From check in to takeoff: Cebu Pacific secures global user accounts with improved IAM
monthly active users on the platform with Okta Customer Identity solutions
threats blocked by Okta ThreatInsight in three months
faster identity feature development (1 month to 1 week)
of monthly active users leverage Social Login
“Before Okta, we didn’t have an easy way to discover unauthorized access issues. Our only layer of protection was the web application firewall. Now, with Okta, we’ve not only been able to simplify Identity management but also prevent unauthorized access.”
Glenn Amper, Director of Information Security, Cebu Pacific
Since its first flight in March 1996, Cebu Pacific has come a long way. It offers flights to more than 60 destinations across the globe, and pioneered the “low fare, great value” strategy adopted by other regional airlines. As the company continued to grow, it saw opportunities to improve its security and customer experience, starting with its Identity strategy.
Without a clear Identity inventory or secure logins, Cebu Pacific struggled to accurately understand who its customers were and where they were coming from, and, ultimately, differentiate legitimate logins from potential security threats.
“We wanted to improve Identity management, so we could better understand which users were logging into our applications and protect them along their journeys,” says Glenn Amper, Director of Information Security at Cebu Pacific. “Our passenger reservation system stored account information, but it wasn’t a dedicated Identity tool, so it lacked key functionality and wasn’t able to support our security initiatives.”
This lack of a Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) solution meant only a guest’s last name and booking number were required to manage a flight or make changes. This absence of credential security left the airline and its customers vulnerable to cyber attacks and exposed them to risks such as potential inventory hijacking, corporate sabotage, and stolen voucher fraud. In need of an Identity solution that would secure access to applications and customer accounts, at the same time as improving the customer experience, the airline decided to implement Okta, starting with the Customer Identity Solution (CIS).
Improving platform user experience with Okta Customer Identity Solutions
Cebu Pacific attempted to develop new login and registration in-house, but these efforts only created more friction. “We realised that we didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, and with the support of Kollab, we leaned into our partnership with Okta and implemented its out-of-the-box features,” says Amper.
This included deploying Cebu-branded login screens from pre-production planning to live use in less than eight months. It also included reducing login friction and confusing error messages with Okta’s Universal Login widget, which ensures guests don’t have to juggle multiple credentials as the