Identity and access management- A quick guide

The demand for security and identity management for an organization or the customer has skyrocketed these recent years. All businesses hassle to satisfy the access demands and comply with the latest regulations. Every organization has a diverse landscape of users leveraging numerous devices with multiple network architecture and having disparate applications. Hence, managing such a complex security posture is difficult. If the organization fails to cater to sufficient identity and access security, the business might decline over time or may even damage its reputation. That is where Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions come to the rescue. IAMs are all in one toolkit to save the business and its prestige. This article will cater to broad details about what IAM is & its types, and how it benefits enterprises.

What Is Identity And Access Management?

Identity and access management (IAM) is a security discipline used to define and manage user identities and access privileges to various systems and applications across the IT infrastructure. It includes management of customer and employee identities and the identities of third-party vendors and partners who access the network. The four main primary functions of an IAM system or solution are:

  • Provisioning of users
  • Authentication of user identities
  • Authorization of user access to resources
  • De-provisioning of users

In simple terms, IAM acts as a gatekeeper who ensures that any user who tries to access the network is who they say they are (authentication) and is granted access to resources (authorization) based on their role or context of access.

Examples

Here are simple examples of IAM at work.

  • When a user enters his login credentials, his identity would be checked against a database to verify if the entered credentials match the ones stored in the database. For example, when a contributor logs into a content management system, he’s allowed to post his work. However, he’s not allowed to make changes to other users’ works.
  • A production operator can view an online work procedure but may not be allowed to modify it. On the other hand, a supervisor may have the power not only to view but also to modify the file or create a new one. If there’s no IAM in place, anyone can modify the document, and this could lead to disastrous effects.
  • Through IAM, only specific users in the organization are allowed to access and handle sensitive information. If there’s no IAM, anyone (like outsiders) could access confidential company files, leading to a possible data breach. In this aspect, IAM helps companies meet stringent and complex regulations that govern data management.

  • ROLE-BASED ACCESS

    Many IAM systems use role-based access control (RBAC). Under this approach, there are predefined job roles with specific sets of access privileges. Take HR employees as an RBAC example. If one HR officer is in charge of training, it makes little sense if that officer is given access to payroll and salary files.

    SINGLE SIGN-ON

    Some IAM systems implement Single Sign-On (SSO). With SSO, users only need to verify themselves one time. They would then be given access to all systems without the need to log separately into each system.

    MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION

    Whenever extra steps are required for authentication, it’s either a two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA). This authentication process combines something the user knows (like a password) with something the user has (like a security token or OTP) or something that’s part of the user’s body (like biometrics).

  • Benefits of IAM

  • IAM technologies can be used to initiate, capture, record and manage user identities and their related access permissions in an automated manner. An organization gains the following IAM benefits:

    • Access privileges are granted according to policy, and all individuals and services are properly authenticated, authorized and audited.
    • Companies that properly manage identities have greater control of user access, which reduces the risk of internal and external data breaches.
    • Automating IAM systems allows businesses to operate more efficiently by decreasing the effort, time and money that would be required to manually manage access to their networks.
    • In terms of security, the use of an IAM framework can make it easier to enforce policies around user authentication, validation and privileges, and address issues regarding privilege creep.
    • IAM systems help companies better comply with government regulations by allowing them to show corporate information is not being misused. Companies can also demonstrate that any data needed for auditing can be made available on demand.

    Companies can gain competitive advantages by implementing IAM tools and following related best practices. 



  • The future of IAM

    With remote work becoming the norm and mobile device usage at maximum penetration, the domain of identity and access management has greatly expanded. Unsecured networks and combined with unprecedented user expectations introduces an influx of new device connections, a flurry of requests for remote access to sensitive information, and the looming threat of phishing and other web-based attacks as users hit rogue sites.

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is instrumental in the future of IAM because it has the ability to recognize patterns and to expand knowledge exponentially – at the same rate as risk.

    With continuous authentication, the context of a user is constantly evaluated at every interaction. AI is able to analyze micro-interactions while considering time, place and even user movement, calculating at every point the level of potential risk. Next-gen AV software, host-based firewall, and/or endpoint detection and response (EDR) will continue to evolve and add even more security within an organization.

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