Identity Security Gap Assessment: A Step-by-Step Guide for MSPs 

Traditional security tools—firewalls, endpoint security, SIEM platforms—excel at protecting corporate infrastructure. They stop malware on company laptops and block suspicious network traffic. But they're completely blind to the "Third Space": personal devices, home networks, and contractor systems where employees access corporate resources. 

This is where infostealer malware thrives. These lightweight programs, distributed through phishing emails, fake software downloads, or compromised websites, silently harvest every saved password, browser cookie, and authentication token. The logs are aggregated in massive criminal databases, indexed by domain name, and sold to attackers. 

The critical failure isn't the infection itself; it's the organizational blind spot. Most breached companies never knew their credentials were compromised until their data appeared for sale on dark web forums. Or worse, when the threat actor logged in and used it to inflict damage. 

What Is an Identity Security Gap Assessment?

An identity security gap assessment is a structured evaluation of how well an organization's identity and access controls hold up against modern threats. It examines who has access to what systems and data, how they're authenticating, and where vulnerabilities exist that could allow attackers to impersonate legitimate users. For MSPs, conducting this assessment on behalf of clients means auditing cloud platforms, hybrid environments, MFA adoption, privileged access, and credential exposure—then closing the gaps before they're exploited.

Why Is an Identity Security Gap Assessment Important?

Identity is now the primary attack surface. Traditional security tools can't protect credentials that have already been stolen from a personal device or home network. Infostealer malware harvests saved passwords and session tokens silently, often going undetected for months or years. By the time a breach is discovered, the damage is done. A proactive identity security gap assessment gives MSPs and their clients a fighting chance: find the exposure, remediate the gaps, and enforce the controls that stop credential-based attacks before they start.

Finding the Gaps Before Criminals Do 

For MSPs and MSSPs serving small businesses and mid-market companies, this represents a clear service opportunity. Your clients need someone who can identify exposure before exploitation, and they're counting on you to provide that visibility. 

1. Cloud Identity Access Audit 

Start with a comprehensive audit of all client cloud platforms: 

• ‍Who has access? Map all user accounts, including contractors and former employees.  ‍
• What's being shared? Identify sensitive data repositories and overly permissive sharing settings.  ‍
• How are they authenticating? Flag any accounts without MFA enforcement.  ‍
• When was access last validated? Implement periodic access reviews and automatic provisioning/deprovisioning. 

Reviewing SIEM logs to identify patterns of user login activity, data sharing actions, and MFA adoption can yield incredible insights into security posture. Many breaches succeed because organizations fail to enforce MFA—this isn't a sophisticated attack technique, it's credential reuse at scale. The fix is straightforward but requires organizational commitment. 

2. Visibility Across Hybrid Environments 

Modern businesses operate across multiple environments: on-premises servers, cloud platforms, SaaS applications, partner networks. Each represents a potential attack surface. 

Deploy unified monitoring that provides: 

• Anomaly detection for unusual access patterns (geographic location, time of day, data volume) 
• Session management with automatic timeout and re-authentication requirements 
• Data loss prevention to block bulk downloads or unauthorized sharing 
• Integration visibility to understand third-party application permissions 

3. Identity Security as Foundation 

Identity has become the new perimeter. When credentials provide legitimate access, traditional security controls become irrelevant. 

Essential identity hardening measures: 

• Enforce Universal MFA: No exceptions for executives, no "temporary" exemptions for convenience. Use hardware tokens or authenticator apps—SMS-based MFA is vulnerable to SIM swapping.  ‍
• Implement Conditional Access: Require additional authentication for high-risk scenarios (new device, unusual location, sensitive data access).  ‍
• Deploy Privileged Access Management: Administrators and power users need additional scrutiny, session recording, and just-in-time elevation.  ‍
• Establish Zero Trust Architecture: Verify every access request regardless of source, limit permissions to minimum necessary, assume breach and verify continuously.  ‍
• Automate Credential Rotation: Passwords should expire, service accounts should rotate, API keys should have expiration dates. 

The Iberia Airlines breach exposed 77GB of aircraft maintenance programs and safety documentation through a single compromised employee account. MFA enforcement would have stopped the attack completely. 

Practical Implementation for Your Clients 

The gap between knowing what to do and doing it is where most security programs fail. Your clients need you to translate these concepts into concrete actions. 

Week 1: Assessment 

• Audit all cloud platforms for MFA adoption 
• Identify accounts with admin privileges 
• Map sensitive data locations 
• Document current authentication methods 

Week 2: Quick Wins 

• Enforce MFA on all admin accounts 
• Remove unnecessary access for inactive users 
• Implement basic conditional access policies 
• Enable logging for authentication events 

Week 3-4: Comprehensive Hardening 

• Deploy MFA to all remaining accounts 
• Configure advanced conditional access rules 
• Implement automated credential monitoring 
• Establish access review schedule 

Ongoing: Monitoring and Validation 

• Weekly credential exposure checks 
• Monthly access reviews 
• Quarterly security posture assessments 
• Continuous authentication log analysis 

Making Security Accessible for Your Clients 

Small businesses and mid-market companies often view enterprise-grade security as beyond their reach. Your role as an MSP is to deliver these capabilities at a scale and price point that makes sense for their business. 

You don't need to build a Security Operations Center or hire a team of analysts. You need to partner with platforms that provide the visibility and automation to identify gaps, enforce security policies, and monitor for compromise—all managed through a single interface. 

This is where unified security platforms create value. Instead of stitching together separate tools for conditional access, zero trust network access, SIEM, and ITDR, you can deploy comprehensive identity security that integrates with the cloud platforms your clients already use. 

To get started on making security accessible, it’s critical to assess your current service offerings: 

• Do you provide credential exposure monitoring for all clients? 
• Can you rapidly identify and remediate identity security gaps? 
• Are you positioning security as business protection or technical compliance? 

Ready to add comprehensive identity threat detection & response to your portfolio? Our platform provides the visibility, automation, and expert support you need to protect client credentials at scale. Talk to our team today.