your company?s needs. Here?s what you can get if you decide to implement one such system:
Lower costs over a longer time period
Let?s start with the most obvious one ? a good key management system is far from cheap, so how can it help you lower your costs? To put it simply, a good system will significantly lower the risk of managing keys within your organization. In big companies, key mismanagement is a common occurrence, resulting in managers and bosses having to find and replace them. An easy way to end this and save money, in the long run, is to install a key management system. By doing so, you will improve your employees? productivity and reduce your business? overall expenses because you won?t have to replace them as often.
Defines specific roles and responsibilities
It doesn?t matter where the system is located ? it will be able to define separate and specific roles as well as responsibilities for all of our employees. This means that no matter how many keys are being used in your company, each and every one will have its own profile. As a business owner, you will be able to allocate all of your skilled personnel effectively. Not only that but you will be able to focus on your work and mission without having to think about a series of everyday mundane and repetitive tasks.
Easily revoke access
Waiting for a former employer to return their keys is always stressful because you never know whether there?s been a copy made, which is why storing keys in electronic cabinets is a great way to increase security measures. The number of electronic key cabinets in Australia and the US is on the rise especially because of these measures. Before an employee retrieves a key from the cabinet, they will have to enter a PIN or a serial number first. As their employer and the business owner, you will be able to quickly and easily revoke a person?s access to the cabinet in case of emergency.
Flexible deployment options
A lot of organizations with prominent IT infrastructures are often facing a big dilemma: should they maintain their key management applications on-site, or should they use a remote datacenter and instead, move it to the cloud. Before you make your decision, consider the following: you will certainly want to ensure that the solution you choose will work perfectly in any of these environments. If it does, it?s another layer of security to your investment. When you pick onboard key storage over remote one, your company will not be as flexible in the deployment department because you will be tied to the storage platform. An external key, on the other hand, will allow you to manage and store your keys regardless of the environment.
Less chance of an error
Because all of your crypto keys are taken care of by a system, you will not have to be afraid of somebody accidentally making a mistake that could result in a security breach. Not only do key management systems control all of the crypto keys that are used in your company, but they are also able to create and distribute them automatically too. Regardless of the number of disparate systems you are using, all keys are handled automatically, with as little human intervention as possible. Seeing as there aren?t many chances to commit an error, the number of risk exposures is also significantly reduced this way too.
Better management of the key lifecycle
There has to be at least some level of centralized policy as well as control in your key management system. Once you create the key and have encrypted the data, you shouldn?t think that it?s all there is and forget about it. Instead, you should be able to do several more things, commonly referred to as the key lifecycle:
- Key activation and de-activation
- Key rotation (to make sure the content on the key is updated as needed)
- Key retirement
- Key generation
- Key destruction (when required)
Your company should be able to do all these with a good key lifecycle management strategy which will greatly simplify and improve everyday tasks.
Keep an eye on temp workers better
As a business owner, you probably aren?t able to offer permanent positions to everyone on your team. If you have a lot of contract employees working for you, or you outsource labor often, an electronic key system is a lifesaver. Everyone working for you needs key access, but not everyone should have it to the same extent. The perfect example would be a second-shift crew of cleaners who need access to highly-sensitive spaces. With electronic keys, you can allow them access to such places, but you can program them to expire at a certain time, thus ensuring that nobody can use their keys for anything other than their contract jobs. Access expiration dates are easily set on different keys, and keys of temp workers can be programmed in such a way, that they can access a specific secure box or a cabinet.
Even though key management systems can be a challenge to maintain, with a reliable one you can rest assured that your company will be well protected. One of the reasons why you should make sure that the keys and their related components are properly managed is the fact that any security breach can be a huge threat to your company?s confidential information. These are just some of the reasons why you should consider investing in a great key management system for your business.
