In this Trust Issues episode, host David Puner welcomes back Andy Thompson, CyberArk Labs’ Offensive Security Research Evangelist for a discussion focused on two recent high-profile breaches: one targeting MGM Resorts International and the other involving Okta’s support unit.

You may not recognize the term Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR), but this emerging security discipline aims to address an all-too-familiar challenge: managing and securing the massive number of identities – human and machine – across the enterprise.

Picture yourself immersed in your favorite mystery novel, eagerly flipping through the pages as the suspense thickens. You’re enthralled, engrossed in the story of a hotel burglar with an uncanny ability to sneak into guest rooms without leaving telltale signs of break-ins or lock-picking. As you read on, you’re captivated – and stumped – by how this elusive bad actor can deftly close the doors behind them, leaving no clues.

The October 2023 Okta breach is the latest example in a long line of third-party identity attacks. Based on reports to date, it seems that the attack on Okta’s support case management system enabled a threat actor to launch downstream attacks into other companies. So far, 1Password, BeyondTrust and Cloudflare have publicly confirmed they were targeted. Such attacks don’t discriminate and pointing fingers is unproductive.

Today’s guest is Charles Chu, CyberArk’s General Manager of Cloud Security, who’s spent more than a decade at the forefront of cloud security. Chu joins host David Puner for a conversation that delves into secure cloud access and the concept of zero standing privileges (ZSP), a dynamic approach to securing identities in multi-cloud environments.

When creating a new password, you know the drill – it must be at least eight characters long, contain special characters and avoid sequential characters or be based on dictionary words. Although these requirements can be a pain in the neck and seriously hamper end user experience, they are not a sign of officious IT security teams.

The cloud has introduced entirely new environments, roles and circumstances that require us to reimagine the definition of privileged access management (PAM) and how to apply those principles to secure identities. PAM was built on the notion that identities must be secured, not just managed, to protect an organization’s most valuable assets. The well-recognized values of PAM remain highly desirable – least privilege, role-based access control and auditability of high-risk sessions.