In the Digital Era, Security Starts with Identity
A few years ago, an IP address was enough to identify users online ‒ almost like a physical address that indicated where they were located. Today, however, users no longer rely on a single device or location, making it far more difficult for organizations to recognize who is accessing their systems, from where, and with what level of risk. The attack surface has expanded beyond servers, networks, and endpoints, extending into digital identities (human, machine, hybrid, and agentic ‒ AI with the ability to act autonomously). Despite this technological evolution, many companies still manage identities the same as they did a decade ago; this lack of adaptation has turned identity into one of the biggest challenges in cybersecurity.
An attacker no longer needs to break into a system if they can simply log in as a legitimate user. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025, phishing was the most common initial vector in the breaches analyzed (16%), and breaches caused by compromised credentials took an average of 186 days to detect. These figures highlight the lack of visibility organizations still have into how credentials are being used, and the need to strengthen identity controls.
Why Identity Is the New Perimeter
Identity has become central to corporate security not by chance, but as the result of several factors:
- The normalization of remote and hybrid work in the post-COVID era.
- Adoption of SaaS and cloud services by companies.
- The increase and diversification of devices driven by digital transformation.
- The complexity of federated identity in environments with multiple providers and access mechanisms, which makes it difficult to manage and can be exploited by attackers.
Cybercriminals know that many organizations struggle to properly manage and secure digital identities, and that exploiting them is highly profitable. Consequently, identity-based attacks such as credential theft, privilege escalation, and authenticated lateral movement have become some of the simplest pathways to initial access.
The six most common identity vulnerabilities are:
- Outdated, orphaned, abandoned, or unused accounts.
- Default passwords, shared credentials, or credentials exposed on the dark web.
- Overprovisioned identities or accounts with excessive permissions.
- Weak or non-existent multi-factor authentication (MFA), especially for root or highly privileged admin accounts.
- Hidden identities created outside of the IT department’s oversight.
- Misconfigured permissions that create hidden pathways for privilege escalation.
Balancing Security and User Experience
Adopting an identity-centric security strategy is essential for reducing risk, preventing unauthorized access, and strengthening the trust that underpins protection across the entire network. However, many identity-related issues arise from how people react to the security measures put in place. In many cases, users don’t break the rules out of carelessness, but out of fear of losing access, making mistakes, or getting locked out. That immediate concern outweighs a cybersecurity threat felt to be remote. When security measures create friction, the natural instinct is to avoid them.
That’s why organizations need solutions that combine security with being user-friendly: agile MFA methods (such as push notifications, QR codes, and one-time passwords), single sign-on (SSO), and cloud-based management that simplifies adoption. Managed service providers (MSPs) play a key role in guiding their clients through this process, helping them integrate security, trust, and a smooth user experience. By doing so, MSPs not only strengthen an organization’s security posture, but also reinforce their position as strategic partners capable of delivering more secure, efficient, and user-centric environments.
In a world in which identities have become an organization’s new perimeter, establishing a security strategy that puts them at the center is the most decisive step toward building environments that are truly protected and future-ready.