Enterprise identity environments are built to manage access for human identities. With the growing adoption of autonomous AI agents, however, that may no longer be enough to ensure digital security. In current environments, even if an enterprise can trace which account an action originated from, there may still be ambiguity…
Phishing-resistant authenticators offer stronger security, but they can still protect the wrong person. When a threat actor defeats identity verification during onboarding, an otherwise strong access management workflow can still grant unauthorized access. If a threat actor bypasses authentication by exploiting account recovery, the system may bind a replacement factor…
Identity lifecycle management is the coordinated process of creating a digital identity, verifying what it represents, granting appropriate access, maintaining data, monitoring its use, recovering control, and retiring it. Managing the entire identity lifecycle is important because an account can be correctly provisioned and still become unsafe later. Devices can…
The biggest risk with knowledge-based authentication (KBA) is that personal history is not a durable secret. Public records, data brokers, social profiles, prior compromises, and information shared across households can expose or narrow the expected answers. Dynamic questions can avoid some weaknesses of fixed security questions, but they still depend…
Identity security programs tend to protect login more carefully than the paths around it. That leaves identity threat vectors exposed during proofing, account recovery, authenticator enrollment, active sessions, delegated application access, and high-risk transactions. An attacker does not need to defeat the strongest control if another workflow can establish the…
An employee receives a text message warning about unusual activity on a company account. They reply that they don’t recognize it. Minutes later, someone claiming to work in IT calls, references the alert, and guides the employee through an account security process. Was the attack smishing or vishing? It was…
Identity weaknesses played a material role in almost 90% of the 750-plus incidents Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 investigated in 2025, with 65% of initial access driven by identity-based attacks. This was not solely because those organizations lacked multi-factor authentication (MFA) or security training. Rather, attackers…
The identity and access management (IAM) ecosystem now spans at least six functional categories, and the relationships between those categories matter more than any single product decision. Security teams evaluating their IAM architecture need to understand where coverage gaps emerge between categories and what questions to ask before consolidating or…
This blog examines how traditional identity verification and access management controls are increasing risk for state and local government agencies. It also explains how identity threat detection and risk mitigation can strengthen existing defenses and better protect public sector systems.Â
With compromised credentials now reported as the most common attack vector, Identity and Access Management (IAM) has become central to enterprise cybersecurity. This guide outlines 6 key considerations for an IAM program to succeed.