Identity and access management (IAM) is a framework for business processes that facilitates the management of electronic or digital identities. The framework includes the organizational policies for managing digital identity as well as the technologies needed to support identity management.
With IAM technologies, IT managers can control user access to critical information within their organizations. Identity and access management 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 competency, authority and responsibility within the enterprise.
Systems used for identity and access management include single sign-on systems, multifactor authentication and 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.
These products can be deployed on premises, provided by a third party vendor via a cloud-based subscription model or deployed in a hybrid cloud.
What identity and access management should include
Identity access management systems should include all the necessary controls and tools to capture and record user login information, manage the enterprise database of user identities and manage the assignment and removal of access privileges. That means that systems used for IAM should provide a centralized directory service with oversight as well as visibility into all aspects of the company user base.
Technologies for identity access and management should simplify the user provisioning and account setup process. These systems should reduce the time it takes to complete these processes via a controlled workflow that decreases errors as well as the potential for abuse, while allowing automated account fulfillment. An identity and access management system should also allow administrators to instantly view and change access rights.
These systems also need to balance the speed and automation of their processes with the control that administrators need to monitor and modify access rights. Consequently, to manage access requests, the central directory needs an access rights system that automatically matches employee job titles, business unit identifiers and locations to their relevant privilege levels.
Multiple review levels can be included as workflows to enable the proper checking of individual requests. This simplifies setting up appropriate review processes for higher-level access as well as easing reviews of existing rights to prevent privilege creep, the gradual accumulation of access rights beyond what users need to do their jobs.
IAM systems should be used to provide flexibility to establish groups with specific privileges for specific roles so that access rights based on employee job functions can be uniformly assigned. The system should also provide request and approval processes for modifying privileges because employees with the same title and job location may need customized, or slightly different, access.
Benefits of identity and access management
IAM technologies can be used to initiate, capture, record and manage user identities and their related access permissions in an automated manner. This ensures that access privileges are granted according to one interpretation of policy and all individuals and services are properly authenticated, authorized and audited.
Because companies that properly manage identities have greater control of user access, they’re able to reduce the risks of internal and external data breaches.
Automating IAM systems allows businesses to operate more efficiently by reducing the effort, time and money that would be required to manage access to their networks manually or via individual access controls that aren’t connected to centralized management systems.
Using a common platform for identity and access management enables the same security policies to be applied across all the different devices and operating platforms used by the enterprise. In terms of security, use of an IAM framework can make it easier to enforce policies around user authentication, validation and privileges and address issues regarding privilege creep.
By implementing identity access management tools and following related best practices, a company can gain a competitive edge.
For example, IAM technologies allow the business to give users outside the organization, e.g., customers, partners, contractors and suppliers, access to its network across mobile applications, on-premises apps and software-as-a-service apps without compromising security. This enables better collaboration, enhanced productivity, increased efficiency and reduced operating costs.
Poorly controlled identity access management processes may lead to regulatory noncompliance because if the organization is audited, management will not be able to prove that company data is not at risk for being misused.
IAM systems help companies better comply with government regulations by allowing them to show that corporate information isn’t being misused. With identity and access management tools, companies can also demonstrate that any data needed for auditing can be made available on-demand.
Enterprise benefits of IAM
It can be difficult to get funding for IAM projects because they don’t directly increase either profitability or functionality. However, a lack of effective identity and access management poses significant risks not only to compliance, but also an organization’s overall security. These mismanagement issues increase the risk of greater damages from both external and internal threats.
Feel free to contact E-SPIN for identity and access management infrastructure and application security, infrastructure availability and performance monitoring solution.
