ISELIN, N.J., Jan. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 1Kosmos, a leader in unifying identity proofing and passwordless authentication, today announced it has been named a Representative Vendor in the Gartner® research report Protect Your IT Service Desk Against Social Engineering Attacks1, by analysts Akif Khan and James Hoover.
The report states that: “in recent years, an increasing number of high-profile cyberattacks have been traced back to attackers calling the target organization’s IT service desk, impersonating an employee, and exploiting the account recovery process.”
According to Gartner, “The IT service desk remains a point of vulnerability for many organizations, which still rely on weak methods such as security questions to validate callers.” These legacy verification methods leave organizations exposed during account recovery events, where attackers impersonate employees to reset credentials and gain access to internal systems.
To counter this risk, Gartner emphasizes the need for stronger identity assurance when standard authentication is unavailable. The report states: “Establish trust when a caller cannot be authenticated by implementing automated identity verification or using verifiable credentials.” This guidance reflects a shift away from knowledge-based checks and manual judgment toward automated, high-assurance verification embedded directly into service desk workflows.
“We believe this research highlights a fundamental change in how service desk security must be implemented,” said Hemen Vimadalal, CEO of 1Kosmos. “As attackers increasingly exploit human-driven recovery processes, automated identity verification becomes essential to establishing trust, reducing risk, and protecting enterprise access.”
1Kosmos is listed as a representative vendor in the report under Automated identity verification and verifiable credentials. The 1Kosmos platform replaces security questions and ad hoc checks with automated identity proofing and biometric verification, ensuring that identity decisions are enforced consistently by policy rather than by service desk agents under pressure.
Eliminating Manual Verification Risk
The research also highlights the risks of relying on human inspection during recovery calls, noting that “Service desk agents are not trained to spot fake identity documents being waved around on video calls, and it is susceptible to attackers using deepfake faces.” By automating identity verification and incorporating biometric liveness detection, organizations can reduce reliance on manual processes that are increasingly vulnerable to AI-driven impersonation attacks.
In addition, Gartner recommends limiting exposure for high-risk users, stating: “Shrink the attack surface by reducing the number of accounts eligible for account recovery via the service desk.” Establishing a high-assurance identity upfront allows organizations to enforce stronger recovery controls for privileged users while minimizing repeated manual verification.
(1) Gartner, Inc., Protect Your IT Service Desk Against Social Engineering Attacks, published January 8, 2026, by Akif Khan and James Hoover.
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About 1Kosmos
1Kosmos enables remote identity verification and passwordless multi-factor authentication for workers, customers, and residents to securely engage with digital services. By unifying identity proofing, credential verification, and strong authentication, the 1Kosmos platform prevents identity impersonation, account takeover, and fraud while delivering frictionless user experiences and preserving the privacy of users’ personal information.
The company conducts millions of authentications daily for major banks, telecommunications providers, technology and service providers, healthcare organizations, and retailers worldwide. 1Kosmos has raised more than $72M in venture capital funding, and is headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey. For more information, visit http://www.1kosmos.com and follow us on X and LinkedIn.
Media Contact:
Marc Gendron
Marc Gendron PR for 1Kosmos
(617) 877-7480
marc@mgpr.net
