What is identity security?

Identity security, sometimes referred to as identity protection, is like the bouncer at a VIP event, ensuring every identity is verified, authorized, and monitored to prevent unauthorized access. It’s a comprehensive practice designed to protect all types of identities across on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments, stopping adversaries from exploiting stolen credentials to bypass defenses.

With attackers often using stolen or weak credentials to access sensitive systems, identity security is critical to detecting and stopping threats like ransomware, privilege misuse, and supply chain attacks. Tools like identity threat detection and response (ITDR) solutions provide real-time protection, ensuring attackers are detected and stopped before they gain a foothold.

Operating within a Zero Trust framework — where “never trust, always verify” is the rule — identity security solutions integrate with existing identity and access management (IAM) tools to enhance overall cybersecurity. Combined with endpoint security, cloud workload protection, and other measures, identity security creates a layered defense that addresses threats across your entire attack surface.

Why is identity security critical?

Identity security is the backbone of modern cybersecurity, ensuring only verified users and systems can access sensitive data. Attackers increasingly exploit stolen or weak credentials to bypass traditional defenses.

Imagine an attacker logging in with an employee’s stolen credentials, escalating privileges, and accessing critical systems undetected. This is a common scenario in today’s hybrid work environments, where the shift to cloud services and connected devices has expanded the attack surface. Every identity — human or machine, internal or external — represents a potential vulnerability.

By continuously authenticating, authorizing, and monitoring identities, identity security prevents threats like ransomware, privilege misuse, and supply chain attacks. It also supports Zero Trust principles by requiring constant validation for every access request, ensuring attackers can’t move freely within a network.

In a world where identities are often the weakest link, securing them isn’t just an IT concern — it’s a business imperative to protect your organization from identity-driven breaches and evolving cyber threats.

The Complete Guide to Building an Identity Protection Strategy

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Core components of identity security

Think of identity security as a well-coordinated team — each component plays a vital role in keeping identities safe and attackers out. These identity security components work together to verify users, manage access, and stop threats before they cause harm.

1. Authentication

Authentication is the front door to your systems. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection by requiring a user to provide proof of their identity in multiple ways , such as requiring both a password and a one-time code. This helps keep attackers out, as simply having an employee’s login credentials is no longer enough for them to gain access.

2. Authorization

Once a user is inside, authorization determines what they can access. Role-based access control (RBAC) and the principle of least privilege ensure users only access what they need, reducing the exposure of sensitive systems. Together, authentication and authorization are critical to identity security.

3. Privilege management

Privileged accounts are prime targets. Privileged access management (PAM) tools monitor and tightly control these accounts, ensuring access is granted only when necessary and carefully tracked to prevent misuse.

4. Threat detection and response

ITDR tools act like a security camera for identities, watching for unusual behavior like suspicious logins or privilege escalation. When something’s off, ITDR tools respond instantly to stop the threat.

5. Logging and monitoring

Every action leaves behind a digital footprint. Logging and monitoring analyze these footprints to detect anomalies, audit activity, and ensure compliance with regulations.

6. Identity life cycle management

From onboarding to offboarding, managing the identity life cycle reduces vulnerabilities. Automated tools ensure unused credentials are disabled, preventing backdoor access.

When these components come together, they form a unified strategy to protect identities, prevent breaches, and ensure operational security. Combined with Zero Trust, every request is verified, safeguarding systems from identity-driven threats.

How is identity protection related to Zero Trust?

Zero Trust is a security framework requiring all users, whether they are inside or outside the organization’s network, to be authenticated, authorized, and continuously validated for security configuration and posture before being granted or keeping access to applications and data. Zero Trust assumes that there is no traditional network edge; networks can be local, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment, with resources anywhere and workers in any location.

This framework is defined by various industry guidelines — such as Forrester eXtended, Gartner’s CARTA, and NIST 800-207 — as an optimal way to address current security challenges for a cloud-first, work-from-anywhere world.

Organizations that want to enable the strongest security defenses should utilize an identity security solution in conjunction with a Zero Trust security framework. They must also ensure that their solution of choice is compliant with industry guidelines, such as those outlined by NIST.

How is identity protection different from IAM technologies?

IAM is part of an organization’s overarching IT security strategy that focuses on managing digital identities as well as users’ access to data, systems, and other resources. Though IAM often helps reduce identity-related access risks, its related policies, programs, and technologies are not typically designed primarily as a security solution.

For example, IAM technologies that store and manage identities to provide single sign-on (SSO) or MFA capabilities cannot detect and prevent identity-driven attacks in real time. Likewise, IAM solutions are an important part of the overall identity strategy, but they typically lack deep visibility into endpoints, devices, and workloads in addition to identities and user behavior.

Identity security does not replace IAM policies, programs, and technologies. Rather, identity security serves to complement and enhance IAM with advanced threat detection and prevention capabilities.

Common identity-based threats and solutions

Oftentimes, attackers don’t break in — they log in. Identity threats are at the heart of many breaches, with stolen credentials and privilege misuse giving attackers easy access to critical systems. Here are some common identity threats and the identity security solutions to combat them:

1. Credential theft

  • The Threat: Attackers use phishing or brute-force attacks to steal credentials, posing as legitimate users.

  • The Solution: MFA blocks unauthorized access, and strong password policies and regular audits eliminate weak or reused credentials.

2. Privilege escalation

  • The Threat: Attackers exploit misconfigured or overly permissive accounts to gain higher-level access.

  • The Solution: PAM tools enforce strict access controls and minimize risks by applying the principle of least privilege.

3. Supply chain attacks

  • The Threat: Attackers use compromised vendor accounts to infiltrate systems through trusted access points.

  • The Solution: Zero Trust principles ensure continuous verification of vendor activity, while monitoring and restricting privileges strengthens defenses.

4. Lateral movement

  • The Threat: Attackers move laterally within a network, escalating access to high-value assets.

  • The Solution: ITDR tools monitor for unusual patterns like unexpected logins and take immediate action to block threats.

5. Account takeover

  • The Threat: Hijacked accounts allow attackers to operate under legitimate identities.

  • The Solution: Real-time monitoring and anomaly detection flag suspicious behavior, enabling a swift response to contain the threat.

Take proactive measures

Combining identity security solutions like ITDR, MFA, and PAM within a Zero Trust framework ensures every identity is continuously authenticated, authorized, and monitored. With these defenses in place, organizations can stop even the most sophisticated threats.

How CrowdStrike can help with identity security

Protect your organization against identity-driven attacks with CrowdStrike Falcon® Identity Protection, a solution that seamlessly integrates endpoint and identity protection. Unlike standalone tools, CrowdStrike’s solution delivers:

  • Unified Protection for Human and Machine Identities: Safeguard identities — whether it’s on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment — while maintaining visibility.

  • Real-Time Threat Detection and Response: Leverage advanced ITDR capabilities to stop attackers before they exploit stolen credentials or escalate privileges.

  • Zero Trust Enablement: Enforce “never trust, always verify” principles at every access point, with continuous authentication and adaptive security policies.

  • Risk-Based MFA: Dynamically adjust access requirements based on real-time threat intelligence, ensuring seamless security without disrupting user workflows.

  • Streamlined Integration: Enhance your existing IAM systems and secure even legacy applications with CrowdStrike’s flexible architecture.

With Falcon Identity Protection, you’re not just protecting identities — you’re gaining a fully integrated, proactive defense against the evolving threats targeting your organization’s most critical assets. 

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Explore CrowdStrike identity security solutions

Secure your digital assets today with Falcon Identity Protection and prevent identity-driven breaches before they happen.

 

Venu Shastri, a seasoned Identity and cybersecurity product marketeer, serves as Director, Product Marketing at CrowdStrike for Unified Endpoint & Identity Protection. With over a decade of experience in identity, driving product marketing and management functions at Okta and Oracle , Venu has a US patent on passwordless authentication. Prior to his identity experience, Venu had co-founded and drove product management for an enterprise social software start-up. Based out of Raleigh, NC, Venu holds an MBA from the University of Santa Clara and Executive Certification from MIT Sloan.