Merritt Maxim
VP, Research Director

Author Insights
Blog
Identiverse 2025 Recap: The Identity Trends Reshaping Your Identity Access Management Roadmap
I recently attended Identiverse in Las Vegas. This was my first time back at Identiverse since conference founder Ping Identity sold the conference in 2021. As identity related initiatives continue to dominate Forrester clients’ top priorities and initiatives, I felt impelled to share my perspectives and insights. Here are my five major conclusions and recommendations […]
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President Trump Amends Previous Cybersecurity Executive Orders: Here Is What You Need To Know
President Trump recently issued an executive order on national cybersecurity that amended and struck several provisions in prior EOs related to cybersecurity. Here’s what security leaders need to know.
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Announcing Forrester’s Security & Risk Enterprise Leadership Award
Forrester is delighted to announce the opening call for our annual Security & Risk Enterprise Leadership Award. This award recognizes organizations that have transformed their security, privacy, and risk management functions into capabilities that fuel the organization’s reputation for trust and its long-term success.
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So There Won’t Be A Wiz IPO — What Does That Mean For Cyber IPOs In 2025?
Last week’s mega deal of Google acquiring CNAPP provider Wiz for $32 billion has some lamenting the future of IPOs in the cybersecurity space.
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The Brewing Battle For Digital Online Age Verification
With online identity verification well understood and maturing, the next brewing verification battle is around age verification, a subset of identity verification.
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Quantum Security Isn’t Hype — Every Security Leader Needs It
The commercial availability of quantum computers that can compromise traditional asymmetric cryptography is still five to 10 years away. But security and risk (S&R) professionals must assess and prepare for the impact of quantum security now.
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Deepfakes Are Here: Here’s What To Do
In the last two years, growing concerns around the proliferation of and advances in deepfakes has raised concerns around their potential to impede adoption of facial and voice biometrics.
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Cloud Security Provider Wiz Raises $1B In VC Funding, Passes On Lacework Acquisition
Wiz (founded in 2020) announced a new VC funding round of $1 billion at a post-money valuation of $12 billion. Wiz has cumulatively raised $1.8 billion in venture capital, is generating over $350 million in annual recurring revenue, and is on an upward trajectory toward a likely IPO in 2025. This signals high investor confidence […]
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Forrester’s RSAC 2024 Themes, Takeaways, And Observations
More than 41,000 attendees, 600 exhibitors, and 425 sessions. Get some of the key themes and takeaways from the Forrester security & risk analysts who attended RSA Conference (RSAC) 2024.
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What Crashing My Bike Taught Me About Cybersecurity Incident Response
(special thanks to my colleague Jess Burn who assisted with this blog) Faithful readers of my infrequent Forrester blog posts might remember my penchant for using analogies to discuss specific cybersecurity issues. I am pleased to continue that tradition, so I am going to discuss how crashing a bike is relevant to cybersecurity incident response. […]
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New Security & Risk Planning Guide Helps CISOs Set 2023 Priorities
Which security technologies should be getting the investment in 2023, and which ones should you be scaling back on? Read a few key takeaways from our planning guide for security and risk leaders.
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Insteon And The Internet Of Bricks
Last month, smart home provider Insteon appears to have shut down, rendering the Insteon hubs inoperable. Users were unable to control their IoT devices connected to the Insteon hub, such as smart lighting and appliances. The culprit appears to not be malicious malware but rather financial circumstances that have caused the company to cease operations. […]
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SailPoint To Be Acquired By Private Equity Firm Thoma Bravo For $6.9 Billion
On Monday, April 11, 2022, identity management and governance (IMG) vendor SailPoint announced that it was being bought by private equity (PE) firm Thoma Bravo for $6.9 billion. This is not the first rodeo for Thoma Bravo with SailPoint; in 2014, the PE firm bought out SailPoint’s original venture capital investors and remained an owner […]
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Okta Lapsus$ Compromise: How To Make Sure You’re Protected
On Tuesday, March 22, 2022, identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) provider Okta announced that it had detected an attempt to compromise the account of a partner in January 2022. The announcement came after the hacking group Lapsus$ posted screenshots of a computer used by one of Okta’s third-party customer support engineers. As one of the largest IDaaS providers with […]
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Evolve Your IAM Strategy For Today’s Digital Employee And Customer
Identity and access management (IAM) is the control plane for determining a root of trust for all digital identities. Effective IAM must validate identities, secure access, manage privileges, and be optimized for hardened security, good user experience, and operational efficiency across all user populations — your workforce, partners, customers, and machine identities. Effective and efficient […]
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Don’t Hit The Curb — Instead, Curb The Risk Of Emerging Technologies In 2022!
Find out why these five technology categories are causing security decision-makers the most concern.
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Facebook Shuts Down Face Recognition System On Its Platform
Facebook's recently announced its decision to no longer use facial recognition in its platform. What does that mean for the long-term?
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Perspectives On One Identity’s Acquisition Of OneLogin
On October 4, 2021, identity and access management (IAM) vendor One Identity announced plans to acquire identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) vendor OneLogin for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2009, OneLogin is an established pure-play IDaaS vendor that primarily serves midmarket enterprises, with a unified platform for employees, partners, and customers, and has raised over $170 million in […]
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Okta Acquires Identity Orchestration And CIAM Vendor Auth0 For $6.5B
Forrester analysts take a detailed look at what's driving the unprecedented premium being paid in this acquisition.
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