Legacy Identity and Access Management (IAM) tools struggle to counterpresent current identity-focused security risks.

Legacy Identity and Access Management (IAM) tools struggle to counterpresent current identity-focused security risks.

In today's digital landscape, identity security has become a top priority for both security and C-suite leaders. A resilient foundation is built on a broad, foundational security that addresses common attack vectors and security risks.

The importance of adopting a protection-first mindset is evident, particularly in the realm of identity security. This approach requires technology that sets guardrails and rules for identities, embedding protection as an inherent feature of the identity environment. Unfortunately, many identity strategies fail due to a lack of foundational understanding, leading to reactive rather than strategic approaches.

A startling statistic reveals that 80% of security breaches involve compromised non-human identities (NHIs). This underscores the need for a proactive, strategic approach to identity security. Organizations can no longer afford to overlook the protection of their NHIs.

The complexity of containing identity risk is immense, especially at scale. However, platforms that enable an easily manageable control plane are more scalable than incremental, decentralized controls. Platforms that offer a consolidated identity security strategy, often referred to as an "identity fabric," integrate all relevant platforms, such as Access Management, Identity Governance, Privileged Access Management, and Identity Threat Detection.

The first step in implementing effective identity security is understanding who and what in the environment needs protection. This includes all accounts and resources. Organizations should focus on establishing a better security baseline, which includes implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all accounts.

High-leverage investments provide a multiplied return, reducing the urgency of solving related risks. For instance, protecting all server authentication with MFA or usage restrictions can deliver significant impact.

Current organizations are experiencing an increase in identity-based attacks, as evidenced by high-profile breaches such as the Change Healthcare Breach, Snowflake Data Breach, and incidents involving MGM and Caesars. Despite growing priorities and budgets, many organizations struggle to achieve complete identity security protection.

One common mistake organizations have made is implementing agent-based AI too quickly, leading to a lack of synchronization between business and security teams and resulting in fragmented identity management systems with too many different tools. To correct these mistakes, companies are now focusing on consolidating their identity security strategy.

Organizations should also address issues such as poor-quality passwords, uncertainty about where passwords are stored or written down, lack of rotation for non-human identities, and concerns about overprivileged accounts. These problems will be less urgent if proper authentication protection is put in place.

Lastly, organizations should plan for future investments and create a comprehensive and scalable security strategy after establishing a security baseline. By focusing on the controls that deliver the most significant impact, they can build a resilient foundation that withstands the ever-evolving threats in the digital world.

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