Identity posture is the security state of an account and its sign-in strength. It includes whether the account is protected by multi-factor authentication, whether credentials are known to be compromised, whether the user has recently passed reauthentication, and how much assurance exists that the person signing in is really the legitimate user. In zero trust systems, identity posture helps decide whether access should be allowed, limited, or challenged again.
This matters because attackers often target identities rather than networks. If an account has weak posture, stolen passwords, session tokens, or social-engineering tricks can turn into unauthorized access. Defenders improve identity posture by enforcing MFA, requiring phishing-resistant authentication, monitoring risky sign-ins, disabling stale accounts, and applying step-up checks for sensitive actions. In practice, strong identity posture reduces the chance that a valid login becomes a full compromise.