Category: Privacy For All

Third-party relationships have become the soft underbelly of enterprise cybersecurity, with 35.5% of breaches in 2025 involving vendor or partner access—a 6.5% Year on Year increase. As organizations expand their digital ecosystems, traditional IAM frameworks struggle to address the cascading risks posed by contractors, vendors, and SaaS providers. Recent breaches at Cisco, Okta, and Snowflake demonstrate how third-party vulnerabilities can bypass even sophisticated security postures, costing enterprises millions in fines and reputational damage.

The Third-Party Breach Epidemic: 2025’s Wake-Up Calls

1. Cisco’s Supply Chain Catastrophe

In October 2024, threat actors compromised Cisco’s GitHub repositories, AWS buckets, and SSL certificates through a third-party contractor’s credentials. The breach exposed source code for 26 production systems and impacted 1,000+ clients, including Apple, AWS, and Bank of China. This incident underscores two critical failures:

• Overprivileged vendor access: Contractors retained broad system permissions long after project completion.
• Inadequate machine identity governance: Stolen API tokens and certificates enabled lateral movement across Cisco’s ecosystem.

2. Okta’s Recurring Authentication Meltdowns

Okta’s 2023 support system breach—triggered by a vendor employee’s compromised Google account—resurfaced in 2024 when attackers exploited similar third-party access vectors. These incidents reveal systemic flaws in legacy IAM:

• Credential-centric authentication: Passwords and push notifications remain vulnerable to phishing.
• Fragmented access controls: Okta’s inability to regulate privileges based on device health allowed attackers to maintain persistence.

3. India’s Cybersecurity Readiness Crisis

Cisco’s 2025 study found only 7% of Indian organizations meet “mature” cybersecurity benchmarks, while 57% suffered breaches linked to third-party vulnerabilities. High-profile cases like the Aadhaar database leak (1.1 billion records) and ICMR health data exposure highlight India’s unique challenges:

• Regulatory fragmentation: Overlapping state and central mandates create compliance gaps[Context].
• Legacy infrastructure dependence: 68% of breached Indian entities relied on outdated IT systems.

Why Traditional IAM Fails Third-Party Risk Management

Current IAM paradigms exhibit three fatal flaws in addressing third-party threats:

These weaknesses align with Verizon’s 2025 DBIR findings: 41.4% of ransomware attacks now originate through third parties, while 63.5% of breaches exploit unpatched vendor software.

PureAUTH: Rewriting Third-Party IAM Compliance

PureAUTH’s architecture directly addresses third-party risk vectors through four transformative features:

1. Breach-Resilient Authentication

• PII-free digital signatures: Replaces credentials with cryptographically verifiable tokens, rendering stolen vendor access useless.
• Multi-cloud revocation: Instantly disables compromised third-party identities across AWS/Azure/GCP clusters.

This approach reduced credential-stuffing risks by 92% in deployments.

2. Context-Aware Access Regulation

PureAUTH’s Zero Trust Access Control (ZTAC) engine evaluates:

• Device health scores (patch status, malware indicators)
• Behavioral patterns (geolocation, access times)
• Relationship context (contract duration, project scope)

3. Automated Third-Party Governance

• JIT (Just-in-Time) provisioning: Grants temporary access scoped to specific tasks.
• AI-driven anomaly detection: Flagged 73% of suspicious third-party activities pre-breach in trials.
• Cross-system deprovisioning: Removing a vendor from Active Directory revokes all associated tokens

4. Compliance-as-Code Framework

Building a Third-Party Immune System

As Indo-Pacific cyber tensions escalate, organizations must adopt IAM frameworks that treat third-party access as inherently hostile. The concept of a “third-party immune system” represents a paradigm shift in identity and access management (IAM), moving from reactive breach containment to proactive threat neutralization. This approach recognizes that third-party vulnerabilities—whether from contractors, vendors, or SaaS providers—require architectural defenses as sophisticated as biological immune responses.

 PureAUTH’s device-centric, PII-free model provides:

The 2025 Okta and Cisco breaches prove that credentials are the new legacy. In a world where 30% of breaches now involve fourth-party compromises, enterprises need IAM solutions designed for the post-trust era. By treating all third-party access as inherently hostile and enforcing cryptographic trust at every handshake, organizations can transform IAM from a cost center into a strategic advantage—turning the weakest link into the strongest shield.

This architecture doesn’t just mitigate risks; it redefines third-party collaboration for the AI era, where every access request is an opportunity to validate trust and every device becomes a sentinel in the defense chain.

Data preservation has evolved from technical necessity to an ethical imperative in our algorithm-driven age. At its core, every byte of personal information represents human agency – the digital shadow of choices, relationships, and lived experiences. 

When organizations treat this data as disposable or exploitable, they risk eroding the very fabric of trust that enables digital societies to function. The 2023 Snowflake breach that exposed 165 million employee healthcare records wasn’t merely a security failure, but a philosophical betrayal – reducing human dignity to vulnerable data points in poorly secured spreadsheets. 

True data stewardship recognizes that preserving informational integrity isn’t about compliance checkboxes, but about maintaining the delicate balance between technological progress and what Hannah Arendt called “the right to have rights” in the public sphere. In this context, PureAuth’s architecture emerges not just as technical infrastructure, but as ethical infrastructure – enabling organizations to honor what philosopher Luciano Floridi calls the “ontological right” of all stakeholders (customers, employees, partners) to exist digitally without becoming permanently “datafied” subjects

The Critical IAM Security Gap

Recent high-profile breaches highlight the devastating consequences of inadequate IAM solutions. Yahoo’s breach exposed over 3 billion user accounts, resulting in $35 million in fines and 41 class-action lawsuits. First American Financial Corp leaked 885 million sensitive records in 2019 due to authentication design flaws. Most alarming is how frequently these breaches occur through contractor or external user credentials—the “soft targets” that many IAM solutions fail to adequately protect.

NIST Standards: The Triple-Layer Protection

NIST has established rigorous standards for robust identity management through publications like SP 800-63-3, SP 800-171 Rev. 2, and SP 800-53. These frameworks define three critical criteria that comprehensive IAM solutions must address:

1. Identity Assurance Level (IAL): Verifying that users are genuinely who they claim to be
2. Authenticator Assurance Level (AAL): Ensuring authentication methods resist impersonation attempts
3. Federation Assurance Level (FAL): Securing identity transmission across different systems.

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 specifies 110 security requirements with 320 assessment procedures, and IAM capabilities form a critical foundation for many of these controls. Organizations implementing solutions that address all three NIST criteria gain significant advantages in compliance readiness.

While popular IAM providers like Okta, Microsoft, and 1Kosmos typically address only two of these criteria, PureAUTH stands out by fully complying with all three protection layers.

PureAUTH: Complete NIST Compliance

Unlike competitors that store personally identifiable information (PII) and rely on vulnerable authentication methods, PureAUTH’s architecture provides comprehensive compliance:

For Identity Assurance, PureAUTH uses lightweight identity proofing without storing sensitive PII, making it inherently breach-resilient. When breaches occur at other IAM vendors—as they did with Okta, Microsoft, and Cisco—the consequences ripple throughout customer organizations.

For Authentication Assurance, PureAUTH employs digital signatures rather than traditional passwords or phishable push notifications. This approach eliminates credential theft, phishing, and social engineering vulnerabilities. NIST’s latest guidance explicitly moves away from periodic password changes and complex password requirements toward more secure approaches like passwordless authentication

For Federation Assurance, PureAUTH offers secure cross-system identity with comprehensive zero trust controls that evaluate both user identity and device health before granting access. This additional security layer is often missing in competitor solutions.

Simplifying Regulatory Compliance

A robust IAM solution like PureAUTH simplifies compliance with major privacy regulations including GDPR, CCPA, and DPDPA by:

• Negating data collection and storage of personal information
• Implementing privacy by design through cryptographic authentication
• Providing granular access controls based on zero trust principles
• Enabling comprehensive audit trails for access monitoring
• Automatically enforcing least privilege principles

Conclusion

Privacy protection must extend equally to customers and employees. By implementing IAM solutions like PureAUTH that address all three NIST criteria, organizations can effectively protect both customer and employee privacy while streamlining regulatory compliance.

The true measure of an organization’s privacy commitment isn’t just in its customer-facing policies, but in how it protects all personal data—whether from customers or employees. As data breaches continue to grow in frequency and impact, comprehensive IAM solutions aren’t just good security practice—they’re essential for privacy in the digital age.

Data breaches have become a persistent threat to organizations worldwide, with cybercriminals targeting sensitive information for financial gain, corporate espionage, or identity theft. While customer data protection has been a primary focus for most organizations, employee data often remains overlooked. This disparity in prioritization stems from organizational blind spots, resource allocation challenges, and cultural attitudes toward internal data security. However, the consequences of neglecting employee data protection are severe and demand equal attention as customer data.

Why Employee Data is Overlooked

1. Compliance Prioritization:

• Regulatory frameworks like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) impose stringent penalties for customer data breaches. 
• Organizations often prioritize compliance with these regulations to avoid fines or legal action, inadvertently sidelining employee data protections. 
• For instance, GDPR’s Article 5(1)(f) emphasizes “integrity and confidentiality” of personal data but does not explicitly differentiate between customer and employee data. This lack of distinction leads many companies to focus their efforts disproportionately on customer-facing systems.

2. Cultural Silos:

• Employee data management is often the responsibility of HR departments, while IT handles cybersecurity measures. 
• This siloed approach creates gaps in communication and collaboration, leaving employee data vulnerable to breaches. 
• A study by Ponemon Institute found that 54% of insider threats originate from mismanaged access controls in HR systems, highlighting the risks of fragmented security policies.

3. Resource Constraints:

• Protecting employee data requires robust Identity Access Management (IAM) solutions, continuous monitoring, and regular audits—all of which demand significant resources. 
• Smaller organizations or those with limited cybersecurity budgets may prioritize external threats over internal vulnerabilities due to cost concerns. 
• Additionally, monitoring dark web leaks or resetting credentials for large workforces can be logistically challenging, further contributing to the neglect of employee data protection.

4. Legal Avoidance:

• Acknowledging employee data breaches often triggers mandatory remediation costs and reputational damage. 
• Some organizations opt to downplay or ignore such incidents to evade these consequences. 
• For example, major firms like Uber and MGM Resorts faced significant losses after ignoring compromised employee credentials, demonstrating the dangers of this approach.

India Employee Data Breaches 

India has witnessed several significant data breaches that have exposed sensitive employee data, highlighting the need for stronger cybersecurity measures:

1. Motilal Oswal Financial Services: A cyberattack linked to the LockBit ransomware group targeted employee systems, compromising sensitive data. Although operations were unaffected, the breach emphasized vulnerabilities in employee endpoints and the importance of securing internal systems
2. Polycab India Limited: This ransomware attack targeted IT infrastructure and involved malicious activities on employee systems. While core operations remained intact, the incident underscored risks to employee data in manufacturing sectors
3. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries: A cyberattack disrupted operations and potentially exposed employee records. The breach raised concerns about the security of critical healthcare infrastructure and its impact on internal stakeholders
4. Hathway ISP Breach: This incident exposed personal data of over 41.5 million users, including sensitive information from employee systems. The breach exploited vulnerabilities in content management systems, highlighting risks to internal user data.

US Employee Data Breaches

The U.S. continues to face frequent cyberattacks targeting employee data, with recent incidents illustrating vulnerabilities in IAM systems and internal processes:

1. Oracle Corporation (2025): Oracle confirmed a breach involving its older Gen 1 servers, where attackers gained access to sensitive authentication credentials such as Single Sign-On (SSO) and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) information. The breach exploited a 2020 Java vulnerability targeting Oracle’s Identity Manager database and impacted usernames, email addresses, hashed passwords, and enterprise authentication keys. While no complete Personally Identifiable Information (PII) was exposed, this incident highlights risks associated with legacy systems.
2. T-Mobile (2021–2023): Over three years, T-Mobile experienced multiple breaches affecting employees and customers alike. In May 2023, attackers stole credentials of several dozen employees, exposing sensitive corporate data and demonstrating the risks of phishing attacks targeting internal users
3. MGM Resorts (2023): A ransomware group exploited social engineering tactics to compromise an IT help desk employee’s credentials. This attack disabled key systems and caused operational losses exceeding $100 million, underscoring the dangers of insider vulnerabilities
4. Uber (2022): An Uber employee fell victim to a social engineering attack where the attacker posed as IT personnel to bypass multi-factor authentication. This breach compromised internal systems, code repositories, and communication channels

Legal Mandates for Employee Data Protection

GDPR 

• Article 5(1)(f): Requires “integrity and confidentiality” of personal data, including employee information
• Article 88: Explicitly addresses employee data processing, mandating safeguards against unauthorized access

DPDPA 

• Section 4(1): Obligates data fiduciaries to protect employee data, with penalties up to ₹250 crore for breaches
• Section 8(2): Mandates data minimization, requiring deletion of employee data once its purpose is fulfilled

CCPA 

• Right to Know: Employees can request disclosure of personal data collected by employers
• Right to Delete: Employers must erase employee data upon request, barring legal exceptions

Strengthening IAM with PureAUTH

PureAUTH addresses gaps in traditional IAM systems that leave employee data vulnerable:

Issue	PureAUTH Solution
Phishing Risks	Eliminates passwords and MFA tokens, using cryptographic profiles to block credential theft
Device Security Blindspots	Regulates access privileges based on real-time device risk assessments
Post-Breach Access	Automatically revokes ex-employee access via self-service identity proofing
Compliance Costs	Reduces penalties by ensuring DPDPA/GDPR compliance through zero-PII authentication

The alarming rise in sophisticated attacks targeting Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) signals a critical inflection point in our approach to digital security. This article examines why passwords have persisted despite their growing vulnerabilities, explores the emerging passwordless authentication technologies, and makes the case for a fundamental shift in how we approach security.

The Growing Crisis in Digital Authentication

Today’s authentication systems are under unprecedented assault. According to a 2024 study published in the International Journal of Information Security, digital fraud involving OTPs has seen a significant uptick, with SIM swap attacks increasing by 400% between 2020 and 2023. 

In the United Kingdom, financial losses due to online banking fraud reached £3.2 billion in 2023, with a substantial portion attributed to compromised OTPs. Meanwhile, account takeover fraud, often facilitated by OTP interception, resulted in estimated losses of $11.4 billion in the United States in 2023

These statistics reflect a troubling reality: our current authentication mechanisms, even those meant to enhance security like MFA and OTPs, have significant vulnerabilities that sophisticated attackers readily exploit. The problem is expanding rapidly, with the global Multi-Factor Authentication market growing at 15.2% annually, reaching $12.5 billion in 2022 and projected to hit $36.8 billion by 2030

The OTP Vulnerability Crisis

The vulnerability of OTP systems presents a particularly urgent challenge. Many systems lack basic protections such as limits on OTP requests or entry attempts, allowing attackers to bombard users with authentication attempts until success is achieved. Once breached, these systems often provide session cookies that can be reused, potentially enabling continued unauthorized access

From Enigma to Password: The Evolution of Authentication

To understand our current predicament, we must look to the origins of modern authentication systems. Alan Turing, the mathematical genius whose work at Bletchley Park during World War II was fundamental to breaking the German Enigma code, laid much of the groundwork for contemporary cryptography

Turing’s contributions to cryptanalysis—including the Bombe machine, the statistical technique called Banburismus, and the development of Turingery for deciphering the Lorenz cipher—revolutionized our understanding of secure communications. His later work on the portable secure voice scrambler codenamed Delilah demonstrated his foresight regarding the need for secure authentication in remote communications.

While Turing didn’t directly create the password systems we use today, his pioneering work established the foundational principles of modern cryptography that underpin all digital security. Ironically, the very password systems that evolved from these foundations have become increasingly vulnerable to the types of mathematical and statistical attacks that Turing himself helped develop.

The Persistent Password Paradox

Despite widespread recognition of their vulnerabilities, passwords remain the dominant form of authentication in 2025. This persistence reflects what researchers at Microsoft have called the absence of a “silver bullet” that meets all authentication requirements across diverse scenarios. Passwords continue to be used because they offer a familiar, relatively simple solution that balances security, usability, and implementation costs.

Bruce Schneier, a renowned security expert, offers a sobering perspective: “If you think technology can solve your security problems, then you don’t understand the problems and you don’t understand the technology.” This insight reminds us that security is not merely a technological challenge but a complex socio-technical system involving human behavior, organizational processes, and technological implementations.

Unlearning What We Know

Alvin Toffler, the visionary futurist who predicted the rise of digital technologies in his book “The Third Wave,” provides a relevant framework for thinking about our authentication challenges. Toffler famously stated, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

This concept of unlearning is particularly applicable to authentication. Organizations and individuals must unlearn their dependence on passwords—a technology that has become increasingly inadequate for modern security challenges. As Toffler also noted, “Technology feeds on itself. Technology makes more technology possible.”

In the context of authentication, this means leveraging advances in cryptography, biometrics, and hardware security to create more robust solutions.

The Promise of Passwordless Authentication

The Business Case for Passwordless Authentication

Beyond security benefits, passwordless authentication offers compelling business advantages:

• Improved User Experience

Passwordless authentication eliminates the friction associated with remembering and entering passwords, resulting in faster access and reduced frustration. This frictionless experience leads to increased user engagement and retention, with companies reporting higher conversion rates and reduced cart abandonment.

• Reduced Support Costs

Password resets and account lockouts represent a significant portion of IT support requests. Organizations implementing passwordless authentication have reported a 50% reduction in password-related customer service costs. For a typical retail website with millions of monthly visitors, this can translate to savings of $17,000 per month.

• Enhanced Security Posture

The elimination of passwords removes the primary target of most attacks, significantly reducing the risk of credential theft and account takeovers. Google’s experience demonstrates that phishing-resistant authentication methods can effectively eliminate certain classes of attacks entirely.

Moving Forward: Embracing the Passwordless Future

As we look ahead, it’s clear that passwordless authentication represents the future of digital security. However, transitioning away from passwords requires careful planning and a phased approach:

Conclusion: Unlearning for a More Secure Future

As Alvin Toffler wisely observed, our ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn will define success in the 21st century. The persistence of passwords despite their known vulnerabilities represents a failure to unlearn outdated security paradigms. By embracing passwordless authentication technologies likePureAuth, organizations can simultaneously enhance security, improve user experience, and reduce operational costs.
The market is already responding to this imperative, with the global MFA market projected to reach $36.8 billion by 2030. Forward-thinking organizations are leading the way, demonstrating that passwordless authentication is not just a theoretical ideal but a practical reality with measurable benefits.

In today’s hyper-connected business world, employee data has become both a prized asset and a prime target for cyberattacks. With the growing sophistication of threats aimed at Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems—and the introduction of India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act of 2023—protecting this data is no longer just a best practice but a necessity.

The Growing Crisis of Employee Data Vulnerability

Recent data breach statistics paint an alarming picture of the threat landscape. According to recent industry reports, 80% of cyberattacks now leverage identity-based attack methods, with 99% of security decision makers anticipating an identity-related compromise within the next year. More concerning still, 46% of all breaches involve customer Personally Identifiable Information (PII), while 40% directly impact employee PII.

The 2023 MOVEit vulnerability breach stands as a stark reminder of this escalating crisis. A critical flaw in this widely-used file transfer software enabled hackers to bypass authentication measures and access sensitive data, resulting in one of the most substantial leaks of corporate information in recent years. The breach exposed extensive employee directories from 25 major organizations—including Amazon, HSBC, McDonald’s, and HP—compromising names, email addresses, phone numbers, cost center codes, and in some cases, entire organizational structures

This incident didn’t merely represent a technical failure; it revealed the profound business implications of inadequate employee data protection. The exposed information provides cybercriminals with a goldmine for conducting sophisticated phishing campaigns, identity theft operations, and social engineering attacks that can penetrate even the most secure networks.

India’s DPDP Act: Redefining Employee Data Protection

India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 introduces a comprehensive framework for data protection that directly addresses the employer-employee relationship. The Act designates employers as “data fiduciaries” who bear significant responsibility for safeguarding their employees’ personal information

Unlike previous regulatory frameworks, the DPDP Act adopts a nuanced approach to employee data processing, establishing two fundamental grounds: consent and legitimate use cases. Section 7(i) specifically recognizes “purposes of employment” as a legitimate use case, enabling employers to process employee data without explicit consent for activities such as:

• Safeguarding the employer from loss or liability
• Maintaining confidentiality of trade secrets and intellectual property
• Providing services or benefits sought by employees

While this provision offers operational flexibility, it doesn’t diminish the employer’s broader obligations. Organizations must still implement robust security measures, ensure data accuracy, accommodate employee rights requests, and establish effective grievance redressal mechanisms. Failure to meet these requirements can result in penalties reaching INR 250 crore.

IAM Vulnerabilities: The New Frontier of Risk

The IAM ecosystem—encompassing the technologies, policies, and processes that manage digital identities—has emerged as a critical vulnerability point. As organizations increasingly rely on IAM solutions to manage workforce access privileges, these systems have become prime targets for sophisticated threat actors.

A concerning trend is the rapid expansion of Business-to-Business (B2B) identities, projected to outnumber internal employee identities by a 3:1 ratio by 2025. This proliferation creates exponentially more access points for potential exploitation, particularly as organizations outsource key functions and share employee data across corporate boundaries.

The traditional perimeter-based security model is increasingly ineffective against these evolving threats. Modern attacks focus less on breaching network defenses and more on compromising identity credentials, allowing attackers to move laterally through systems while appearing as legitimate users. This “living off the land” approach makes detection extraordinarily difficult using conventional security measures.

Building a Resilient Employee Data Protection Framework 

Passwordless Authentication

Passwordless authentication systems eliminate vulnerabilities associated with traditional password-based approaches. By leveraging more secure methods like digital signatures or biometrics, these systems provide a user-friendly authentication experience that is resistant to phishing, credential theft, and other common attack vectors. The need for passwordless authentication has grown as traditional passwords have proven increasingly insecure and burdensome for users to manage.

Digital Signatures: The Future of Authentication

While multi-factor authentication (MFA) and two-factor authentication (2FA) have been widely adopted, they still often rely on potentially vulnerable elements like passwords or one-time codes. The use of digital signatures represents the next evolution in authentication technology, offering:

• Enhanced security through cryptographic principles
• Non-repudiation, ensuring the authenticity of user actions
• Seamless user experience without the need for additional factors

Digital signatures provide a cryptographically secure way to verify identity and authorize actions, making them ideal for high-security environments.

Zero Trust Access Control

Implementing zero trust principles involves continuously verifying user identity and device health before granting access to sensitive resources. This approach significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access, even if an attacker manages to compromise a user’s credentials. Zero trust acknowledges that threats can come from both inside and outside traditional network boundaries.

Compliance and Breach Prevention

To ensure compliance with regulations like the DPDP Act and prevent data breaches, a robust framework should offer:

• Granular access controls based on user roles and device health
• Comprehensive audit logging for all authentication and access events
• Ability to quickly revoke access in case of suspicious activity

As we look toward 2025, securing employee data transcends regulatory compliance—it represents a fundamental business imperative. Organizations that treat employee data protection as a strategic priority will build greater trust with their workforce, reduce operational risk, and create competitive advantage in talent acquisition and retention.

By prioritizing robust employee data security now, organizations can confidently navigate the challenges of evolving technology, regulatory demands, and workforce management. This not only protects their data but also safeguards their most valuable asset—their people.