What Is Identity Sprawl?
Identity sprawl refers to the uncontrolled growth of digital identities across an organization beyond the ability to consistently manage, govern, and secure them. These identities include human users, devices, applications, service accounts, APIs, and workloads. As organizations adopt cloud services, SaaS platforms, remote work models, and connected technologies, identities are created across many systems, often without centralized oversight. Identity sprawl becomes a security and operational problem when identities persist longer than needed, accumulate unnecessary access, or exist outside the visibility of IT and security teams. Over time, this lack of control increases risk and makes access decisions harder to enforce consistently.
What Is an Example of an Identity-Based Attack?
An identity-based attack occurs when an attacker exploits legitimate credentials or trusted identities rather than relying on malware or perimeter breaches. Identity sprawl increases the likelihood and impact of these attacks by expanding the number of identities that can be targeted or abused. A common example is credential compromise through phishing. When identity sprawl exists, compromised credentials often provide broader access than intended because users retain permissions from past roles, projects, or systems. Another example involves orphaned or unmanaged accounts. Accounts belonging to former employees, contractors, service accounts, or retired devices may remain active and unnoticed. These identities often bypass traditional security controls because they appear legitimate. Device-based identity abuse is also common. An unmanaged or poorly secured device may be treated as a trusted identity, allowing attackers who gain control of the device to access networks or applications without triggering additional verification. These scenarios demonstrate how identity sprawl turns identity infrastructure into an attack surface, enabling attackers to blend into normal access patterns rather than relying on obvious exploits.
What Is the Concept of Identity Fabric?
Identity fabric is an architectural approach designed to reduce identity sprawl by connecting identity systems, policies, and signals into a cohesive framework. Rather than relying on a single identity platform, an identity fabric integrates multiple identity sources such as identity providers, device management systems, and security tools. This integration provides shared visibility, consistent policy enforcement, and better context for access decisions. By correlating identity information across users, devices, applications, and workloads, an identity fabric helps organizations understand how identities relate to one another and how access is being used. This reduces fragmentation and supports more informed, risk-aware access control. While identity fabric does not eliminate the need for governance, it provides a structural foundation for managing identity growth in complex, distributed environments.
How Does Universal ZTNA Help Combat Identity Sprawl?
Universal zero trust network access (ZTNA) helps combat identity sprawl by enforcing access decisions based on identity, device trust, and context rather than static network boundaries. By treating both users and devices as identities, Universal ZTNA limits access to only what is needed at the time of connection. This approach reduces the risk created by excess identities and standing privileges that accumulate as environments grow. Universal ZTNA also improves visibility into who and what is accessing applications and networks. Continuous verification of identity and device posture helps ensure that access remains appropriate even as users, roles, and devices change. When Universal ZTNA is combined with network access control (NAC) in a unified, cloud-based model, organizations can apply consistent zero trust policies across on-prem, cloud, and remote environments. This unified approach helps contain identity sprawl by enforcing least-privilege access and reducing reliance on implicit trust.