Auth0 releases State of Secure Identity Report, highlighting the most pervasive threats to digital identities

Auth0, the modern identity platform, announced the launch of its inaugural security report: The State of Secure Identity.

This detailed report highlights key areas of concern for security professionals responsible for managing digital identities, including the exponential rise of credential stuffing attacks, fraudulent registrations, and the widespread use of breached credentials.

What inspired Auth0’s State of Secure Identity Report?

Recent headlines and high-profile cyber attacks give today’s security professionals a wide swath of serious threats to worry about.

The primary goal of cybercriminal activity is to access critical resources, systems, and personal data, yet systems that can be put into place to minimise the risk of attack — like identity management — often get deprioritised.

Lack of budget, resourcing, or attention on managing digital identities give threat actors an opportunity to take advantage of these discrepancies and surreptitiously execute their attacks.

Research into Auth0’s global customers over the past year found these key facts and figures

  • In the first 90 days of 2021, credential stuffing accounted for 16.5% of attempted login traffic on its platform, with a peak of over 40% near the end of March — all of which Auth0 detected and prevented.
  • Travel & leisure and retail are the top two industries most affected by credential stuffing attacks.
  • The number of fraudulent registrations vary by industry vertical, but roughly 15% of all attempts to register a new account can be attributed to bots.
  • In the first 90 days of 2021, the Auth0 platform detected breached passwords at an average of more than 26,600 per day, with a minimum of just under 7,300 and a high on Feb. 9, 2021 exceeding 182,000.

Lessons from Auth0’s State of Secure Identity Report

“Securing customers’ identities is made difficult by industry-wide failures to protect data,” said Duncan Godfrey, VP of Security Engineering, Auth0.

“The prevalence of breached passwords and the availability of automated attack tools makes the humble password a protective measure from the past.”

“The State of Secure Identity Report is designed to share our unique identity security insights and recommendations with the industry,” said Duncan Godfrey.

“Application builders and developers can then take the steps they need to improve their overall security posture, and ensure security for end users.”

The most prevalent threats detailed in the report include Credential Stuffing (the most common threat observed by Auth0); Fraudulent Registrations; Multi-factor Authentication Bypass; Breached Password Usage; and other common identity attacks.

The complete Auth0 State of Secure Identity Report, includes additional key findings and recommendations on how organizations can improve their identity security posture.

Auth0 which was recently acquired by Okta, provides a modern identity platform that helps organisations meet the security, privacy, and convenience needs of their users.

Auth0’s modern approach to identity enables organizations to provide secure access to any application, for any user.