Stay secure online with the latest on authentication techniques, best practices, and industry updates at the forefront of information security.
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Background for this topic.
Authentication confirms the identity of users or systems before granting access to resources, typically using factors like passwords (knowledge), hardware tokens (possession), or biometrics (inherence). It establishes trust boundaries that prevent unauthorized entities from impersonating legitimate users or devices within networks and applications.
Weak authentication enables attackers to perform account takeover, privilege escalation, or lateral movement by exploiting stolen credentials, phishing, or replay attacks. Deploying multi-factor authentication (MFA) with independent factors significantly reduces these risks. Secure credential storage, regular rotation, and monitoring authentication logs for anomalies are critical defenses to detect and block unauthorized access attempts early in the attack chain.
CISA this week added CVE-2025-24472 to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities, citing ransomware activity targeting the authentication bypass flaw.
Identity-based attacks are on the rise. Attackers are targeting identities with compromised credentials, hijacked authentication methods, and misused privileges. While many threat detection solutions focus on cloud, endpoint, and network threats, they overlook the unique risks posed by SaaS identity ecosystems. This blind spot is wreaking havoc on heavily SaaS-reliant organizations big and small
A critical security vulnerability has been disclosed in AMI's MegaRAC Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) software that could allow an attacker to bypass authentication and carry out post-exploitation actions
In a cyber twist, attackers behind two of the campaigns are using the apps to redirect users to phishing and malware distribution sites.
A widespread phishing campaign has targeted nearly 12,000 GitHub repositories with fake "Security Alert" issues, tricking developers into authorizing a malicious OAuth app that grants attackers full control over their accounts and code. [...]
Cybercriminals are promoting malicious Microsoft OAuth apps that masquerade as Adobe and DocuSign apps to deliver malware and steal Microsoft 365 accounts credentials. [...]