IAM

IAM 101: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) - Your First Line of Defense B - Background (The ‘Why’): The Cracks in Our Digital Armor In the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats, the humble password, once our digital guardian, has become its weakest link. Every day, headlines scream about data breaches, account takeovers, and identity theft, with a staggering majority tracing back to compromised credentials. The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report consistently highlights that stolen or weak passwords are the primary vector for cyberattacks....

Introduction Every few years, something comes along that forces identity and access management professionals to rethink the fundamentals. Federated identity changed how we think about trust boundaries. Zero Trust changed how we think about networks. Zero Standing Privilege changed how we think about admin access. Now agents are changing how we think about who is taking actions in our systems. I don’t mean chatbots. I mean autonomous systems that read context, make decisions, and execute real-world actions—send emails, merge code, modify configurations, publish content, interact with APIs—on behalf of a human....

Scaling Identity: Lessons from 100,000+ User Deployments TL;DR What works at 1,000 users breaks at 100,000. Your IAM system performs beautifully with 5,000 employees. Logins are snappy. Directory sync takes minutes. Session management? Not even on your radar. Then you hit 50,000 users—maybe through organic growth, maybe through M&A—and things start… slowing down. By 100,000? That same login that took 200ms now takes 3,500ms. Your directory sync lags 6 hours behind HR....

Identity Data Hygiene & Reconciliation Strategies: The Foundation of Good IAM TL;DR Picture the IAM utopia: one golden source of truth for identity data. Perfect synchronization. Complete attributes. Pristine naming consistency. Beautiful, right? Now wake up. The reality? You’ve got 4-7 identity sources that don’t talk to each other. Half your user records are missing the manager field (because HR didn’t feel like filling it out when they batch-imported 10,000 contractors)....

Compliance-Driven IAM Architecture: Designing for SOX, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and GDPR TL;DR Compliance isn’t optional. But most IAM architectures fail audits anyway. SOX requires segregation of duties and quarterly access certifications. HIPAA mandates unique user identification and automatic logoff. PCI-DSS demands restricted access to cardholder data and quarterly reviews. GDPR requires data minimization and right to erasure. And you’ve got to satisfy all of them simultaneously—usually with the same IAM infrastructure....

Beyond Rubber-Stamping: How to Fix Account Recertification TL;DR Annual access reviews are a broken, compliance-driven ritual that often increases risk. This post breaks down how to move beyond traditional, manual recertification to a modern, automated, and continuous model. We’ll cover event-driven reviews, micro-certifications, and how to leverage automation to reduce risk, eliminate rubber-stamping, and build a system that governs access in real-time. The ‘Why’ For decades, account recertification has been a cornerstone of identity and access management (IAM)....

Enterprise / Large — Post E1 (IAM) Focus: Unifying identity across hybrid and multi-cloud environments through platform-first IAM, enabling continuous Zero Trust and compliance at scale. Next: Post E2 explores Continuous Compliance and Identity Resilience (IGA) — operationalizing governance and audit automation. TL;DR For enterprises, IAM isn’t a collection of tools — it’s a security platform. When 2,000+ people, hundreds of SaaS apps, and multiple clouds meet regulation, you can’t afford identity silos....

Mid-Market — Post M1 (IAM) Focus: Automating joiner-mover-leaver (JML) workflows, right-sizing access, and enforcing device-to-access trust without breaking budgets. Next: Post M2 covers Operational Governance (IGA) — reviews, SoD, and evidence on autopilot. TL;DR You’ve outgrown ad-hoc identity. Spreadsheets and tickets can’t keep up with 500 users and 50 SaaS apps. This is where IAM grows up — automation replaces repetition, and policy replaces memory. By the end of this guide you’ll:...

Startup / Small — Post S1 (IAM) Focus: Building a secure identity foundation with no-cost or low-cost tools that get you to MFA, SSO, clean offboarding, and simple automation without breaking the bank. Next: Post S2 covers lightweight governance (IGA) with the same pragmatic mindset. TL;DR You don’t need a six-figure budget to build a strong identity backbone. You need a few free or affordable tools, a little discipline, and a simple offboarding workflow that always works....

Series format: Three levels × two posts each. Post 1 (per level) = IAM — access, SSO, MFA/passkeys, device/risk checks, lifecycle (JML), SCIM, and PIM/JIT. Post 2 (per level) = IGA — access reviews/certifications, SoD, policy, audit evidence, and continuous assurance. Why this series—and why now Identity work breaks when teams buy governance before they stabilize access, or when they over-index on a single vendor instead of designing for outcomes and clean handoffs....