Identity Is the New Battleground: Why Proactive Security Is the Way Forward

Protecting identities has become a top priority for security teams. However, many organizations remain exposed due to blind spots caused by identity sprawl and misplaced trust in identity providers. This blog explores why traditional security measures fall short, how AI-driven attackers are escalating identity threats, and why a proactive, identity-first approach is the only way forward.

The identity security game has changed—not just because attackers are inventing new exploits, but because we’ve unintentionally made their job easier. Identity sprawl has opened the doors wide, effectively giving attackers their own “golden ticket” —pun intended— to target what is arguably an organization’s most valuable asset: its identities. 

Remember when an employee only needed one corporate login and a handful of permissions to access the applications and resources they needed to get their job done? Today, every worker, contractor, service account and even every IoT device is entangled in a complex web of permissions spread across multiple identity providers (IDPs), spanning directory services, such as Microsoft’s Active Directory (AD) and Entra ID; cloud services; SaaS apps; and remote access tools. The rise of IoT has further compounded this challenge by introducing machine identities that seamlessly interact across these environments, increasing both operational complexity and security risks.

Identity sprawl is now a major challenge for organizations, with 57% of security professionals citing it as a key concern, according to the Identity Defined Security Alliance’s “2024 Trends in Identity Security" report. As organizations increasingly rely on multiple identity and access management (IAM) solutions to navigate the complexity of hybrid and multi-cloud environments, each new solution adds another layer of permissions, another place where identities can be exploited, and another door for attackers to walk through.

The problem? Identities are the path of least resistance

Why hack in when you can log in?

Credential theft and privilege escalation are the bread and butter of modern attacks. Lateral movement—where an attacker quietly pivots from system to system using legitimate credentials—has become one of the hardest threats to detect. Why? Because it looks like business as usual.

Why do attackers target identities? Aside from the fact that phishing is widely effective, there are three primary reasons.

• Persistence – Once they’ve compromised an account, they can maintain access for extended periods, often undetected.
• Stealth – Logging in with valid credentials doesn’t raise red flags like malware does.
• Escalation – One low-privileged user can be the first domino in a privilege escalation chain.

Attackers aren’t just targeting identities—they’re exploiting them for long-term access with new AI tools. Attackers now have the ability to automate credential-based attacks, allowing them to gain persistence within networks, operate stealthily, and escalate privileges without triggering traditional alarms. Stolen credentials, phishing, and credential stuffing are being weaponized at scale, making it easier than ever for attackers to infiltrate environments, blend in with legitimate users, and expand their foothold before detection. Without proactive identity security, organizations remain blind to these silent intrusions—until it’s too late.

Why now? The identity crisis has hit a breaking point

The majority of organizations now rely on multiple IDPs to manage the complexities of cloud and remote work environments. However, many assume that identity security is “handled” by their identity provider—whether it’s Active Directory, Entra ID, or another IAM solution. In reality, IDPs are designed primarily for authentication and access control, not comprehensive security. This false sense of security often results in inaction, leaving organizations vulnerable to misconfigurations, orphan accounts, and excessive permissions—all of which significantly expand the attack surface for credential compromise. 

The explosion of cloud adoption, SaaS, remote work and IoT has turned identity security into a nightmare for defenders

Let’s face it, AD was designed for on-premises environments over 25 years ago, and while Entra ID has evolved for cloud-first identity management, neither was built to handle the scale and complexity of today’s hybrid, multi-cloud identity landscape. Each identity-related tool plays a role, but none provide a complete solution on their own. Privileged access management (PAM) technology helps protect high-value accounts but doesn’t offer insight into the broader identity landscape. Identity governance (IGA) technology enforces policies but doesn’t provide real-time risk detection. Identity threat detection & response (ITDR) products can catch threats but often too late—by the time an alert fires, the damage is already done. Without a unified approach, security teams are left patching gaps rather than proactively managing identity risks.

Proactive identity security: The way forward

Security teams can’t keep playing defense. It’s time to take control, especially as attackers increasingly supercharge their efforts with AI-driven automation. According to the UK's National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) “The near-term impact of AI on the cyber threat” report, cyberattacks will grow in volume and impact as hackers adopt AI. As a result, identity-based threats will become even more scalable and effective for attackers. Even open-source tools like BloodHound, originally designed to help defenders map Active Directory relationships, have become invaluable to attackers. So, how do you stay ahead of bad actors?

IAM hygiene isn’t just an operational concern—it’s a foundational security requirement. A recent report by CISA, “Detecting and Mitigating Active Directory Compromises,” highlights the dangers of poor IAM hygiene and the risks posed by misconfigurations, excessive permissions, and outdated security practices. Without proactive security measures, attackers can exploit identity weaknesses to gain persistence and move laterally within networks. Organizations must focus on continuous monitoring, timely remediation, and enforcing least privilege to mitigate these risks and strengthen their identity security posture.

To address these challenges, organizations must adopt a proactive approach that includes the following key strategies:

• Eliminate the blind spots – We need tools that aggregate all identity data into a single repository, unifying on-prem and cloud identities. No more guessing which accounts are federated or which service accounts have excessive privileges.
• Adopt AI-powered risk assessment – Attackers use AI to find weak links. We need AI to fight back, assessing identity risks dynamically based on weaknesses, associated devices, entitlements, misconfigurations, and privilege levels.
• Implement actionable remediation – It’s not enough to know an identity is high-risk. Security and IAM teams need a shared language to act on it. That means visibility into remediation options, costs and prioritization—because not every identity exposure needs an immediate fix, but some are urgent.

The future of identity security with Tenable

This is why we’re building Identity 360 and Exposure Center—giving organizations proactive control over identity risk. Identity 360 provides a comprehensive view of identities—including accounts, devices, entitlements, groups, and roles—while leveraging advanced AI to assess and quantify their associated risks. Exposure Center empowers security teams with actionable insights and guided remediation steps, helping them prioritize and mitigate identity threats efficiently. Identity 360 provides a comprehensive view of your identities -- accounts, devices, entitlements, groups, roles and more -- and uses advanced AI to calculate the risks they pose across. Meanwhile, Exposure Center enables security teams to prioritize and remediate identity threats with actionable insights and guided steps. And we’re not stopping there. By integrating identity security data into the Tenable One Exposure Management Platform, we’re providing security leaders with enhanced attack path analysis and exposure signals—allowing them to anticipate threats, think like an attacker, and proactively shut down risks before they escalate.

If anything, the pace of identity threats is speeding up, not slowing down. Organizations that stay reactive will continue playing catch-up while attackers exploit their blind spots. But with proactive security strategies, unified visibility and intelligent risk assessment, we can turn the tide. The battleground is shifting. It’s time to take control over your organization’s identities. 

To see Tenable Identity Exposure in action, check out our guided demo.