". . when identity cracks, risk seeps in . ."
Identity and Access Management (IAM) has quietly become the front door to every organisation’s digital estate. The problem? Too many businesses still treat it like a back-office function instead of a strategic security control.
From my conversations with CISOs, IAM architects, and programme leaders, one theme stands out . .
The breaches making headlines today rarely come from exotic zero-days. More often, they trace back to basic, preventable IAM missteps.
Here are the top 5 mistakes leaving companies wide open (and how the smartest organisations are addressing them).
1. Overprivileged Access (just give them everything)
When deadlines loom, it’s tempting to grant users broad access ‘just to get the job done’. The problem is those privileges often never get revoked.
- Dormant admin accounts become low-hanging fruit for attackers.
- Contractors leave, but their access lives on.
- Privileged accounts are rarely audited, making shadow risk invisible.
Fix: Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) must been forced. Automated provisioning and regular access reviews turn privilege sprawl into controlled, auditable access.
2. Weak Authentication = easy entry
Passwords alone are no longer enough. Yet plenty of enterprises still rely on outdated authentication policies that can’t keep up with phishing kits, credential stuffing, or AI-driven brute force.
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is inconsistently applied.
- Legacy applications don’t support modern protocols.
- Users bypass controls because “it takes too long.”
Fix: Go beyond MFA. Adaptive authentication, passwordless strategies, and strong federation are becoming the new baseline for IAM maturity.
3. Ignoring the human element
IAM is about behaviour. Too often, companies roll out new IAM systems with little thought for user adoption.
- Complex login flows frustrate staff and lead to workarounds.
- Lack of education around phishing leaves users exposed.
- Business stakeholders are excluded from IAM design, so controls don’t reflect real workflows.
Fix: Design IAM with the user in mind. Engage business units early, invest in awareness training, and measure adoption as much as you measure security metrics.
4. Treating IAM as a one-off Project
IAM is not ‘set and forget’. Many organisations complete a big migration or system deployment, then leave IAM untouched for years.
- Technology evolves, but access models remain static.
- New SaaS platforms get bolted on with no integration.
- Mergers, acquisitions, and restructures pile on more complexity.
Fix: IAM needs continuous governance. Think in terms of an operating model, not a project. Ongoing monitoring, regular role engineering, and periodic reassessment are critical to stay aligned with business change.
5. Neglecting machine & non-human Identities
Here’s the big blind spot - Service accounts, APIs, bots, and IoT devices. They now out number human users in most enterprises - but often have the weakest controls.
- Default passwords on IoT devices.
- Hardcoded credentials in scripts and pipelines.
- Service accounts with permanent, non-rotating keys.
Fix: Extend IAM to the non-human world. Automated secrets management, key rotation, and strict lifecycle controls are non-negotiable for modern architectures.
What strikes me from my network is that IAM failures don’t happen because companies don’t care. They happen because IAM is complex, spread across teams, and too often relegated to the “security backlog.”
IAM is security. It’s also customer experience, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance rolled into one.
The organisations winning in this space are those who:
- View IAM as a board-level risk, not a back-office tool.
- Invest in both people and platforms.
- Treat IAM as a continuous capability, not a project milestone.
Identity is the new perimeter. If companies get IAM wrong, they don’t just open themselves to hackers . . they erode trust with their employees, partners, and customers.
The good news? Every one of these top 5 mistakes is fixable with the right combination of technology, process, and, most importantly, skilled people who can architect IAM with both security and usability in mind.
