Identity platform provider Okta Inc. today released a report that reveals the security apps and tools companies are investing in to defend better against the rise in identity-based and multifactor authentication attacks.

The Businesses at Work report uncovers how companies are strategizing their security investments to protect against ever-evolving threats. Key among the findings is that nearly one-third of companies are accessing and using zero-trust solutions to improve their identity security practices. Some 22% of Okta customers are now deploying one or more zero-trust configurations.

The adoption of security training tools was identified as a growing trend, with deployment growing by nearly 50% over the last year among Okta customers. In the previous four years, the uptake of security training tools has increased by a whopping 436%. The rise is said to highlight the growing belief that an organization’s people are its best defense.

Security tool adoption rose 23% year-over-year and 43% by unique users, with the report noting that this is no surprise in a world where the threat landscape continues to grow.

The Businesses at Work report also revealed that security strategies are evolving, with organizations said to be realizing that not all MFA is created equal. As they do, organizations were found to be seeking higher-assurance factors in their MFA solutions.

Low-assurance security questions are experiencing the slowest growth across the board — 3% year-over-year by the number of customers — while high-assurance security keys and biometrics, including WebAuthentication, grew 46% by the number of customers and 211% by unique users.

In related security findings, Okta customers increased their use of risk-based policies on networks by 147% over the last two years. Okta customers implementing WebAuthn, the new standard for password-free web authentication, grew 60% over the previous year and the number of customers deploying device-trust configurations grew 21%.

“Businesses at Work paints a clear picture of an emerging new normal,” Todd McKinnon, chief executive officer of Okta, said in a blog post. “Companies aren’t acting as if we’ve returned to 2020. Instead, they’re looking to the future, doubling down on cloud-based solutions, more robust security approaches and automation-powered efficiency to ensure safe and sustainable growth in 2023 and beyond.”

Photo: Okta