Identity and Access Management

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a system that controls user access to an organization’s resources and networks. IAM uses policies, processes, and technologies to: 

  • Ensure that only authorized users have access to the resources they need 
  • Protect sensitive information and systems from unauthorized access 
  • Improve security and user experience 
  • Enable better business outcomes 
  • Increase the viability of mobile and remote working and cloud adoption 

Identity and access management (IAM) facilitates the management of electronic or digital identities. With an IAM framework in place, information technology (IT) managers can control user access to critical information within their organizations. Systems used for IAM include:

  • Single sign-on systems
  • Two-factor authentication
  • Multifactor authentication
  • Privileged access management

These technologies also provide the ability to securely store identity and profile data as well as data governance functions to ensure that only data that is necessary and relevant is shared. IAM systems can be deployed on premises, provided by a third-party vendor through a cloud-based subscription model or deployed in a hybrid model.

While IT professionals might think IAM is for larger organizations with bigger budgets, in reality, the technology is accessible for companies of all sizes.

IAM Importance

Businesses leaders and IT departments are under increased regulatory and organizational pressure to protect access to corporate resources. As a result, they can no longer rely on manual and error-prone processes to assign and track user privileges. IAM automates these tasks and enables granular access control and auditing of all corporate assets on premises and in the cloud

IAM, which has an ever-increasing list of features — including biometrics, behavior analytics and AI — is well suited to the rigors of the new security landscape. For example, IAM’s tight control of resource access in highly distributed and dynamic environments aligns with the industry’s transition from firewalls to zero-trust models and with the security requirements of IoT

While IT professionals might think IAM is for larger organizations with bigger budgets, in reality, the technology is accessible for companies of all sizes

Basic components of IAM

IAM encompasses the following components:

  • How individuals are identified in a system (understand the difference between identity management and authentication);
  • How roles are identified in a system and how they are assigned to individuals;
  • Adding, removing and updating individuals and their roles in a system
  • Assigning levels of access to individuals or groups of individuals
  • Protecting the sensitive data within the system and securing the system itself.

An IAM framework enables IT to control user access to critical information within their organizations. IAM products offer role-based access control, which lets system administrators regulate access to systems or networks based on the roles of individual users within the enterprise.

In this context, access is the ability of an individual user to perform a specific task, such as view, create or modify a file. Roles are defined according to job, authority and responsibility within the enterprise.

IAM systems should do the following: capture and record user login information, manage the enterprise database of user identities, and orchestrate the assignment and removal of access privileges.

That means systems used for IAM should provide a centralized directory service with oversight and visibility into all aspects of the company user base.

Digital identities are not just for humans; IAM can manage the digital identities of devices and applications to help establish trust.

Authentication / Identity as a Service : In the cloud, IAM can be handled by authentication as a service or identity as a service (IDaaS). In both cases, a third-party service provider takes on the burden of authenticating and registering users, as well as managing their information. Read more about these cloud-based IAM options.

Key Benefits Of Employing IAM Tools

Identity and Access Management tools provide a spectrum of key benefits, enhancing overall security and operational efficiency within organizations:

Enhanced Security: IAM solutions bolster cybersecurity by ensuring that only authorized users have access to sensitive resources. Its features such as multi-factor authentication, robust authorization controls, and continuous monitoring contribute to a more resilient digital security framework.

Regulatory Compliance: IAM platforms help organizations adhere to regulatory requirements by enforcing access policies, tracking user activities, and maintaining audit trails. This ensures compliance with industry-specific regulations and data protection laws.

Streamlined User Onboarding and Offboarding: Further, these tools automate the process of user provisioning and deprovisioning, simplifying user onboarding for new employees and enhancing security during offboarding. This improves operational efficiency and reduces the risk of unauthorized access.

Single Sign-On (SSO) Convenience: Its SSO functionality reduces the burden on users by allowing them to access multiple applications with a single set of credentials. This not only enhances user convenience but also minimizes the likelihood of weak password practices.

Centralized Access Management: IAM platforms facilitates centralized access management by providing a unified platform for managing access to various resources. This centralized control allows organizations to enforce consistent security policies and quickly respond to changes in user roles or permissions.

Improved Productivity: By streamlining authentication processes and minimizing password-related challenges, IAM tools contribute to increased user productivity. Users can seamlessly access the resources they need without unnecessary authentication hurdles.

Reduced Security Risks: IAM tools help organizations adopt the principle of least privilege, ensuring that users only have access to the resources necessary for their roles. This minimizes the potential impact of security breaches and reduces the attack surface.

Enhanced User Experience: Through features like SSO and user self-service portals, IAM tools contribute to a positive user experience. Users can access resources effortlessly, reset passwords, and manage their profiles independently, reducing dependency on IT support.

Audit and Reporting Capabilities: IAM tools provide robust audit trails and reporting functionalities, allowing organizations to monitor user activities, track changes, and generate compliance reports. This helps in identifying and addressing security incidents promptly.

Scalability and Flexibility: Lastly, IAM solutions are designed to scale with the growth of an organization. They offer flexibility in managing diverse user identities, accommodating changes in user roles, and adapting to evolving security requirements.

Identity and access management standards

An IAM solution must integrate with many other systems to provide complete visibility of access to all the enterprise’s systems, users, and roles. Standards that identity and access management platforms support in order to facilitate these integrations include the following.

OAuth 2.0 : OAuth is an open-standards identity management protocol that provides secure access for websites, mobile apps, the Internet of Things, and other devices. It uses tokens that are encrypted in transit and eliminates the need to share credentials. OAuth 2.0, the latest release of OAuth, is a popular framework used by major social media platforms and consumer services.

Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML): SAML is an open standard utilized for exchanging authentication and authorization information between identity and access control solutions and other applications. This method uses XML to transmit data and is typically the method used by identity and access management platforms to grant users the ability to sign in to applications that have been integrated with IAM solutions.

OpenID Connect (OIDC): With the release of the OpenID Connect, OpenID became a widely adopted authentication layer for OAuth. Like SAML, OpenID Connect (OIDC) is widely used for SSO, but OIDC uses REST/JSON instead of XML. By using REST/JSON protocols, OIDC was designed to work with both native and mobile apps, whereas the primary use case for SAML is web-based apps.

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP): One of the oldest identity management protocols, LDAP stores and arranges data (e.g., user or device information) to help users find organizational and personal data and to authenticate users to access that data. It is an open, industry-standard protocol that allows applications to communicate with directory services and is commonly used to support user authentication, including single sign-on (SSO) support, simple authentication security layer (SASL), and secure sockets layer (SSL).

System for Cross-Domain Identity Management (SCIM): Created to simplify the process of managing user identities, SCIM provisioning allows organizations to operate efficiently in the cloud and easily add or remove users. This helps reduce costs, minimize risk, and streamline workflows. SCIM also facilitates communication between cloud-based applications.