What Is the Domain Name System (DNS)?  The domain name system (DNS) makes it possible for browsers, apps, and servers to load internet resources. Think of it like a phonebook—except instead of associating a person’s name with a phone number, it maps a domain name (e.g., okta.com) to an internet protocol (IP) address that can be understood by…

Put simply, personal data is information that relates to 1. an identified or identifiable person or 2. an identified or identifiable legal entity (where such information is protected similarly as personal data under applicable data protection laws and regulations). While regulations use different terms with slightly varying definitions, “personal…

Security questions are a common method of identity authentication—one you’ve probably encountered before. When creating an account or signing up for a service online, users will confidentially share the answers to secret questions with a provider.  Typically, these security questions and answers are used for self-service password recovery…

Okta’s vision is to safely enable everyone to use any technology. To achieve this ambitious mission, we’ve been investing heavily in customer identity — enabling organisations to build secure customer experiences — and transitioning from delivering products to building a true platform to address every identity use case. Today, we're taking a…

Microservices architecture, also known simply as “microservices,” is an approach to building software with modular services that are distinct and independent from each other.  In recent years, microservices have become a popular choice for designing and deploying applications. They allow apps to be broken into smaller and loosely coupled pieces …

With so many people working remotely today, IT admins are often dealing with remote computers joined to their local Active Directory (AD) that also need to be connected to Azure AD to make use of newer, cloud-based features. This is what we call a hybrid domain joined state.  Today, you can take advantage of the latest cloud features from a…

Last week, Okta was named as a Leader in Gartner’s fourth edition of its Magic Quadrant for Access Management report. We are the only vendor that has consistently been a Leader since the inception of Gartner’s evaluation of the identity space — starting with the first Identity as a Service (IDaaS) Magic Quadrant seven years ago.  Over the years,…

SMS authentication—also known as SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) and SMS one-time password (OTP)—allows users to verify their identities with a code that is sent to them via text message. A form of two-factor authentication, it often acts as a second verifier for users to gain access to a network, system, or application, and is a good…

Viruses, spyware, and other malware can affect more than just desktop computers and laptops. Mobile devices are vulnerable as well. As the threat landscape continues to evolve, it’s important that we not only understand these risks—but how we can protect ourselves against them.  In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the mobile phone security…

Zero Trust is a security framework based on the belief that every user, device, and IP address accessing a resource is a threat until proven otherwise. Under the concept of “never trust, always verify,” it requires that security teams implement strict access controls and verify anything that tries to connect to an enterprise’s network. Coined in…