For businesses eyeing federal contracts—especially in the defense sector—identity management isn’t just an IT concern. It’s a strategic pillar. From onboarding new employees to protecting Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), identity governance plays a pivotal role in achieving compliance, enabling zero trust, and securing digital assets.
The Compliance Connection
Identity is a major touchpoint for frameworks like CMMC, NIST 800-171, and DFARS. Without proper controls over who has access to what—and how that access is granted, monitored, and revoked—you risk failing audits or, worse, exposing sensitive data.
And with cyberattacks increasingly targeting identity credentials, the stakes are higher than ever.
Common Identity Pitfalls
Many organizations falter by:
Relying on outdated directory services or hybrid setups
Lacking multi-factor authentication (MFA) enforcement
Managing access manually, leading to privilege creep
Having no centralized visibility or policy enforcement
These weaknesses slow down onboarding, complicate offboarding, and create security blind spots—especially in remote or distributed teams.
Building a Modern Identity Architecture
To prepare for defense contracts, your identity environment should include:
Azure AD or Entra ID with conditional access policies
MFA enforcement across all users and endpoints
Role-based access control (RBAC) to limit exposure
Automated lifecycle management for access provisioning