Breach Fatalism is Over: Why Identity Threat Prevention Is the Future of Cybersecurity

Identity-based attacks are the #1 cause of breaches, often exploiting weaknesses in traditional identity platforms. It's time for a proactive approach that addresses these gaps and stops threats before they strike.

Identity has become the primary attack surface in cybersecurity. According to Forbes, 75% of cyberattacks leverage identity-based threats. Threat actors gain access using stolen credentials, compromised devices, and deepfake impersonation techniques, often bypassing traditional defenses without detection. Many identity platforms rely on MFA, such as push notifications and one-time passcodes (OTPs), which were once considered secure but are now frequently exploited through phishing, MFA fatigue, and man-in-the-middle attacks. The rise of generative AI has made these threats more effective and more prevalent.

To compensate, organizations have deployed tools like Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Network Detection and Response (NDR), and Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR). This article explores Identity Threat Prevention (ITP), a proactive approach that eliminates identity attack vectors.

Your Security Stack Assumes Breach, and That's the Problem

For years, cybersecurity strategies have revolved around one assumption: breaches are inevitable. To minimize damage, organizations invested heavily in detection and response tools like EDR, NDR, and ITDR. These platforms monitor, investigate, and contain threats after they have already bypassed defenses.

While valuable, these tools are inherently reactive. They detect compromise only after initial access is granted, often with valid credentials. Attackers then have time to move laterally, escalate privileges, and extract data before response teams can act.

This leaves companies exposed, spending resources cleaning up breaches instead of stopping them from happening in the first place.

How the Identity Layer Became the Breach Vector

Attackers no longer need to break in. They target the identity layer, the systems that decide who gets access and from where. Credential phishing, MFA bypass, and session hijacking remain the most common paths into enterprise environments.

The issue isn't just the user, it's the platform. Many identity and access management solutions, while central to security architecture, rely on legacy authentication methods like push-based MFA, one-time passcodes, and fallback passwords. These mechanisms were built as bandaid solutions to help stop attacks, but at best just give hackers another hurdle they can easily bypass. They are now routinely exploited in real-world attacks.

In 2023, Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts both suffered major breaches after attackers bypassed identity protections through social engineering and MFA fatigue techniques. In both cases, attackers gained initial access via identity support systems, then moved laterally across the environment. Similarly, the 2022 Cisco breach began with the compromise of an employee's credentials followed by MFA bypass through repeated push requests, ultimately allowing full VPN access.

Worse, identity providers often grant access without evaluating the device's security posture. A user may appear legitimate while logging in from a jailbroken phone or a malware-infected laptop.

The result is a dangerous gap: identity platforms that validate access while silently opening the door to attackers, leaving teams reliant on detection tools instead of prevention.

Introducing Identity Threat Prevention

Given that identity platforms are now prime targets for attacks, simply enhancing monitoring isn't enough. We need to harden them. That means replacing exploitable authentication methods, continuously validating user and device trust, and enforcing precise access controls that adapt in real time.

Identity Threat Prevention (ITP) is a proactive security model designed to eliminate identity-based attacks before they start. Instead of detecting intrusions after access is granted, ITP stops attackers from getting in at first place.

By flipping the script from "assume breach" to "block breach," Identity Threat Prevention turns access control into your strongest security layer.

How Identity Threat Prevention Strengthens the Identity Stack

ITP doesn't just complement your identity tools, it strengthens them. While it can replace some existing capabilities, ITP is best deployed as a prevention layer that sits between users and critical applications, enforcing security policies in real time using signals from both the identity and security stacks.

Identity Threat Prevention rests on four foundational principles:

1. Phishing-Resistant Authentication: Remove shared secrets entirely. The approach of Identity Threat Prevention replaces passwords, push notifications, and OTPs with cryptographic, device-bound credentials that cannot be phished, replayed, or stolen.
2. Device Trust and Policy Enforcement: Enforce real-time device trust based on a clearly defined device policy. Set your required security controls for access, such as disk encryption turned on, OS patch level, endpoint detection and response (EDR) present on the device, biometric login, and firewall status. When deploying ITP, these conditions are validated before access is granted and continuously throughout the session. If any element of the device policy is violated, access is automatically denied or revoked without user involvement.
3. Continuous Verification of Identity and Device Security: ITP calls for continuous verification of both user identity and device posture, not just at the moment of login but throughout the session. This ensures that access remains aligned with policy as conditions change. If a device falls out of compliance, such as disabling encryption, uninstalling EDR, or losing biometric protection, access can be revoked or restricted immediately. This process runs in the background and only interrupts the user when necessary.
4. Real-Time, Integrated Risk-Based Access Framework: ITP is an access framework that evaluates both identity and device security posture using live data from across the security stack. Instead of treating authentication and risk evaluation as separate processes, ITP brings them together. It ingests signals from tools like EDR, MDM, ZTNA, SIEM, and vulnerability scanners to inform every access decision. These inputs allow organizations to define granular, adaptive policies that reflect current conditions. Access is granted only when identity, device, and risk context all align with policy.

Why This Matters Now: The AI Threat Landscape

AI is rapidly reshaping the threat landscape. Attackers now use generative AI to craft highly convincing phishing emails, clone voices, and generate deepfake videos that can impersonate executives, IT support staff, or vendors. These synthetic threats are realistic enough to fool users, bypass social verification, and trigger high-risk actions, all while using valid credentials.

Identity Threat Prevention addresses this head-on by shifting trust from users to verifiable cryptographic credentials and hardened device posture. By continuously verifying identity and enforcing security policies in real time, the ITP approach renders AI-driven impersonation attempts useless.

As AI threats become more scalable and sophisticated, static security tools will fall short. Prevention is no longer optional - it's foundational.

What to Look for in an ITP-Ready Platform

Not all identity solutions are built for prevention. To determine if a platform truly aligns with the Identity Threat Prevention model, ask:

• Does it use phishing-resistant, device-bound credentials?
• Does it eliminate shared secrets, passwords, and fallback authentication methods?
• Can it enforce granular device policies at the point of access?
• Does it continuously verify identity and device posture throughout each session?
• Can it take immediate action when devices fall out of compliance or risk signals change?
• Can it ingest and act on real-time data from tools like EDR, MDM, and ZTNA?
• Is it prepared to stop AI-powered threats like deepfakes and real-time impersonation?

Bridging these gaps isn't just possible, it's the clearest way to ensure your access infrastructure is built for prevention.

The Future of Identity Security

Cybersecurity needs a mindset shift. Breaches are not inevitable if the access layer is hardened. Identity Threat Prevention offers a new path forward, one that turns identity into a control point rather than an exposure point.

By removing weak authentication methods, enforcing device compliance, and integrating live risk signals into every access decision, ITP eliminates the attack vectors that adversaries rely on.

It is time to stop detecting breaches and start preventing them.

About the Author: Kurt Johnson is the Chief Strategy Officer at Beyond Identity. With more than two decades of experience shaping the identity and access management space, he focuses on helping organizations eliminate identity-based threats through secure-by-design access frameworks.