The hottest Substack posts of ciamweekly

And their main takeaways
0 implied HN points 01 May 23
  1. OAuth and OIDC are crucial for CIAM solutions as they enable easy integration with major providers like Google and Facebook.
  2. Allowing users to log in through these providers reduces friction and is beneficial for customer experience.
  3. OAuth2 integrations can be complex due to the variety of approaches, focusing on system access to data/functionality rather than identity.
0 implied HN points 26 Dec 23
  1. Self-service registration is a great way to offer users additional functionality or personalized content.
  2. When designing registration forms, consider what information you need, such as login identifiers, passwords, demographic details, and payment data.
  3. Complexities of self-service registration include account validation, progressive data collection, account recovery, profile updates, and defense against account enumeration.
0 implied HN points 23 Dec 24
  1. Cost issues can lead teams to look for new CIAM solutions, especially if a vendor raises prices or causes delays in other features.
  2. Availability problems with a vendor, like outages, can make companies reconsider their choice for CIAM, especially after multiple incidents.
  3. Sometimes teams seek new features or capabilities that their current CIAM solution doesn't offer, prompting a search for alternatives.
0 implied HN points 16 Dec 24
  1. Customer identity and access management (CIAM) has mostly solved identity issues, but access control remains a significant challenge. Many companies need robust authorization systems that are often built from scratch.
  2. There's a growing number of vendors and open-source solutions that simplify authorization for developers. Tools like Topaz help them set up these systems without reinventing the wheel.
  3. The future of CIAM looks promising with efforts to standardize authorization processes, much like what was done for authentication. By 2030, we can expect engineers to use standardized systems for authorization that will integrate seamlessly into their applications.
0 implied HN points 12 Feb 24
  1. Implement email verification in CIAM systems to connect new accounts to valid email owners, reducing account takeovers and bot attacks.
  2. When changing login identifiers in CIAM systems, re-verification is crucial to prevent unauthorized access and alert users of potential attacks.
  3. Account recovery in CIAM systems should not be sent to unverified accounts and should implement additional security measures like session invalidation and multi-factor authentication.
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0 implied HN points 08 Jan 24
  1. Users can be added directly to a system by either letting them register themselves or by manual/admin addition.
  2. Consider the options for credential management when adding users, such as using passwords or passwordless options.
  3. Automating offboarding of users can help to efficiently remove access when needed, especially when using systems like SCIM.
0 implied HN points 20 Nov 23
  1. IDPRO is an organization for identity professionals with a certification program and a Book of Knowledge.
  2. CIAM focuses on delivering personalized experiences and engagement for customers, rather than just access management for employees.
  3. The main difference between CIAM and IAM lies in the relationship between the organization and the user, with CIAM being customer-centric.
0 implied HN points 13 Jan 25
  1. SCIM is a way to manage user data across different systems. It helps businesses send user information securely from one place to another.
  2. Using SCIM is usually better for businesses because it allows for immediate user access and account updates, unlike federation methods that can be slower.
  3. SCIM can also handle more user information like groups and other details, making it more efficient for businesses that manage many users.
0 implied HN points 06 Jan 25
  1. Cerbos helps businesses manage user permissions easily by integrating with identity providers. This way, developers can focus more on building features instead of getting stuck on access management.
  2. A lot of companies still build their own authorization systems, which can be messy and hard to update. When they need to completely rebuild, it can be a huge challenge.
  3. The future of customer identity and access management looks bright as more businesses will start using external authorization solutions like Cerbos. This separation will make their systems more flexible and easier to manage.
0 implied HN points 26 Jun 23
  1. BOLA (Broken object level authorization) is a major vulnerability in APIs.
  2. Understanding BOLA is crucial as our world becomes more API-dependent.
  3. The article provides unique perspectives on BOLA from the manager, developer, and attacker viewpoints.
0 implied HN points 24 Jul 23
  1. GitHub removed SMS as a step-up factor due to security vulnerabilities like social engineering and lack of encryption.
  2. SMS is easier for customers to understand and configure compared to other methods like TOTP using Google Authenticator.
  3. GitHub's technical users are more likely to adopt alternative methods, making the deprecation of SMS less risky but beneficial.
0 implied HN points 10 Jul 23
  1. Authentication and login methods vary for web, SPA, and native apps.
  2. There are numerous ways for users to authenticate and maintain sessions.
  3. The detailed list of login workflows is exhaustive and includes helpful diagrams for understanding communication intricacies.
0 implied HN points 09 Dec 24
  1. There's a new conference called AuthCon happening in New York in May 2025, focusing specifically on customer identity and access management (CIAM).
  2. CIAM is important for all engineers because customer identity issues affect nearly every application in some way.
  3. Other conferences about identity exist, but AuthCon aims to fill the gap by being solely dedicated to CIAM for developers.
0 implied HN points 25 Nov 24
  1. CIAM helps create smooth and secure customer experiences online. It reduces password use and allows for modern authentication methods like passkeys and multi-factor authentication.
  2. A big challenge in CIAM is balancing security with user experience. Organizations often struggle to keep systems safe while also making them easy for users to navigate.
  3. The future of CIAM is promising with new technologies like biometrics and better standards. These advancements could lead to safer, more personalized interactions for customers.
0 implied HN points 19 Jun 23
  1. User models in CIAM systems can be amorphous and lack accountability.
  2. User models often do not consider real-life complexity like different profiles and related accounts.
  3. Developing compassion for users is essential in building a successful business.
0 implied HN points 05 Feb 24
  1. Restaurants are exploring surge pricing to adjust prices based on variable factors.
  2. Implementing surge pricing for online orders requires knowing user identities over time.
  3. CIAM systems play a crucial role in enabling surge pricing strategies for restaurants.
0 implied HN points 27 Nov 23
  1. Identity providers are important for customer identity and access management.
  2. Countries or regions may have their own identity providers.
  3. Consider factors like geographic domain, business use case, and integration effort when deciding to support niche identity providers.
0 implied HN points 30 Oct 23
  1. Time-based one time passwords (TOTP) are a common additional factor for IAM and CIAM systems.
  2. TOTP works by combining a secret with the current Unix time to generate a number.
  3. Rate limiting TOTP submissions can significantly increase security against brute force attacks.
0 implied HN points 17 Oct 23
  1. Verifying emails is crucial for security in a CIAM system
  2. Unverified emails can lead to unauthorized access by attackers
  3. Using stable identifiers instead of emails is recommended for downstream user data lookup
0 implied HN points 04 Sep 23
  1. Multi-region architecture helps with resilience and performance by directing users to different regions during natural disasters and routing them to the closest server for better performance.
  2. True multi-region active-active setups allow users to login and interact with the application seamlessly, regardless of their location.
  3. CIAM systems face challenges in multi-region deployments, particularly in scaling data storage across regions, with only a few database options available.
0 implied HN points 14 Aug 23
  1. Okta's acquisition of Auth0 focused on owning the CIAM market.
  2. Auth0 experienced significant ACV growth of 63% after the acquisition.
  3. There are challenges for Okta's sales team in explaining and leveraging the differences between Okta and Auth0's offerings.
0 implied HN points 31 Jul 23
  1. The video is a 45-minute overview of single logout, the reverse of single sign-on.
  2. Upcoming changes to standard implementations are discussed.
  3. It highlights the complexities of logging out of multiple platforms.
0 implied HN points 25 Sep 23
  1. CIAM involves the intersection of security, customer experience, and analytics.
  2. Key features of CIAM include self-service, standards-based integrations, and customizability.
  3. CIAM differs from CRM systems as it focuses on enabling customers to manage their own identities and access control for various applications.
0 implied HN points 22 May 23
  1. Browser cookie handling changes will impact federated identity in web applications.
  2. Federated identity involves one app delegating authentication to another app.
  3. Heather Flanagan is leading the effort to address upcoming changes in the Federated Identity community group.