{"id":75291,"date":"2025-07-09T08:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T07:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/?p=75291"},"modified":"2025-08-04T08:52:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T07:52:44","slug":"africas-digital-rise-faces-a-hidden-threat-weak-identity-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/2025\/07\/09\/africas-digital-rise-faces-a-hidden-threat-weak-identity-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019s digital rise faces a hidden threat: Weak identity security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As African enterprises expand digitally, outdated access models and cumbersome user experiences are becoming liabilities. A new survey reveals how identity could be the key or the barrier to long-term resilience.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Africa today is rapidly becoming the poster child for Digital Transformation, to such an extent that it is transforming the way people work, connect, and transact. From mobile-first platforms to substantial cloud adoption and expanding FinTechs, the region\u2019s digital capabilities are growing swiftly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, behind the scenes, a much more difficult problem to solve with code alone looms: cybersecurity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new CXO Priorities survey, conducted in collaboration with Okta, examines how organisations across Africa are managing this crucial issue. Drawing from insights provided by 30 senior leaders from sectors including finance, government, and telecommunications, among others, the findings illustrate a continent full of potential – but also one struggling with identity sprawl, outdated security frameworks, and varying levels of cyber-readiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A region on the move but at risk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite widespread digitalisation, many organisations across the continent still rely on outdated perimeter-based security frameworks. Nearly half of surveyed leaders (48%) express concern about identity-based attacks – a clear sign that awareness is increasing. However, worryingly, 26% report having no concern whatsoever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This result highlights a gap between perception and protection. In the digital realm, identity is no longer just a backend IT issue; it has become the main attack route. Credentials, once compromised, are the easiest way for threat actors to gain access and the hardest to detect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okta\u2019s approach here is proactive: from Zero Trust awareness campaigns to regional audits and executive workshops, the organisation is helping leaders understand that identity-first security is no longer a luxury; it\u2019s essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confidence is high, but is it misplaced?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost 30% of respondents feel very confident in their current cyberdefences, while another 18% are not that confident. Although this sounds promising, closer examination reveals an unsettling truth: several security programmes are cobbled together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multi-Factor Authentication may be enabled, but policies remain unchanged. Systems may be upgraded, but access remains decentralised. It\u2019s easy to feel secure with a few technical boxes ticked, yet these gaps leave organisations vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okta helps shift this mindset from tactical to strategic. Through maturity modelling and identity risk-scoring, it enables African businesses to develop resilience by design, rather than reacting to issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When security blocks work, it backfires<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For nearly 35% of leaders in Africa, overly restrictive access controls cause daily friction, delaying workflows and prompting users to seek risky workarounds. It\u2019s a typical example of security hindering productivity. When people are unable to perform their jobs, security policies tend to break down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several of these challenges arise from static policies, controls that do not adapt to risk levels, devices, locations, or even the time of day. Okta\u2019s adaptive access model addresses this by adjusting in real-time, enabling seamless yet secure access that moves with<\/em> the user, not against<\/em> them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experience now sits at the heart of security<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From being just a design issue, user experience has now become a board-level security priority. More than half of surveyed leaders (56%) rated seamless UX as either important or essential. Why? Because clunky login processes don\u2019t just cause frustration\u2014they turn users away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an increasingly competitive digital landscape, whether it’s a customer signing up for a FinTech app or an employee trying to access internal tools, seamless access is now directly linked to trust, retention, and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okta\u2019s passwordless solutions, biometric authentication, and invisible login flows help ensure security doesn\u2019t mean added friction. Instead, it becomes something users barely notice and that\u2019s precisely how it should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Priorities are emerging, but still fragmented<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey shows the region is still shaping its long-term strategy. Passwordless access and Zero Trust frameworks each received 26% of the votes as top priorities, with AI detection (21%) and identity automation (18%) close behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This trend suggests that many organisations are still in the testing phase. They recognise the potential but have not yet agreed on a shared direction. The result is fragmentation, where disconnected tools fail to deliver cohesive outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okta\u2019s strength is in uniting various security features. It combines passwordless authentication, Zero Trust enforcement, automation, and threat detection into one platform, helping African businesses operate more quickly and securely with fewer components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identity is no longer just about security<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One notable insight from the report is that regional leaders are not solely focused on defence; they are also prioritising growth. When asked about the business advantages of strong identity strategies, 26% of respondents mentioned increased customer sign-ups, another 26% highlighted enhanced employee productivity, and a further 26% pointed to quicker innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identity in Africa isn\u2019t a gate; it\u2019s a growth driver. It minimises downtime and streamlines onboarding, keeps users engaged and encourages customers to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okta enables this shift by turning identity into an enabler, not a barrier. It removes the friction that slows innovation, connects access with business outcomes and ensures security supports agility, rather than working against it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The road ahead: From access to advantage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Africa, the fast pace of innovation must be matched by equally agile security models. Identity is central to this, serving not only as a means of control but also as a driver of scale, trust, and business performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organisations that regard identity as a strategic asset rather than just a compliance checkbox will be the ones to unlock genuine resilience. Okta is assisting in achieving this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From visibility to velocity, this captures what modern identity represents and Africa is ready for it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As African enterprises expand digitally, outdated access models and cumbersome user experiences are becoming liabilities. A new survey reveals how identity could be the key or the barrier to long-term resilience. Africa today is rapidly becoming the poster child for Digital Transformation, to such an extent that it is transforming the way people work, connect, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4338,"featured_media":75212,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4525,17379,821,262],"tags":[388,7622],"class_list":["post-75291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cats","category-infographic","category-infographics","category-used","tag-cybersecurity","tag-okta"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75291"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75491,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75291\/revisions\/75491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}