The 53rd Edition of the Identity Jedi Newsletter

MGM “Breach”

Sigh…

Ok let’s talk about this. Just reading the headline below would lead you to believe that the “breach” that happened at MGM recently had something to do with Okta.

But in fact, it didn’t.

And I would say it wasn’t a “breach” at all.

If I convince you to give me access to your bank account. Is that a breach? I didn’t break anything or take advantage of a gap in a product. I used the proper credentials to get access. What I do with that access may not be legal, but that’s a different story.

My point here is that no product can protect against everything. How often have we said security is about People, Process, and Technology? However, as soon as something goes wrong, what do we see:

“If customer X had Y product installed…”

“Here’s how we at Blah Blah, Inc would have..”

The truth. It doesn’t matter the product, if the attack vector is the people or the process. In this case, convincing the IT staff to reset MFA factors on a privileged account. So FOR THE LOVE OF GOD why do we keep doing the same thing!? Knowing that it ends in the same result.

Bottom line: This wasn’t an Okta problem, this wasn’t a breach. This was a hustle.

Spicy Tuesday

Ok so nobody told me that Tuesdays were Spicy post day. But I am absolutely here for it! I say we make it a thing. #spicyTuesday.

Here’s a post from Richard Bird yesterday tell some truths.

The problem is the password.

A pretty good article with quotes from some different execs from “security” companies. I agree with the premise, passwords aren’t enough, we need to move to something stronger, better, etc.

My only nitpick is how?

Let’s talk about how to get off passwords. What are the steps we need to take to reduce the reliance on passwords? I’m seriously asking. While this is a good read, let’s all of us together create a better one. So I want to hear from YOU Jedi. Read this on the web, and leave a comment. ( If that doesn’t work just reply to this newsletter) and let me know your thoughts on how we can take real steps to getting rid of passwords

It’s time to party!

Oktane 23, the Party Bus Returns!

Our friends from Acsense are back with another party bus, and this time, it’s in San Francisco during Oktane! Of course, I’m always looking out for you Jedi so click the button below to secure your seat on the bus!