Cisco Introduces Duo Identity and Access Management to Enhance Identity Protection in the AI Era

May 28, 2025 - In an effort to combat persistent identity-based attacks that are accelerating in the artificial intelligence era, Cisco Systems Inc. through its Cisco Duo arm, has today unveiled Duo Identity and Access Management (IAM), a new security solution designed to transform how organizations protect their identities.

The introduction of Duo IAM comes as a response to the growing threat landscape, where attackers increasingly target identities, accounting for 60% of Cisco Talos Incident Response cases in 2024. Current solutions have critical weaknesses that attackers exploit, and traditional IAM solutions often treat security as optional rather than foundational.

Duo IAM differs from existing solutions by offering an innovative and security-first approach, built on its trusted multifactor authentication. The solution is purpose-built to protect against modern identity threats, allowing organizations to securely manage their entire identity infrastructure.

A New Approach to Identity Protection

Duo IAM includes a new user directory that simplifies storing user identities, including usernames, emails, and roles, and managing access to resources. The directory is paired with existing Duo capabilities, such as single sign-on and multifactor authentication, providing users with simple, easy, and secure access to hundreds of applications from one login page.

Additionally, Duo IAM integrates effortlessly with existing third-party identity systems, including a new Identity Routing Engine that allows the integration of many identity providers either as an identity broker or as a secondary identity provider.

Advanced Security Features

The new offering introduces advanced phishing protection capabilities, including Complete Passwordless, which ensures secure authentication without users needing to remember or input passwords. This approach eliminates a major point of compromise in traditional systems.

A new feature called Proximity Verification leverages Bluetooth Low Energy technology to confirm that a user's mobile device and the access device are in close proximity during authentication, adding an extra layer of assurance.

Integration with Cisco Identity Intelligence

Duo IAM integrates with Cisco Identity Intelligence, allowing organizations to monitor identity risks in real-time and proactively respond. The integration connects identity and access data across the Cisco Security Cloud platform, leveraging AI-driven behavioral analytics to detect threats and automate response actions.

Organizations can also take graduated responses, such as quarantining an identity, terminating active sessions, or isolating compromised network segments. This enables emerging threats to be swiftly neutralized without disrupting legitimate user activity.

A Message from Jeetu Patel

'The security industry is facing an 'identity crisis' as persistent identity-based attacks are among the most dangerous and costly challenges for security teams,' said Cisco President and Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel. 'Attackers don’t need to hack in when they can simply log in. 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,' Patel added.

A Call to Action

As the threat landscape continues to evolve, it's essential for organizations to prioritize their identity protection. By adopting Duo Identity and Access Management, they can enhance their security posture and protect against modern identity threats.

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