Strengthening safety measures: Verification of identities for new employees
Okta, a leading identity and access management provider, has integrated and evolved its identity verification process to enhance security and streamline user authentication during the onboarding process. This initiative, which began in early 2025, is a result of partnerships with identity verification platforms such as Persona and Onfido.
The first major development in this evolution was the introduction of mandatory identity proofing for new hires. This step, powered by Okta Identity Verification and Persona, ensures the identity of new employees during IT orientation, specifically when setting up FastPass, Okta’s authentication method. The process was designed to be secure without disrupting the smooth flow of onboarding, though initial challenges like name mismatches led to further refinement and an exception process for manual handling.
Okta's teams collaborated extensively to find an optimal orchestration of identity verification within onboarding. The initial approach, which prompted verification at account setup, faced practical issues for pre-onboarding users. By deploying identity proofing during IT orientation instead, Okta reduced friction and improved verification accuracy. Subsequent improvements have aimed to minimize manual intervention and increase scalability of the process.
Identity verification has also been extended to streamline self-service account recoveries, reducing the workload on support desks by allowing secure and automated identity validation during account unlocks and password resets. This backup verification process also leverages Persona to verify identities, not just credentials, enhancing security posture.
New features such as facial recognition, document authenticity checks, and enhanced automation have been introduced to streamline the overall experience while maintaining a high security standard. Onfido’s document and facial recognition technology allows verification of government-issued IDs and ensures the legitimacy and human identity of users during onboarding. Okta also employs automated vulnerability management, increased data collection for SaaS app monitoring, and enhanced detection on production changes to ensure a secure operational environment.
Chris Norris, the Vice President of Identity Access Management at Okta, leads a team dedicated to advocating for the needs of identity practitioners within the company. He has a robust background in identity and security, having worked with several global-scale organizations.
With the integration and evolution of identity verification, Okta aims to provide a stronger security layer across its ecosystem while streamlining daily tasks. New hires can now complete their identity-proofing tasks with ease, and the IT orientation for Okta’s full-time employees has returned to its original process since identity proofing is complete.
Okta Identity Verification continues to be a key focus area for the company, with product teams working to expand its capabilities. This new capability enables real-time monitoring of identity-proofing transactions by both HR and IT support teams, allowing for proactive support and reducing friction.
- Okta, a prominent identity and access management provider, has partnered with identity verification platforms such as Persona and Onfido to enhance security and streamline user authentication during the onboarding process.
- The introduction of mandatory identity proofing for new hires, powered by Okta Identity Verification and Persona, ensures the identity of new employees during IT orientation.
- Okta reduced friction and improved verification accuracy by deploying identity proofing during IT orientation instead of at account setup for pre-onboarding users.
- Persona's technology verifies identities, not just credentials, during self-service account recoveries, reducing the workload on support desks and enhancing security.
- Onfido’s document and facial recognition technology is used by Okta to verify government-issued IDs and ensure the legitimacy and human identity of users during onboarding.
- Chris Norris, the Vice President of Identity Access Management at Okta, leads a team dedicated to advocating for the needs of identity practitioners within the company.
- With the integration and evolution of identity verification, Okta aims to provide a stronger security layer across its ecosystem, enabling real-time monitoring of identity-proofing transactions by both HR and IT support teams.
