Arizona Tribune - Defakto Security Named as a Cool Vendor in the 2025 Gartner(R) Cool Vendors(TM) in Identity-First Security

The Gartner Cool Vendors "demonstrate innovative ways of identifying real-time security risks, mitigating threats, and adopting new approaches to identity without disrupting existing IAM processes." We believe Defakto earned this recognition for its modern, identity-first approach to securing non-human identities: the machines, workloads, services, and AI agents powering today's enterprises.

According to the report, "An identity-first security approach requires visibility into and control of all identities, both in the cloud and in traditional on-premises environments."

As organizations accelerate automation and AI adoption, the majority of access is now machine-to-machine. Yet most identity programs remain focused on human users, creating a growing blind spot filled with static credentials, shared service accounts, and unmanaged API keys that attackers routinely exploit. Defakto addresses this imbalance by treating every workload and automated actor as a first-class identity. The company replaces long-lived credentials with short-lived, cryptographically verifiable identities that are automatically issued, governed, and revoked.

"We're thrilled to be recognized by Gartner as a Cool Vendor in Identity-First Security, report" said Danny Oliveri, CEO and Co-Founder of Defakto."Enterprises have mastered human identity, yet 90 percent of access now happens between machines. Credentials tied to service accounts, APIs, and AI agents remain static, shared, and poorly governed. That imbalance has become one of the biggest blind spots in security."

Traditional IAM systems were built to manage people. But in today's distributed environments spanning cloud, hybrid, and on-premises systems, automation dominates. As enterprises accelerate cloud adoption and automation, the majority of access now happens between machines, workloads, APIs, AI agents, and services, rather than human users. This shift has exposed one of the most underserved areas in IAM: securing non-human identities.

Defakto helps enterprises close this gap with a platform that replaces long-lived credentials and shared service accounts with short-lived, verifiable identities. Rather than storing secrets in vaults, Defakto eradicates them. It's a shift that reflects a new, identity-first model for securing automation. This approach not only helps reduce breach risk, but also simplifies governance by uniting Security, IAM, and DevOps teams around a single, policy-driven framework.

By eradicating secrets, reducing over-permissioned access and improving visibility, Defakto helps enterprises move beyond reactive controls toward proactive, identity-based governance. The result is stronger security, faster automation, and simpler compliance across distributed systems.

Organizations operating across hybrid, multi-cloud, and on-premises environments increasingly see non-human identity as a strategic imperative. Defakto's Non-Human IAM platform was purpose-built for this reality, helping CISOs, IAM leaders, and DevSecOps teams modernize their identity fabric, reduce the risk of unmanaged non-human identities, and prevent the types of identity-driven breaches that continue to plague cloud infrastructure.

Defakto is helping define the next era of identity security. As automation, AI, and distributed systems reshape enterprise access, the ability to establish continuous, verifiable trust across every non-human actor has become essential. Defakto brings identity-first security to the systems and services that power modern business, ensuring every connection is authenticated, every action is governed, and every non-human identity operates with provable trust.

Gartner^® subscribers can access the full report via the Gartner Website: Gartner^® Cool Vendors^™ in Identity-First Security report by Yemi Davies, Brian Guthrie, Nathan Harris, Rebecca Archambault, Paul Rabinovich, Steve Wessels, 24 October 2025

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About Defakto

Defakto secures the next era of automation with the only complete Non-Human IAM platform, purpose-built for end-to-end NHI lifecycle management. By eliminating static secrets and overprivileged accounts, Defakto helps enterprises reduce breach risk, simplify compliance, and scale automation with confidence. Trusted by Global 2000 companies, Defakto was founded by leaders in large-scale identity deployments. The platform secures every automated interaction across workloads, pipelines, multi-cloud environments, and AI agents. Backed by XYZ, The General Partnership, Bloomberg Beta, and WndrCo, Defakto is defining the future of IAM for a world powered by automation.

Learn more at: www.defakto.security

Escalate PR for Defakto
[email protected]

SOURCE: Defakto

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W.Morales--AT