IAM in the Cloud & SaaS Era: Tackling Shadow IT, API Sprawl, and Access Chaos

#IAM in the Cloud & SaaS Era: Tackling Shadow IT, API Sprawl, and Access Chaos TL;DR As enterprises shift further into cloud and SaaS ecosystems, identity and access management (IAM) becomes a tangled web of apps, permissions, and overlooked risks. This post outlines the top threats—like Shadow IT and API sprawl—and offers strategies to maintain control. The Identity Challenge in a Cloud-First World Modern enterprises are no longer running a single stack—they’re running hundreds....

August 20, 2025 · 4 min · Jay Klinkowsky

Breached Passwords and Modern Authentication: How Clerk Protects Your App from Known Risks

Breached Passwords and Modern Authentication: How Clerk Protects Your App from Known Risks TL;DR Using passwords found in previous breaches is like leaving your door unlocked for attackers. Developers can stop this risk cold—tools like Clerk Authentication and its competitors (Auth0, Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, and others) automatically block known breached passwords during signup and reset. Let’s break down why this matters, what the latest password dumps look like, and how you can protect your users (and your reputation) in a few lines of code....

July 30, 2025 · 5 min · Jay Klinkowsky

What Does an IAM Manager Actually Do?

What Does an IAM Manager Actually Do? First-Hand Insights from a 15-Year IAM Pro Introduction Fifteen years ago, I stumbled into Identity and Access Management (IAM) when “cloud SSO” was still a buzzword and the biggest access threat was a sticky note password. Fast-forward to today, and I manage an IAM team responsible for protecting thousands of users, devices, and applications. If you’re wondering what an IAM Manager actually does—and what it takes to thrive in the role—this post is for you....

July 1, 2025 · 4 min · Jay Klinkowsky