Since 2017, IDPro® has been growing, evolving, and supporting the professionals working in the field of digital identity. From our founding to launching CIDPRO®—Certified Identity Professional—in 2021, we’ve worked to build a strong, connected IAM community.

Now, it’s time to welcome a new leader to help shape IDPro’s future. With the board size set at nine members, we have open seats for an engaged and enthusiastic professional to join us in July 2026.

What It Means to Be on the IDPro Board

This isn’t a ceremonial role—it’s hands-on. IDPro’s board is operational, which means rolling up your sleeves to keep things moving. Board members typically contribute 10–15 hours per month, participating in monthly meetings, managing projects, and engaging with members.

If you’re passionate about the practice and the profession of digital identity and want to actively contribute to the success of IDPro, we’d love to see you throw your hat in the ring.

As a board member, you will:

Help steer IDPro’s strategic direction

Unlock new opportunities for members through sponsors
Support financial health and organizational growth
Strengthen the IAM community and professional network
Work alongside industry leaders and practitioners
Gain leadership experience and visibility in the field

We value collaboration, inclusivity, and diversity—and we encourage identity professionals from all backgrounds to apply.

Ready to Nominate?

If you or someone you know would be a great fit, now’s the time to act! Self-nominations are welcome—after all, who knows your passion and skills better than you?

To apply, email director@idpro.org for the nomination packet.
Deadline for completed nominations: May 15, 2026.

This is your chance to make a real impact in the world of digital identity. We can’t wait to see who steps forward!

The post Join the IDPro Board appeared first on IDPro.

Identity management is the term that describes how organizations maintain effective security to prevent unauthorized users from obtaining access to secure systems. Good identity management keeps systems and people secure, enhances privacy, and enables efficient digital experiences for both businesses and individuals.

Identity Management Day was first hosted on April 12, 2021 by the Identity Defined Security Alliance and the National Cybersecurity Alliance to spread awareness about the importance of proper identity management and the dangers of improperly managing digital identities. 

We asked our members to share their best IAM practices for protecting digital identity. Learn from the best by following these 9 tips:

1. Only collect the data you absolutely need to provide your product or service. The more data you have, the more attractive you become to attackers, and the more risk you take on.
2. Bad data quality will kill every IAM approach. For example: people suddenly without managers, missing required data or having it disappear from a source overnight. Plan to keep the bad data out and when it creeps in (because it will) make sure you have tested  the unhappy path before you accidentally fire the CEO.
3. Follow the ‘principle of least privilege.’ Meaning, don’t assign too many privileges to those who don’t need them; instead only assign what is needed to do their jobs.
4. Prune and clean your account list and remove your “leavers”. It should be a no-brainer, but is actually an often-neglected control measure.
5. Any MFA is better than no MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication). (see #6)
6. If you’re using MFA, use Adaptive MFA. Don’t carpet-bomb every transaction with laborious authentication requirements, because other parts of your business could suffer (e.g., signup funnels). Have clear policies when you require stronger authentication and only present those prompts when necessary.
7. Encrypt personally identifiable information (PII) and personal data (PD) at rest and in transit. Things like emails and phone numbers should never be stored or sent in cleartext.
8. Block the use of known breached passwords / credentials.
9. Adopt SSO (Single Sign-on) as a default practice. Friends don’t let friends connect things directly to LDAP for sign-on or local user ID/password pairs — they adopt SSO. You don’t know who wrote and tested a given application, much less what they actually contain for code or their patching practices. They do NOT need to handle clear text user ID and password pairs. Local accounts pose the risk of ghosting credentials, jeopardizing them, or handling them without the same duty of care needed for good security hygiene. SSO is vastly more helpful than trying to remember all the touch points on local credentials when revoking them. 

Now it’s YOUR turn to participate! 

Identity practitioners are encouraged to share their best security practices during the 2022 Identity Management Day Virtual Conference, inspiring others to employ effective strategies for securing their digital identities and helping leadership understand the importance of a strong identity management team. 
Want to learn more? Check out this 2022 RSAConference presentation by IDPro members – Vittorio Bertocci and Sarah Cecchetti – Securing Your Direct to Consumer Identity Strategy.

The post Celebrating Identity Management Day 2022 with Nine IAM Best Practices from IDPro® Members appeared first on IDPro.

This month marks  the second anniversary of our first articles published to the IDPro Body of Knowledge (BoK). In the past two years, we’ve published 28 articles on foundational identity topics from Authentication and Authorization to Practical Implications of Public Key Infrastructure for Identity Professionals. 

The first two years of the BoK topics were  bootstrapped–any foundational identity  topic was welcome. This has led to full coverage in some areas like workforce identity topics, but less coverage in others like access governance. Looking forward, the BoK Committee is  developing an editorial calendar to focus on specific topics. In particular, we’re soliciting  articles on:

• Distinct Authentication Case studies (like “Cloud Service Authenticates Via Delegation – SAML” )
• IAM Security guidance regarding tokens and credentials
• Access Policy Lifecycles
• Developing an IAM security threat model

The list goes on and is updated on our publication status page. 

I am incredibly proud of and grateful to a community that is willing to not just write about what they know best, but also take time to review material and offer the feedback that makes the IDPro BoK an incredible collection of information. Our industry is constantly evolving and maturing, and we have already refreshed 18 of our foundational articles to ensure the material is current.

But wait, there’s more! As the BoK evolves, so too does the program committee behind it all. We have recently updated the program charter and need new membership driven leadership to help guide our strategic direction. This is an opportunity to lead and contribute to the professional knowledge base needed to build best of breed identity solutions.

Get in touch on slack or at editor@idpro.org to volunteer. I look forward to hearing from you!

Heather Flanagan

Principal and IDPro BoK Editor

Spherical Cow Consulting

Heather Flanagan, Principal at Spherical Cow Consulting, comes from a position that the Internet is led by people, powered by words, and inspired by technology. She has been involved in leadership roles with some of the most technical, volunteer-driven organizations on the Internet, including IDPro as Principal Editor, the IETF, the IAB, and the IRTF as RFC Series Editor, ICANN as Technical Writer, and REFEDS as Coordinator, just to name a few. If there is work going on to develop new Internet standards, or discussions around the future of digital identity, she is interested in engaging in that work.

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