Many Global 2000 companies are suffering from serious security vulnerabilities and operational inefficiencies because of a lack of secure identity management, according to a new study by Stanford University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The study found that nearly half of the companies surveyed take longer than two days -- and many longer than two weeks -- to revoke the network access of terminated employees, and that implementing secure identity management can drive down helpdesk costs by more than US$1mil (RM3.8mil) annually, Novell Inc said in a statement.

The study, Exploring Secure Identity Management in Global Enterprises, was sponsored by Novell's worldwide services organisation to explore the key business drivers for secure identity management, as well as obstacles to its adoption.

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