Very interesting read

TLDR;

• If we expect identity security, it must be tied to users, their permissions, authorization, and authentication.

• If we expect endpoint security, it must be running on the endpoint or able to secure the endpoint itself.

• If we expect network security, it must manage most (if not all) ingress and egress traffic.

YES, to ALL OF THIS. ( except for the blatant product placement at the end) But I love the combination of these concepts. It’s how we need to start thinking about identity. Move out of the reactive phase, and into the active phase

Well, well, well…

Looks who’s talking about Identity and Access Management. We’ve talked so much about security and identity getting closer together and now we see traditional “security” companies like Sentinal One writing about IAM. Yet when you look at their ITDR product what do you see? Another logging tool to tell you what happened and create more alerts. I think “security” companies are just fascinated by alerts and shiny colors.

We gotta long way to go..but hey at least we are talking about one another….right?

Best Practice/Tutorial

As digital transformation accelerates and organizations shift to hybrid and cloud-first models, one thing is clear: managing identity security has never been more complex. With the explosion of cloud services, remote work, and the rise of non-human identities, traditional approaches to Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) just don’t cut it anymore. Today, modern IGA isn’t merely about managing access or provisioning roles—it’s evolving into a critical enabler for Identity Security Posture Management (ISPM).

But how does modern IGA set the stage for ISPM, and why is this evolution so crucial for securing your organization’s identity infrastructure? Let’s dive in.

What is Modern IGA?

Before we talk about ISPM, we need to understand the foundation: modern IGA. At its core, IGA is the framework that defines how organizations manage identity lifecycles—onboarding, provisioning, deprovisioning, and role management. Traditional IGA systems were great at managing access within on-prem environments, but in today’s hybrid and multi-cloud landscapes, identity management is a different ballgame.

Modern IGA is designed to handle the dynamic nature of today’s IT ecosystems. It incorporates automation, real-time access management, and cloud-native integrations to manage identities at scale. Crucially, it also gives organizations the visibility and control they need to manage both human and non-human identities. Whether it’s an employee, an API, or a machine, modern IGA ensures that every identity has appropriate access, continuously adjusted to fit evolving needs.

However, while IGA provides the structural framework, it doesn’t automatically guarantee an effective security posture. That’s where Identity Security Posture Management (ISPM) comes in.

Why ISPM is the Future of Identity Security

If modern IGA is the foundation, ISPM is the intelligence layer that turns identity management into a proactive security measure. In the same way that Security Posture Management gives organizations real-time insight into their network vulnerabilities, ISPM does the same for identities—assessing, monitoring, and securing identities to ensure they don’t become attack vectors.

Think of ISPM as your identity risk radar. It continuously monitors identity behaviors, tracks access patterns, and flags anomalous activity. More importantly, it integrates seamlessly with modern IGA, using its visibility to ensure access is not only governed but also secure. ISPM takes identity governance beyond basic provisioning and revocation, enabling organizations to monitor for policy violations, detect excessive privileges, and even offer risk remediation strategies in real-time.

The Role of Automation and AI in ISPM

Here’s where things get interesting: automation and AI play a critical role in ISPM. Traditional identity governance relied heavily on human-driven processes like manual access reviews, which often lagged behind actual risks. But in modern ecosystems, identities—especially non-human ones—are proliferating too fast for manual methods.

With AI, ISPM solutions can analyze identity behavior and flag risks instantly. Automation ensures that roles and access permissions are continuously updated, based on contextual factors like user behavior, device posture, or changes in organizational policies. In this sense, ISPM becomes a dynamic, self-correcting system that maintains security posture with minimal manual intervention.

How IGA Fuels ISPM’s Effectiveness

Now, let’s tie it all together. Modern IGA provides the real-time access controls, dynamic role management, and full identity lifecycle visibility necessary to feed ISPM with the data it needs. When you have a clear view of who or what is accessing your systems—and how frequently—you can layer ISPM on top to ensure your governance isn’t just compliant but also secure.

For instance, if a service account that was granted broad access for initial setup is still holding on to those privileges months later, ISPM will flag it. Or, if an API begins making unusual data requests, ISPM can alert your security team before that anomaly becomes a full-blown breach. With this proactive approach, ISPM enables organizations to predict and mitigate identity risks—rather than just reacting to them after the fact.

Key Benefits of Integrating IGA with ISPM

1. Proactive Risk Management: ISPM allows you to continuously monitor identity risks in real time. Combined with modern IGA’s visibility, you can see potential vulnerabilities in access permissions, privilege escalations, or anomalies before they become security incidents.

2. Continuous Compliance: Regulatory frameworks like GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX require organizations to maintain strict identity controls. With ISPM, you can automate compliance checks, generate audit-ready reports, and ensure that identities meet required governance policies without constant manual reviews.

3. Enhanced Security for Non-Human Identities: As non-human identities (like workloads, bots, and APIs) grow exponentially, securing them becomes a top priority. ISPM helps organizations manage and secure these identities by providing insights into their behaviors, access patterns, and potential risks.

4. Improved Incident Response: In the event of an identity-related incident, ISPM equips security teams with detailed insights into what went wrong, who accessed what, and where the vulnerabilities were. This allows for faster incident resolution and future-proofing.

5. Seamless Integration with Zero Trust Models: ISPM works hand-in-hand with Zero Trust frameworks by continuously verifying identities and adapting access permissions based on risk levels. This ensures that only the right users—whether human or machine—have access to critical resources.

The Path Forward: Building a Strong Identity Security Posture

Modern IGA is the breeding ground for ISPM, setting up the foundation on which proactive identity security is built. Organizations that invest in modern IGA are not just getting access management—they’re laying the groundwork for a future-proofed security posture. And as identity threats become more complex, having both IGA and ISPM in your toolkit will be essential.

By combining the automation and visibility of modern IGA with the real-time intelligence of ISPM, businesses can protect their most vulnerable assets: their identities. From cloud environments to on-prem systems, the key to securing access in the future lies in adopting a comprehensive approach where IGA and ISPM work together, ensuring your identities are not just managed—but secured.