The importance of identity in cyber security was a central theme at Turku Tech Week’s Information Security Day on 4 March 2026, where Trivore’s CTO, Vesa Suontama, discussed the role of identity in a changing security landscape. His presentation focused on a key question: how is identity defined, and how can its authenticity be verified in a digital environment?
Identity determines access to critical systems
Traditional security thinking focused on protecting the network from external threats. According to Suontama, today’s operating environment more closely resembles an open bazaar, where users, systems, services and partners connect continuously. Trust can no longer rely solely on location or a single protective layer.
Identity determines who can access critical systems, with what privileges and for how long. It should therefore not be viewed as a standalone tool, but as infrastructure on which the entire security architecture is built.
Effective identity management requires continuous verification:
- authenticating the user at every login
- strictly limiting access rights
- monitoring anomalies in real time
Identity as part of national resilience
Small and medium-sized enterprises form a key part of critical supply chains. Their security decisions affect not only their own operations but the wider ecosystem. Identity management therefore plays a central role in both risk management and strategic decision-making.
Trivore develops solutions that bring identity management, strong authentication and access control together into a single, coherent architecture.
We thank the organisers, fellow speakers and all participants for an engaging event and discussion.