Identity management plays a key role in ensuring good customer experience. Bahaa Abdul Hadi feels that it also helps in protecting customer data. Identity Management or IDM has evolved over the years and one needs to look at the past to understand what the future holds.

The past

During the beginning of this millennium, LDAP or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol became the standard framework for identity management. Active Directory by Microsoft then adopted LDAP, and soon it began to be used everywhere.

During the 2000s, the concept was that credentials were to be used to grant access. Since the number of applications used were fewer, other authentication measures like multi-factor authentication were not being used.

During the 2010s, new technologies evolved and they changed how identity management worked. SAML 2.0 and OpenID Connect were the new protocols being used. SSQ or Single Sign On was now the standard. This allowed companies to make innovations in security measures.

The FIDO Alliance was formed in 2013 whose objective was to promote standards for authentication that reduced reliance on passwords. The use of OTP or one time password became common. MFA or Multi Factor Authentication was introduced for enhanced security.

The present

Today, multi-factor authentication is slowly becoming the norm. Relying on a user ID and password is risky and hence MFA is becoming popular. The use of OTP is also increasing since it offers security with convenience for users. The use of security question, push notifications, and hardware tokens are slowly gaining in popularity.

More and more organizations are now moving to biometric authentication. This is a better IDM technique than using passwords

The future

Identity management and passwords have become a major issue today. This is why there is a shift towards passwordless authentication. Companies like Apple are developing Passkeys for authentication. Use of FaceID and TouchID are slowly replacing username and passwords. The future is moving towards adaptive authentication.

The focus would be on understanding the user before deciding whether to grant access. This not only enhances security but also helps users get a better experience. Technology is fast evolving and will affect the way identity management is being practiced.

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