This gap is most evident in the push for stronger authentication. There is a clear industry trajectory towards a passwordless future, which leaders like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella describe as moving“ to a fundamentally more secure foundation.” However, the reality on the ground is different. Adoption of the current gold standard, phishingresistant FIDO2 hardware tokens, remains critically low at just 19 % of companies, with leaders citing token management complexity and cost as major barriers.

IT leaders who admit identity security is often implemented reactively after a breach

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