RSA, the security-first identity leader, announced today that KuppingerCole Analysts AG has named RSA an Overall Leader, Innovation Leader, and Market Leader in its 2024 Identity Fabrics Leadership Compass Report, which provides CISOs, CIOs, and security teams with key insights into the vendors that can “deliver the full range of identity services required by an organization.”

The 2024 KuppingerCole Leadership Compass: Identity Fabrics comes at a key moment in cybersecurity. More organizations than ever have adopted multi-factor authentication (MFA), which is a critical cybersecurity component but insufficient as a singular defense against emerging threats. Recent data breaches—including the ransomware attack that reportedly cost MGM Resorts $100 million, the Colonial Pipeline breach, and the theft of access tokens—indicate that rather than attack MFA, cybercriminals target other phases in the identity lifecycle.

Those attacks validate KuppingerCole’s conclusion that a paradigm shift has transformed identity, and that vendors must be assessed on their capacity to deliver an end-to-end identity security platform to defend themselves from attacks. “The formerly classic corporate network with clearly defined ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ has given way to a massively hybrid, new IT reality,” the report notes. Given that shift, the report adds that identity and access management (IAM) “has emerged as the essential security infrastructure from which enterprises can facilitate new services, models, and forms of cooperation,” and that managing “identities and permissions in digital transformation is the key to security, governance, and audit,” as well as “system usability and user satisfaction.”

“KuppingerCole’s analysis showcases the centrality of identity in assuring cybersecurity and recognizes the market shift towards broader identity platforms. We continue to believe that—in addition to breadth—depth in security capability will be vital, and the future belongs to security-first identity platforms,” said RSA CEO Rohit Ghai. “The KuppingerCole Identity Fabrics Leadership Compass gives identity its due, validates the RSA Unified Identity Platform, and recognizes the progress RSA continues to make delivering authentication, access, governance, and lifecycle capabilities to security-first leaders.”