Modern identity and access management (IAM) programs invest heavily in authentication strength, passwordless access, and adaptive risk controls—yet many overlook the quiet vulnerability lurking in account recovery. Recovery mechanisms, designed for convenience, often bypass the rigorous safeguards applied elsewhere in IAM workflows. This session examines how recovery processes—from password resets to identity validation flows—create exploitable backdoors that attackers target with high success rates. Drawing on recent breaches, real-world case studies, and current industry standards, the talk will explore why recovery is so difficult to secure, what design principles can improve it, and how to balance usability with resilience. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for assessing recovery risk within their IAM architecture and actionable steps to align recovery flows with modern identity assurance requirements.