Identity-based attacks have surpassed traditional technical exploits
Security isn’t breaking down at the network perimeter. It’s failing at the identity layer. That’s where today’s real threats live. Attackers aren’t chasing rare zero-day vulnerabilities anymore – it’s easier and far more scalable to go after credentials. With generative AI, they’ve leveled up. They can launch sophisticated, personalized social engineering campaigns at scale with very little cost and virtually no language barriers.
The technique is simple in concept – trick the human, bypass the machine. And with AI, the tools to do that are now widely accessible. Spearphishing used to take days of manual reconnaissance. Now, AI can generate a list of high-value targets, map out their relationships, and produce targeted emails or messages instantly. For enterprises, that means the likelihood of user compromise goes up dramatically, and so does the risk of losses.
According to Cisco Duo’s 2025 State of Identity Security report, 51% of organizations have already taken a financial hit because of identity-focused breaches. These aren’t theoretical problems, they’re already impacting bottom lines. And these types of breaches aren’t caused by advanced malware, but by someone clicking a link in a message they thought was real. That’s the reality we’re operating in.
What executives need to understand is that this shift isn’t just tactical, it’s structural. Identity systems are no longer a sidecar in your security model. They are the first layer of control, and they are being actively targeted.
Matt Caulfield, VP of Product for Identity at Cisco, put it directly: social engineering is the oldest trick in the book – and attackers are using modern tools to repeat it over and over, with high success rates. This isn’t optional to address. It’s fundamental. We either get ahead of this by rethinking identity security from the ground up, or we stay exposed.
Robust identity and access management (IAM) must serve as the foundation of enterprise security
You can’t assume someone should be trusted just because they’re inside the network or using a company-issued device. That assumption is flawed, and outdated. Threats today move faster than systems that rely on static perimeters. Real security starts with identity. If you can’t confirm who is accessing a system, then nothing else matters.
Modern enterprise environments need to operate with dynamic, identity-based trust. That means every access request must be validated with certainty. This becomes more critical as AI agents start operating independently within your systems. Unlike humans, they don’t have instincts, caution, or ethical guardrails. So if identity management fails, AI tools can be hijacked without resistance, escalating risk exponentially.
A zero-trust model puts all its weight behind the identity system. That’s a good thing, if the identity system is secure. It shifts the control point away from the network itself and toward validation of users, devices, and even automated agents. But leaders need to remember: zero trust isn’t a marketing label. It’s fundamentally a protocol enforcement structure. If identity authentication is compromised, the rest of the framework offers minimal resistance.
This requires more than passwords and two-factor authentication. It demands cryptographic assurance, something that proves a user or device is legitimate in a way that isn’t easy to spoof, manipulate, or bypass.
Matt Caulfield, VP of Product, Identity at Cisco, points out that identity is not a purely technical problem. It blends psychology, behavior, and technology. And that means the solution isn’t simple, but it’s necessary. Organizations that treat identity security as part of system planning, not as an afterthought, gain the control needed to support scale, compliance, and user trust.
What’s changing is the architecture. Identity-first strategies are not just more secure, they’re becoming operationally smarter too. Strong identity management doesn’t just block threats. It cleans up access rights, closes privilege gaps, and scales better across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. For leadership teams, that’s not just a security win, that’s a business advantage waiting to be realized.
Traditional multifactor authentication methods are inadequate against evolving threats
Most companies still rely on old authentication models that attackers have already figured out. SMS codes, push notifications, and callback numbers can all be intercepted, spoofed, or socially engineered. And they often are. These methods were never built to withstand today’s AI-accelerated attacks. They no longer offer meaningful protection on their own.
Phishing-resistant authentication needs to become the standard, not the exception. It gives you true control over access because a bad actor can’t simply trick an employee, intercept a code, or replay a notification. With phishing-resistant methods, like those based on FIDO2 standards, access is linked to a physical cryptographic key that can’t be extracted, copied, or remotely controlled. That raises the difficulty for attackers significantly and blocks most of today’s automated credential abuse.
Most executives already understand this. In Cisco’s latest research, 87% of IT leaders acknowledge that phishing-resistant MFA is critical to their security strategy. But adoption numbers tell a different story, only 19% of organizations have implemented FIDO2 tokens. The gap isn’t caused by indecision. It’s driven by barriers: operational effort, training, token management, and the cost of hardware deployment at scale.
This is where leadership needs to move past delays. Rolling out stronger authentication isn’t just about reducing risk, it’s about eliminating a vulnerability that’s being actively targeted across every industry. Every day an organization waits, it increases its exposure.
Matt Caulfield, VP of Product, Identity at Cisco, put it plainly: “Only one in three leaders trust their current identity providers to stop identity-based attacks.” That’s not good enough. And it’s a sign that strategy must shift, from reactive to proactive.
Security teams already know what works. Now it’s up to business leadership to remove the obstacles to implementation and push toward authentication methods that are truly defensible.
Integrated Identity-First security enhances efficiency and reduces operational complexity
Most enterprises are dealing with too many tools. Too many vendors. Too much friction. Identity security adds value only when it works as part of a connected system, not when it’s bolted on at the end. When identity lives at the core of your architecture, you get better visibility, faster execution, and reduced overhead across your teams.
The costs of fragmentation are high. Disconnected tools complicate user management, delay incident response, and make it harder to enforce consistent policies. These gaps aren’t just inefficient, they’re dangerous. Security that’s poorly integrated tends to fail quietly, and you usually find out after damage has already occurred.
Executives are already seeing this play out in their operations. According to Cisco’s findings, 79% of IT leaders are now actively exploring identity vendor consolidation. Cutting down on tools doesn’t just reduce cost, it also streamlines processes, improves system resilience, and reduces the chances of configuration drift or security blind spots.
Financial decision-makers are responding, too. 82% plan to increase budgets for identity security. That’s not just spending, it’s a shift in mindset. Identity-first security is increasingly being recognized not only as a defensive measure but as an enabler of scale and productivity. When your authentication flows are seamless and your access controls are accurate, users move faster, systems sync better, and oversight is simplified.
Matt Caulfield, VP of Product, Identity at Cisco, put it clearly: identity security is not just about avoiding breaches. It’s about unlocking operational efficiency. When identity is done right, it empowers your workforce and strengthens customer trust at the same time.
For enterprise leaders, the path forward is straightforward. Prioritize platforms that offer interoperability, reduce friction, and can operate cleanly across multi-cloud and hybrid environments. Get your identity infrastructure right, and everything built on top of it performs better.
Key executive takeaways
- Identity is the real attack surface: AI-powered social engineering has made user identities more vulnerable than infrastructure. Leaders should treat identity compromise as the primary cybersecurity threat across the enterprise.
- Zero trust hinges on identity, not networks: With AI agents and dynamic access patterns becoming normalized, trust must be rooted in strong, continuous identity verification, not location or device.
- Legacy MFA isn’t enough: Traditional two-factor methods are easily bypassed. Executives should mandate phishing-resistant authentication like FIDO2 to significantly reduce the impact of credential-based attacks.
- Tool sprawl weakens both security and efficiency: Fragmented identity systems increase risk and complexity. Consolidating vendors and adopting integrated identity-first platforms should be a strategic priority.
