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The 38th Edition of the Identity Jedi Newsletter
Identiverse recap, identity security taking shape, what's the deal with certifications
David Lee
June 07, 2023
Wednesday 6/7/23 - Identity Jedi Newsletter - Subscribe
Hey Jedi welcome to the 38th edition of the Identity Jedi Newsletter!
Ok so technically, it should be the 39th, but last week was Identiverse in Vegas. So..yeah, nuff said. I’ll get into all the gory details of what happened later in the newsletter but suffice to say, it was a typical Vegas week..lol
Jedi we did it! Our biggest month ever in terms of new subscribers! We continue to keep putting up stats every month and I’m so grateful to all of you for the support! Here are our stats for last month:
95 New Subs
49.0 % Open Rate
And that’s just a month of May recap. 7 days into June and we are already on pace to obliterate those numbers. TO THE MOON!!!!!
So, Jedi make sure you’re getting in on this. Get those referalls and get yourself some free swag!
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News And Updates
Here are some updates on what’s happening in the Identity Jedi Universe
LinkedIn Learning Course Approved and Building - I am currently collaborating with LinkedIn on my first course, scheduled to debut at the end of this year. I can’t reveal the title yet, but obviously, it’s about identity.
First Book launches this month - Something I haven’t talked about a lot (not at all in this form), but I’ve been working on a book for a while now. It’s a small entry into the world of authorship ( >100 pages) but will be debuting this month. Just waiting for the sample copies. The title: The Only One in The Room: The unwritten rules of being Black in Tech. Those of you that have followed me for a while know that diversity, equity, and inclusion is a very real and important topic for me. Our industry has some flaws, like any good hero ( throwback for those that say my identiverse talk..lol). This book is a collection of things I’ve learned in my career, that have helped me, and I hope will help others. More details as it’s closer to launch, and I’ll have a select number of signed copies availabe
Let’s Get to the Good Stuff!
Are certifications worth it?
Identity security taking shape
Trends to watch
Are certifications worth it?
I’ve always been on the fence about certifications. While I applaud and encourage everyone to hone and craft their skill, I think we’ve placed too much value on these certifications as an industry. Knowing a skill and applying a skill are two different things. We should use certifications as a measurement of familiarity with a certain subject. Not as a mark of subject matter expertise. The cost that is put on these certifications is ridiculous, and the bar at which they are used in hiring is also crazy. We should overhaul this entire system. And by no means do I mean to discredit any anyone who’s achieved a level of certification, on the contrary, I’m excited for you! I just want a world in which you didn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for it, or have an employer pay for it.
Identity Security taking shape
So now that we are fully embracing the term Identity Security, it’s interesting to see how the market is shaping up to live up to the marketing hype. IDSA 2023 trends report gives some eyebrow-raising stats around this world of identity we all know and love. The first one that caught my attention is that 52% of users surveyed listed “Adoption of more cloud applications” as the driving factor in increasing identities within their company.
But this second one really got me to thinking. Check out this snapshot from the report.
Timely reviews of privileged access and access to sensitive data were the two leading investment areas. Okay, I get it always starts with your most privileged access and create the most friction. But our answer is Access Reviews. Really? Because they’ve done so well for us the past 20 years. We HAVE TO STOP THINKING administratively, people. Security is an ACTIVE job, not passive. We can market all we want and talk about how “identity is security,” but we’ve got to shift the mindset from a reactive one to a proactive one.
IAM Trends to watch
No arguments from me here on these trends. The future of identity is bright and we are on the cusp of a very different world. A huge shoutout to Gerry Gebel from the Strata.IO crew. I’ve talked a number of times about the work they are doing with IDQL and HEXA. Machine Identity Authentication intrigues me; we don’t see a lot of “news” on this out there, but definitely, a big factor as we start to reimagine what an identity is. So much of what we’ve done has been based on the human factor. What’s your thoughts on these trends? Does any particular one stick out to you? Let’s talk about it.
Identity Jedi Show Podcast
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The Last Word
Ok, let’s talk IDENTIVERSE!!!
An amazing week in Vegas. By all means of the word. Both Amazingly good, and amazingly bad, because of course, it’s VEGAS BABYY!!!!
The conference was fantastic this year. The biggest attendance in Identiverse history, so many amazing sessions that I’m upset I couldn’t make them all. But it’s always the side conversations that are the best. The amount you can learn just by walking in the hallway at Identiverse is astonishing. Literally, the leading experts in their fields available and happy to talk about identity.
One of the conversations I’m most excited about was one between myself Marc Boorshtein of Tremelo Security and Dr Glenance Green with The Black Researchers Collective. The three of us exchanged ideas about how to help get marginalized communities better access to technology. One of the biggest hurdles we found is that there isn’t much ( as in damn near none) research on these communities and technology's impact on them. Something we are hoping to work together and change. We are just in the beginning stages and there is a LOOOT of work to be done, but I’ll keep you updated as we start to figure out some action steps. If you want to be involved, let me know!
My next favorite moment was linking up with Sebastian Rohr and tasting one of the best beers I’ve had in a long time. IdentiBeer. Chilled on ice for about 45 minutes, nice smooth taste, would highly recommend it.
Next up was hanging out with Chris at the S3 Happy Hour. ( As I’m writing this I can’t believe we didn’t get a pic!!). He had on his Identity Jedi T-Shirt, because he went through the ENTIRE referral system in like one day. And has since like doubled it..lol. I’m literally going to have to come up with a swag gift just for him.
Finally. What was one of the biggest moments of my life thus far. I had the honor of doing the opening Keynote talk on Thursday morning. My first keynote talk, and I think it went pretty good. Thank you to everyone who sent a DM, text, Slack message, etc. To give a talk in front of my peers and receive the response that I have, truly means a lot to me.
Finally, here’s a gallery of pics from the week. Tons more coming in; maybe I’ll make an Identiverse Post of just the pictures once I get them all processed.
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Overall the BEST identity conference in the world. If you missed it, make sure you tune in early next year to get your tickets. Hopefully if I’m selected again as a speaker, I’ll have some discounts for you, but you want to make sure you are there!
Be Good to each other, Be Kind to each other, Love each other
-Identity Jedi
The JEDI COUNCIL
Developing a Security Mindset
If we are going to usher in this brave new world of “Identity Security,” we must change how we think as identity practitioners.
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