2021 GLOBAL PKI AND IOT TRENDS STUDY
Find out how organizations are using PKI and if they’re prepared for the possibilities of a more secure, connected world.
The findings are clear
The top challenges remain the same as previous years – no clear ownership, insufficient resources, and insufficient skills – but they’re more severe than ever due to the increased demands on PKI from the hybrid workforces, cloud services, machine identities, and growing IoT.
While organizations adapted in the past year, many reached the limits of their PKI technology and the skills and resources needed to manage their PKI. As we evolve toward a more connected world, the organizations that prioritize PKI will be best prepared for what’s possible. Topics of the study include:
- Trends and challenges in PKI use
- The pain of managing keys and certificates
- PKI and IoT best practices
- Global analysis
More certificates, more problems.
With increased demand for machine identities and securing hybrid workforces, it’s no surprise the average number of certificates issued by an organization’s PKI has risen 50% since 2019 – from 39,197 to 58,639. But the resources and expertise to manage those certificates are still lacking.
If your PKI can’t evolve, neither can you.
55% of respondents say the top challenge for enabling applications to utilize PKI is that their existing PKI is incapable of supporting new applications.
Securing the connected world.
47% of respondents say that IoT is the most important trend driving the deployment of applications using PKI.
PKI possibilities are endless, but your resources aren’t.
46% say their organizations lack the skills needed to utilize PKI, and only 41% of organizations have PKI specialists on staff.
Who’s in charge here?
71% of respondents say that no clear ownership is the top challenge in deploying and managing PKI for the 7th straight year, and an 8% increase from last year.
Smarter than smart cards.
40% of organizations use hardware security modules (HSMs) to manage the private keys for their root/policy/issuing CAs. The next most common method is smart cards, used by 26% of organizations.
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