Identity Security

Cross-Domain Federation & Trust Architectures: Beyond Simple SSO TL;DR Simple SSO? That’s easy. Deploy Okta or Azure AD, federate your apps, users log in once, everyone’s happy. You’re done in three months and it mostly works. Real federation? That’s where things get interesting. And by “interesting,” I mean “this will take 18 months and cost way more than you budgeted.” Here’s the reality: 67% of enterprises have multiple identity domains that need federation (Gartner 2024)....

Managing Non-Human Identities at Scale: The Forgotten Attack Surface TL;DR Here’s a fun stat that should keep you up at night: non-human identities outnumber humans 45 to 1 in cloud environments (CyberArk 2024). Forty-five to one. Service accounts, API keys, bots, workload identities—all those machine credentials you barely track? Yeah, they outnumber your employees by almost 50x. And I bet you can’t name even 10% of them. The average enterprise has over 5,000 non-human identities with unclear ownership....

Identity Threat Detection & Response (ITDR) in Practice: Building Detection Systems That Actually Work TL;DR Look, I’m going to be blunt: if you’re not monitoring identity like you monitor your network, you’re already compromised—you just don’t know it yet. Here’s what’s actually happening out there. The 2023 Verizon DBIR shows 74% of breaches involve stolen credentials or social engineering. That’s not a typo. Microsoft? They’re seeing 4,000+ password attacks per second on their infrastructure....

IAM 101: Common Misconfigurations – Avoiding the Hidden Identity Traps TL;DR Misconfigured identity systems are among the most overlooked risks in cybersecurity. From unreviewed admin roles to open SSO bypasses, these missteps aren’t always malicious—but they are dangerous. In this post, we break down: The top IAM misconfigurations seen in real environments How small errors can lead to major breaches Audit and automation strategies to catch them early Lessons from recent incidents 🔍 Background I’ve audited dozens of IAM environments, and one thing is consistent: The biggest risks aren’t from what’s missing—they’re from what’s configured wrong....

When a Phished Employee Has Admin Rights TL;DR Phishing remains one of the most effective initial access methods for attackers—but the real risk begins when the compromised user has admin or privileged rights. In this post, we’ll dissect how privilege escalation turns a single click into a breach, the downstream impacts, and practical steps to contain the blast radius in your own organization. The Real-World Scenario: One Click, Total Compromise Let’s paint a picture....

TL;DR Privileged Access Management (PAM) helps you secure the accounts that matter most—those with elevated permissions and the keys to your most sensitive systems. In 2025, attackers are still targeting admin accounts, service accounts, and infrastructure consoles. This article covers: What PAM is and why it matters Real-world breaches involving privileged accounts Best practices for securing high-risk access Tools and controls to implement PAM effectively 🔍 Background In my early IAM years, I saw developers with full domain admin rights—and no session logging....

TL;DR Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) remains one of the most effective and underutilized defenses in modern cybersecurity. Despite being widely available, it’s often poorly implemented or misunderstood. In this post, we break down: Why MFA is still essential in 2025 Common MFA methods (and which to avoid) How attackers are bypassing MFA Best practices for enterprise adoption 🔍 Background Fifteen years into IAM, I’ve watched the industry shift from passwords to push prompts, biometrics, and passkeys....

TL;DR Single Sign-On (SSO) allows users to access multiple applications with just one login. It’s a cornerstone of modern IAM strategy—enhancing user experience, reducing password fatigue, and boosting productivity. But SSO done wrong can centralize risk. In this post, we cover: How SSO works (and where it fits) Benefits for security, UX, and operations SAML, OIDC, and modern federation protocols Common pitfalls and how to avoid them 🔍 Background Back in the early 2010s, most companies I worked with had users juggling 5–10 logins daily....

IAM 101: Lifecycle Management – Joiners, Movers, and Leavers Done Right TL;DR Identity Lifecycle Management (ILM) governs the entire digital identity journey—from onboarding new employees to adjusting access when they change roles, to securely deactivating accounts when they leave. This “Joiners, Movers, and Leavers” process is critical to both security and operational efficiency. When mismanaged, it leads to overprovisioned users, dormant accounts, compliance failures, and insider threats. This article breaks down the core lifecycle stages, shows how automation can fix the chaos, and offers practical strategies drawn from real enterprise deployments....

TL;DR Access control models define who can access what within your systems—and more importantly, under what conditions. The most common models—RBAC (Role-Based Access Control), ABAC (Attribute-Based Access Control), and PBAC (Policy-Based Access Control)—offer different strengths depending on your organization’s complexity, compliance needs, and operational maturity. In this post, we’ll explore each model, compare real-world use cases, and help you decide which approach fits your identity strategy. 🔍 Background In the IAM world, authorization is the engine that drives secure access—yet it’s also where things get messy....