Rethinking your Identity Security – a practical guide
Identity Security is a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of digital security. In today’s increasingly complex threat landscape, where cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and frequent, protecting digital identities should be at the forefront of every organisation’s security strategy.
In this blog, our Identity Security expert, Dennis Baltazar, explores the evolving tactics of threat actors, the various types of identities, and the critical need to secure them. He outlines key strategies for building robust identity security and highlights six essential approaches to rethinking your Identity and Access Management (IAM).
The current state - evolving threats
In the Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024, the scale of identity-related threats is clear: 
- 600 million identity related attacks are recorded per day, more than 99% are password-based attacks.
- 7,000 password attacks blocked per second over the past year largely thanks to multi-factor authentication (MFA).
However, as organisations strengthen password defences, threat actors are adapting, shifting their focus up the cyberattack chain in three ways:
- Attacking infrastructure
- Bypassing authentication
- Exploiting applications
As our digital interactions become more integrated, involving both human and machine identities, the importance of identity security becomes undeniable. This aspect of cybersecurity is now essential to safeguarding sensitive data and ensuring secure operations, whether in the office or a remote environment.
Understanding Identity Security - the rise of the machines
At its core, identity security is the practice of verifying and managing digital identities to secure access to systems and data. It encompasses the authentication of users, the authorisation of their access privileges, and ongoing monitoring to prevent unauthorised access.
Identity security spans two key areas:
- Human Identities: These involve individual users such as employees, customers, and partners. Strong password policies, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and biometrics are foundational to human identity security.
- Machine Identities: Used by IoT devices, robotic processes, applications, and services, these identities communicate with other systems. Given their non-interactive nature, securing machine identities requires robust governance over their permissions.
Why Identity Security Matters
As digital threats grow, so does the importance of identity security. Several key factors underscore its significance:
Remote work revolution
The rise of remote work has expanded the attack surface, making it easier for cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities in remote access and authentication processes.
Sophisticated cyberattacks
Attackers are constantly evolving their tactics, using advanced techniques like phishing, social engineering, and brute-force attacks to compromise identities.
Enhanced security posture
Strong identity security practices contribute to a more fortified security posture, making it harder for attackers to gain unauthorised access to sensitive information.
Compliance Adherence
Many industries are subject to stringent data privacy regulations. Identity security plays a vital role in ensuring compliance with these regulations.
Key Strategies for Effective Identity Security
To effectively combat identity-based threats, organisations need to implement robust security strategies:
- Strong Password Policies: Enforce strong, unique passwords for all accounts and encourage regular password changes.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Implement MFA to add an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of identification.
- Privileged Access Management (PAM): Control and monitor access to privileged accounts, which have elevated permissions.
- Zero Trust Security Model: Adopt a zero-trust approach, which assumes that no user or device is inherently trustworthy.
- Regular Security Awareness Training: Educate employees about best practices for password hygiene, phishing prevention, and other security threats.
- Continuous Monitoring and Threat Detection: Employ advanced security tools to monitor user activities, detect anomalies, and respond to threats promptly.
Why It's time to rethink your Identity and Access Management strategy
Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a cornerstone of modern security, yet it often needs re-evaluation to remain effective. To address identity security challenges head-on, security leaders should focus on these six critical areas:
- Identity inventory: The first step in rethinking your IAM strategy is to conduct a thorough identity inventory. This involves identifying and cataloguing all digital identities within your organization, including employees, contractors, partners, and customers. By understanding your identity landscape, you can assess risks, identify vulnerabilities, and prioritise security measures.
- Baseline your identity posture: Plan and implement advanced security controls such as strong authentication methods, including passwordless authentication and biometric authentication, to enhance security. Grant users only the minimum level of access required to perform their job duties, reducing the potential impact of a security breach.
- Modernise Your IAM infrastructure: Upgrade your IAM solutions to leverage advanced technologies such as cloud-based IAM, single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA) policies, enterprise vaulting, secure remote and cloud access, user behaviour analytics and identity threat detection and response.
- Privilege Access is everywhere: Privileged access is widespread—and that’s a problem. With digital transformation efforts, more people than ever have access to sensitive systems and data, often beyond what’s needed; from on-premise servers and databases to developer tools and cloud services. This increases the risk of misuse and potential security breaches, making it essential to implement robust security measures to protect sensitive systems and data.
- Regulatory compliance: Australia businesses small to large need to meet regulatory and industry specific standards such as Essential 8 and other cyber frameworks. One key area it addresses is identity and access management. Conduct regular audits to identify and address security risks and continuously monitor user access privileges.
- Educate and train employees: Raise awareness among employees about identity security best practices, including password hygiene, phishing prevention, and secure remote access.
Final Thoughts
In today’s complex digital landscape, identity security is no longer a luxury but a necessity. By prioritising identity security and implementing robust strategies, organisations can safeguard their valuable assets and build a resilient cybersecurity posture. As we continue to navigate the ever-evolving threat landscape, let’s make identity security a top priority. Explore Avocado’s Identity Security Services.
