AuthZEN Aims to Harmonize Fractured Authorization Controls

The article summarizes the OpenID Foundation's AuthZEN specification (Version 1.0) as an effort to standardize authorization across cloud providers, API gateways, and applications to address fragmented IAM and inconsistent access controls. It notes a multi-vendor interoperability demo, explains how current bespoke authorization systems create visibility and governance gaps, and recommends decoupling authorization from applications with external policy engines, centralizing access visibility, automating least-privilege enforcement, and continuously monitoring authorization activity to improve cloud and API security.