Identity access management (IAM) is the policy and technology that mitigates identity-related access risks. IAM also helps companies meet compliance standards and boost productivity.
IAM security best practices include the principle of least privilege, which ensures users receive the smallest set of permissions necessary for their roles. They also ensure these permissions are revoked after completing their tasks.
Access Control
In short, identity access management ensures they get permission when a team member or a device (or an app) wants to touch a company’s digital resource. It’s a sophisticated and wide-ranging effort requiring strategic planning and highly specialized technical capabilities.
At its core, an identity access management platform assigns a unique digital identity to every person or entity interacting with a business’s network resources. This identity is verified and controlled across the entire network through various methods. These typically include something you know (like a password), something you have (like an access card or security token), and sometimes something you are—such as a fingerprint, iris scan, or voice print.
This approach is a shift from the old view that the network must trust everyone and everything that connects to it. Today, many enterprises take a zero-trust approach, meaning that users and devices must prove their identities before accessing tools, data, or networks. This requires an identity access management strategy that goes beyond basic authentication decisions and constantly evaluates a user’s behavior to look for things like too many failed login attempts or suspicious activities, then takes action accordingly.
IAM solutions also enable a new level of authorization for those authenticated, ensuring that only those with privileges can do what they need to do and nothing more. This helps protect data and prevent breaches when a user—for example, a team member with access to sensitive files—accidentally sends them out via email or to a public cloud file system or if they accidentally download malware and put their system or other systems at risk.
Identity Management
Identity management (IAM) solutions confirm who people, software, and devices are as they log in to the enterprise network. These systems store digital identities that contain standard user account information – such as name, ID number, login credentials, and so on – along with other data points like the entity’s organizational role, responsibilities, and access permissions. IAM solutions also help to manage the identity lifecycle by onboarding new entities, updating their accounts and permissions over time, and offboarding those who no longer need access in a timely fashion.
IAM solutions can include unified access policies that support the principle of least privilege by giving users the minimum level of access needed to complete tasks. They can also use multi-factor authentication to step up security by requiring additional proof of identity based on something the user knows (like their password), something they have (like a security token or OTP), and something about the user themselves (like biometrics).
Many IAM solutions provide automation that frees up IT staff for bottom-line projects and empowers end users by enabling self-service options. This can reduce the time it takes for a new employee to get started and the number of times they have to enter their credentials into different systems. In addition, some IAM solutions have built-in intelligence that detects suspicious activity, such as multiple failed login attempts, a remote location, or unauthorized hardware or software.
IAM solutions have also expanded to cover non-human assets such as containers, applications,
APIs, and secrets.
Privileged Access Management
Privileged access management, or PAM, enables you to control and monitor accounts with your organization’s highest privileges. These are typically system administrator accounts and accounts used to deploy and maintain IT systems. Because of their high-level privileges, these accounts pose a significant threat to security. Attackers can use them to move laterally within your network and gain access to sensitive information. Many high-profile breaches are the result of compromised privileged credentials. Industry analysts estimate that 80% of all breaches are accomplished by compromising privileged accounts. Whether it’s an IT admin account, a cloud service password, or an employee-managed marketing, sales, or financial account, these compromised credentials allow a malicious actor to steal data and cause damage. This makes effective privileged access management an essential part of your cybersecurity strategy.
When implementing zero trust, ensuring that your identity systems have a consistent and authoritative view of your users is critical. This includes synchronizing your identity directories with other user directories in your environment, such as your Human Resources directory. This can reduce the risk of a false positive and improve the overall accuracy of your data.
Implementing MFA on all privileged accounts and continually auditing your privileged account activity is also important.
Identity Analytics
Identity management systems are essential to maintaining a secure network where users constantly access data from multiple devices. This includes user authentication and authorization, ensuring that only approved individuals can handle company assets and that no one outside an authorized role is accessing those assets.
The security of these systems relies on an accurate picture of how users interact with the system. This picture includes how a person or device connects to the cloud, on-premises systems, and other networks. This information helps security teams monitor and block potential threats and determine what access privileges to grant users.
IAM solutions also manage permissions for privileged accounts, which are the ones that give admins complete control over a system. This is because hacking into these accounts allows hackers to do whatever they want in the system, even if they can’t gain entry with regular user IDs and passwords. Privileged access management (PAM) tools isolate these digital identities from the rest, using credential vaults and just-in-time access protocols to keep hackers out.
