US-based identity platform Persona has partnered with Okta to deliver an automated identity verification solution and support organisations to safeguard against phishing and deepfakes. In a bid to allow organisations to verify workforce identities and protect against fraudulent activities, Persona and Okta entered into a collaborative agreement, enabling users to implement identity verification across the employee lifecycle.

This can be conducted through Okta’s integration with Persona’s identity verification solution, with the two companies focusing their efforts on improving security measures for companies globally. At the time of the announcement, the integration between Okta and Persona was available to Okta Workforce Identity Cloud customers in early access. The integration comes after Persona partnered with Member Driven Technologies (MDT) in June 2024 to assist credit unions in combatting fraud.

Persona planned to support MDT’s credit union clients in adapting their identity verification flows in real time based on risk signals to convert genuine users and deter fraudsters. In addition, clients given the ability to mix and match building blocks to design custom-branded end-to-end identity flows that convert more members, simplify operations, and mitigate fraud. Augmenting workforce identity security Considering that businesses migrated to cloud-based technologies and distributed workforces and traditional network security models can present vulnerabilities to phishing attacks, Persona intends to support organisations in addressing security needs through its automated identity verification solution.

By merging Okta’s knowledge in identity and access management with Persona’s identity verification features, the two companies work towards augmenting organisation’s defences against social engineering and deepfake attacks. At the same time, Persona and Okta intend to assist customers in ensuring that these security measures do not pose unnecessary difficulties or friction for employees. When commenting on the announcement, representatives from Persona underlined that the integration of Okta’s Workforce Identity Cloud into its solution allows their company to check identities during high-risk events while reducing friction for users.

The collaboration enables the two companies to jointly address the need for identity verification, offering an additional layer of phishing resistance while delivering an optimised user experience. Among the potential benefits that the integration between Persona’s platform and Okta’s Workforce Identity Cloud presents, the two organisations mention: Availability through the Okta Integration Network, with admins being able to implement identity verification steps at onboarding, accounts recovery, and when suspicious activity; A suite of verification methods, with Persona delivering government ID checks, biometric verification, and database verification to offer a comprehensive approach to security; Multi-layered fraud defences as Persona provides a range of methods to collect identity-proofing evidence and merges it with behavioural risk assessment and other passive signals to segment user bases and respond to potential fraud; Compliance standards, with Persona’s platform being compliant with company-specific risk frameworks and industry requirements. .