What is IAM?

 

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a core discipline for any enterprise IT, as it is inseparably linked to the security and sustainability of companies.

It is crucial to ensure that data remains secure as more and more companies electronically store their confidential data.

"Users," "roles," "access" might be some of the terms you have heard concerning identity and access management. So, let's break it down.

• Identity:Identity means how you, often via social login, work email address, or personal email ID, are portrayed and digitally captured online.

• Access: Access refers to deciding that, at the right time, the right user can safely access the right resource within a network.

This is majorly what an ideal identity and access management strive to provide.

What Is Identity and Access Management in Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Identity and Access Management applies to the security architecture and disciplines for digital identity management. It governs the duties and access rights shared with individual customers and the conditions under which such privileges are permitted or refused.

In simpler terms, IAM encompasses:

• The provisioning and de-provisioning of identities in the IAM system.

• Securing and authenticating identities.

• Authorizing access to resources or performing certain actions.

• Incorporating the correct levels of protection and access for sensitive data.

IAM involves tools such as authentication with two factors, multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, and control of privileged access. These instruments can safely store identity and profile data.

They also comply with data governance functions to ensure that only appropriate and relevant information is being shared.

What Are the Key IAM Terms

Here are some of the key terminologies that you will encounter while processing identity and access management.

• Access management: It refers to the procedures and software used by both on-premises and cloud-based systems to manage and track network access.

• Authentication– It is the first in the login process in which users enter their credentials to verify their identity.

• Authorization– The device now decides, after authentication, if the authenticated user has permission to perform the requested action.

• De-provisioning- It is the process of removing an identity from an ID repository and terminating access privileges.

• Entity- The identification that has been used to authorize an entry. Usually, this comes either from a task grouping or an individual user account.

• Identity Analytics – They are repositories that capture logging activities for authentication and authorization.

• Managed Policy - It is a set of rules followed by an IAM system to monitor which resources are accessed by users, organisations, and roles.

• Multi-Factor Authentication - It verifies consumer identities by adding (compulsory or optional) additional layers of security to the authentication process, usually in the form of numeric or alphanumeric codes.

• Principal: The source that demands permission to access a resource. It can be a human being or an automated system.

• Privileged account management: It refers to managing and auditing accounts and data access based on consumers' allowed privileges.

• Risk-Based Authentication - It is an advanced method of authentication that uses intelligence in real time to verify a customer based on certain risk ratings. Factors such as the login unit, user identification, geolocation, geo velocity, number of failed login attempts, and more are typically included.

• Single Sign-On - It allows consumers to log in to multiple independent applications with a single set of credentials, eliminating the need for multiple usernames and passwords.

• User Provisioning – It is the process of creating new enterprise accounts for users and assigning them access privileges.

You can read in detail about how IAM works and how you can benefit your enterprise with it in this article about What is Identity and Access Management.