IT & Security use cases solved with 1Password Extended Access Management

BYOD and SaaS adoption have been growing for years, and today, employees expect seamless access to the tools they need – wherever they work, on whatever devices they choose. They’ve taken control of their work environment, selecting applications and devices that best suit their needs, often outside of IT’s visibility.

This shift has created a significant security challenge: traditional IAM, IGA, and MDM solutions were built for a controlled, managed environment. But today’s reality is much more complex. Shadow IT and shadow AI are pervasive. Policies that prohibit unsanctioned apps or employee-owned devices are routinely ignored or not enforced.

Distinct Problems in Modern Access Management

Access management today faces three key challenges:

1. Application Sprawl – A growing number of apps are used without centralized oversight, leading to fragmented access management.
2. Device Sprawl – Employees use personal and unmanaged devices that fall outside traditional IT controls, creating compliance and security gaps.
3. Identity Sprawl – Employees manage their own credentials for apps not covered by SSO, often using weak forms of authentication, leading to inconsistent governance and increased risk.

As a result of these unmanaged (or poorly managed) applications, devices, and identities, organizations face an Access-Trust Gap.

Closing the Access-Trust Gap requires a fundamental shift in security practices and mindset. Instead of rigid restrictions that look good on paper but fail in practice, security needs to move from static to dynamic, from outright denial to guided remediation.

1Password Extended Access Management is the first platform built to secure the modern workforce and bridge the Access-Trust Gap. It goes beyond traditional IAM, IGA, and MDM solutions, ensuring every identity is authentic, every application sign-on is secure, and every device is healthy.

The use cases below offer some examples of how 1Password Extended Access Management platform helps IT and security teams reduce risk, strengthen compliance and governance, and improve overall user experiences.

1. Eliminating password risk and moving toward passwordless

Passwords remain a weak link in enterprise security, with 68% of breaches involving a human element such as compromised user credentials. Security and IT teams want to eliminate credential risks, but going passwordless is often a journey.

1Password Extended Access Management accelerates that journey by:

• Discovering the sign-ins and credentials used across an organization
• Identifying at-risk credentials –weak, reused, or stored in plaintext –and guiding users to replace them with the strongest possible credentials, adding MFA, or using passkey authentication.
• Blocking or restricting app access until stronger authentication methods are used and stored securely in 1Password.

With visibility into credential risk and actionable security controls, IT teams can finally take proactive steps to phase out passwords and secure every app –managed or not.

2. Discovering and securing shadow IT

The explosion of SaaS applications has created an ever-growing shadow IT problem. Gartner predicts that organizations that fail to centrally manage SaaS lifecycles will remain five times more susceptible to a cyber incident or data loss due to incomplete visibility into SaaS usage and configuration. Employees adopt apps outside of IT’s control, leading to security risks, redundant spending, and compliance blind spots.

1Password Extended Access Management changes the game by:

• Surfacing both managed and unmanaged SaaS applications across the organization.
• Identifying high-risk apps that store sensitive data but aren’t protected by SSO.
• Identifying shadow AI used by employees that aren’t allowed by your policies.
• Automating security and compliance workflows, including revoking OAuth tokens, enforcing access policies, and guiding users to migrate from risky shadow IT to sanctioned applications.
• Auditing every access and security action, ensuring compliance with regulatory mandates.

By uncovering hidden risks and providing centralized access governance, 1Password helps IT teams regain control over SaaS sprawl and eliminate shadow IT vulnerabilities.

3. Strengthening security for managed and employee devices (BYOD)

On the device front, 56% of employees have used personal devices for work despite corporate anti-BYOD policies, further widening the attack surface. While MDM provides baseline security for company-owned devices, it leaves critical gaps in coverage even for these “managed” devices, and leaves out personal (BYOD) and contractor devices altogether.

1Password Extended Access Management strengthens device security by:

• Ensuring that every device accessing company resources – whether managed or unmanaged – meets security requirements.
• Blocking access to apps if security checks fail (e.g., outdated OS, missing security software like CrowdStrike, unencrypted SSH keys).
• Providing employees with step-by-step remediation to resolve security issues without IT intervention.
• Offering 100+ pre-built security checks and the ability to create custom device policies using osquery.

By proactively verifying device security before granting access, IT teams can enforce stronger security policies without slowing down productivity.

4. Securing developer secrets like SSH Keys

SSH keys are critical for infrastructure security, but they’re often left unprotected on local devices – creating a massive risk if stolen. 1Password Extended Access Management helps IT and security teams protect these sensitive secrets by:

• Discovering unencrypted SSH keys on employee devices and blocking access to sensitive systems until they are secured.
• Providing step-by-step remediation to guide employees through encrypting and securely storing their SSH keys.
• Enforcing policies that require secure key management before allowing access to cloud environments and development workflows.
• Offering seamless integrations for developers to access secrets securely within their existing tools and workflows.

By securing developer secrets without disrupting workflows, 1Password bridges the gap between security and usability, ensuring mission-critical credentials are protected at all times.

A unified approach

1Password Extended Access Management isn’t just a collection of tools—it’s a platform that unifies credential risk management, device trust, and SaaS access governance – all in one place.

Ready to see 1Password Extended Access Management in action? Schedule a demo today and take the next step toward a more secure future.

Marc von Mandel

Director, Solutions & Channel Product Marketing