With cyberattacks and data breaches more frequent than ever, businesses need to improve their governance practices. IAM systems can make monitoring user access to sensitive information, applications, and plans more accessible. Comprehensive access management solutions should integrate with commonly used authorization-related business tools like Active Directory, Group Policy, and SharePoint to enable streamlined compliance and auditing. They should also support visibility into privileged accounts to protect against insider threats.
Identity Management
As companies move to remote and cloud-based apps, IAM solutions provide identity as a service (IaaS) that enables users to access their data, hardware, and software from any device. This helps employees work efficiently while reducing security risks for the company. An IAM system identifies and authenticates each user, making sure they’re who they say they are. It ties individuals to specific access privileges to ensure they can only do what they’re authorized. For example, an employee might need to check payroll records but cannot edit confidential HR information. It also makes managing and monitoring privileged accounts easier, which are often more valuable targets for cybercriminals because they provide access to critical systems and administrator-level controls. A risk-based authentication solution can examine a user’s location, network, and more to determine their level of risk before giving them administrator-level privileges. IAM can also help companies meet compliance standards like GDPR and PCI DSS, as it allows them to set formal access control policies and track user activity that can be used to prove compliance during audits. It also reduces the number of people accessing sensitive information, lowering the risk of insider threats. It’s important to note that IAM isn’t just about managing user identities but establishing, monitoring, and controlling their access privileges across every device they use in the workplace.
Access Control
Authentication is the first step in access management, but once a person or thing proves their identity, they need permission to access objects. That’s what access control does: it gives users the correct permissions for files, systems, and services to prevent unintentional or malicious actions. Approvals can be based on something you know, like a password or PIN; something you have, such as an access card or key; or who you are, through a biometric factor like a fingerprint or iris scan. Comprehensive solutions support all three and integrate with widely-used authorization-related business tools like Active Directory, Group Policy, and SharePoint to make it easier to see what changes are being made, by whom, and when. This provides insight into potential insider threats and allows you to take action quickly. Access management can also limit user access by limiting how often they can access a resource, determining what they can do in a given time frame (e.g., edit File X but read File Y only once per day), or both. It can also enforce the principle of least privilege by regularly auditing and revoking licenses, ensuring that users don’t end up with access they no longer need. Access management can also manage access from any device, even a phone, making it easier for admins to respond to business needs in real-time. Implementing robust access management software is crucial for organizations to maintain data security and control user permissions effectively in their digital environments.
Auditing
In addition to authentication, access management limits how users gain entry to enterprise systems, both on-premises and in the cloud. It includes granting users only the privileges they need to complete their jobs while prohibiting unauthorized or malicious user activity. Effective access management can bolster an IAM initiative and mitigate the risk of data breaches often caused by compromised passwords. This is because the solution can add extra layers of authentication, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), to prevent hackers from hijacking a username and password combination. Another critical access management service is identity governance, which provides a way to monitor and review user access privileges. It helps businesses ensure users don’t abuse their rights and can revoke access when necessary. It’s also critical for meeting regulatory compliance standards like GDPR or PCI-DSS. IAM tools can simplify granting and de-provisioning access to corporate resources with a centralized, easy-to-use dashboard. Admins can create and approve access requests, run audit reports, and make updates quickly and easily. They can also limit the credentials that hackers can steal by applying granular access control based on user job titles, business unit identifiers, and locations. This helps prevent “privilege creep,” which occurs when an employee gains access to more and more resources over time.
Reporting
Identity management (IAM) is all about verifying a user’s credentials to ensure they can access enterprise systems in the first place. The next step is controlling authorized users’ access to specific procedures or accounts based on their unique privileges and business needs. This granular approach to access control is critical to protecting your data and systems from cyberattacks while mitigating the risk of accidental damage by employees with too many privileges who may accidentally delete or share sensitive information. IAM is increasingly viewed as a necessity rather than a luxury in business today. IAM solutions can also reduce IT costs by automating processes like user provisioning, de-provisioning, and access requests. This can free up IT time and resources to focus on more pressing matters and make it easier for your employees to manage their account access, which can drive productivity and reduce help desk calls. IAM can also play an essential role in helping businesses meet compliance standards outlined in regulations such as HIPAA and GDPR by ensuring that users are only given the permissions they need to access your organization’s data and systems. This can reduce the risks of internal or external security breaches and other forms of fraud.