Science & Tech · Cybersecurity · 3 hrs ago
Identity systems are a key part of cyber recovery planning
Identity systems control who can access an organization’s apps and services.
The commentary argues that companies cannot fully recover from a cyberattack if those systems are unavailable.
It points to the 2017 NotPetya attack on shipping company Maersk, which disrupted operations after most of its Active Directory servers were wiped out or made unusable.
A single surviving server helped Maersk rebuild its identity environment.
Many companies also have about 1,200 apps and may use several identity providers, making it difficult to reconnect apps after an outage.
Identity teams and IT recovery teams need to plan together for these dependencies, including the work needed to restore access to apps.
Identity resilience is a prerequisite for cyber resilience because organizations cannot restore operations if staff cannot access applications.
Identity teams and IT operations teams need to work together on recovery planning, as identity systems and their dependencies can be complex.
Omdia research cited in the article says an average enterprise uses about 1,200 applications and more often has multiple identity providers than one.
The article points to Maersk’s 2017 NotPetya incident, when one surviving Active Directory domain controller helped the company rebuild its global identity environment.
- Who
- Enterprises and the identity, IT operations, and business continuity and disaster recovery teams responsible for recovery planning.
- What
- The article argues that identity resilience is essential to cyber recovery and that plans must account for identity systems and their dependencies.
- When
- The article was published on October 12, 2026. It also cites Maersk’s 2017 NotPetya incident.
- Where
- The article discusses enterprise identity infrastructure and cites Maersk’s global shipping and port operations.
- Why
- If identity infrastructure is inaccessible, teams may be unable to access applications and sustain or restore business operations.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
NotPetya malware wiped or rendered unusable nearly all of Maersk's Active Directory domain controllers and interrupted global shipping and port operations.
Dark Reading published Todd Thiemann's article on identity resilience and cyber recovery planning.
- Applications
- About 1,200 used by the average enterprise, according to Omdia research cited in the article
- Identity providers
- Enterprises more often have multiple IdPs than a single IdP, according to Omdia research cited in the article
- Maersk incident
- NotPetya, 2017
- Surviving domain controller
- One, at a local office disconnected from Maersk's network during the attack
- Article publication
- October 12, 2026
What people are saying
Identity resilience is a prerequisite to cyber resilience.
identity resilience is not simply about IdP uptime.
Sources
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