Cisco Duo Identity and Access Management (IAM), a new security solution, revolutionizes how organizations defend against persistent identity-based attacks that are becoming more frequent in the AI era. Due to serious flaws in the present solutions that attackers take advantage of, identity is a top target for bad actors and will account for 60% of Cisco Talos Incident Response cases in 2024.
With additional protection based on its widely recognized multifactor authentication (MFA), Duo IAM provides a cutting-edge and security-first solution. The most recent development in Cisco’s long-standing dedication to user-friendly Zero Trust security is Duo IAM.
Security-First Identity and Access Management
According to Cisco’s 2025 Cybersecurity Readiness Index, nearly a third of companies worldwide rank identity as their top cybersecurity challenge, but traditional IAM solutions often treat security as optional rather than foundational. Purpose-built to protect against modern identity threats, Duo IAM enables organizations to securely manage their entire identity infrastructure.
To make it easier to store user identities, such as usernames, emails, and roles, and to manage their access to resources, Duo comes with a new User Directory. Duo now provides clients a complete IAM solution in addition to its current features, such as MFA and Single Sign On (SSO), which enable users to access hundreds of apps with ease and security from a single login page.
Duo IAM is open, flexible, and easily connects with third-party identification systems that are already in place. Duo may now interface with numerous identity providers as a supplementary identity provider or as an identity broker thanks to the new Identity Routing Engine.
By integrating security by default, Duo IAM enhances user experience and lowers administrative expenses while frustrating attackers. Duo has the Cisco AI Assistant built in to make it simple for businesses to implement and oversee the new solution.
End-to-End Phishing-Resistance
AI has accelerated the scale and complexity of account takeover through automated agentic social engineering. In response to rising threats, globally trusted Duo MFA now delivers the strongest form of authentication, without sacrificing convenience or purchasing expensive hardware keys.
Recent innovations strengthening end-to-end phishing resistance include:
- Complete Passwordless: New option ensures a secure authentication experience without users ever having to use or remember a password.
- Proximity Verification: This capability uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to ensure a user’s mobile and access devices are near each other when authenticating.
- Session Theft Protection: New enhancements to Duo Passport remove the reliance on browser cookies from authentication, protecting against session theft and hijacking.
Unified Identity Intelligence
Because identity infrastructure is complicated and frequently disjointed, vulnerabilities and assaults can go undetected. By linking identity and access data throughout the Cisco Security Cloud platform, Duo IAM connects with Cisco Identity Intelligence to assist enterprises in continuously monitoring and responding to changes in identity risk.
Cisco’s unparalleled network reach combined with AI-driven behavioral analytics gives enterprises complete visibility, threat detection, and the ability to implement tiered responses, such as isolating the network, quarantining an identity, or terminating active sessions.
Leadership Comments
“The security industry is facing an ‘identity crisis’ as persistent identity-based attacks are among the most dangerous and costly challenges for security teams. Attackers don’t need to hack in, when they can simply log in,” said Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer, Cisco. “While identity is the foundation of strong security, traditional IAM solutions have failed to prioritize security despite increasingly sophisticated threats. With this massive innovation, Duo is moving beyond MFA and restoring trust in identity security with a fundamentally different approach that attackers hate and users love.”
“Cisco Duo has been a trusted security partner when it comes to MFA, and in today’s environment we’re eager to use these new capabilities to fight growing identity-based attacks,” said Todd Perrault, Senior Vice President of Client Advisory, Optiv. “Duo’s expanding suite of identity and access management solutions will deliver even stronger results for our customers with a security-first approach to identity while providing reduced friction for end users.”
“Identity breaches are no longer the exception—they’re the rule. Seeing a trusted security brand like Duo broaden from access management to include identity management and provide a security-first approach in the market is both timely and refreshing,” said Todd Thiemann, Principal Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. “Duo’s commitment to maximizing security while minimizing user and admin friction is exactly what the industry needs. In particular, their approach to end-to-end phishing resistance marks a major leap forward, not just in security, but also in ease of deployment, to combat the latest identity threats.”
For more information about Duo and its new IAM solution, visit duo.com.
