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.
1. What is Identity and Access
Management (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.
2. 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.
3. 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
4. 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.