With the growing technology needs, businesses need to simplify the management and security of their end-user accounts. Digital identity is key to delivering the user experience that organizations aspire to. So Identity and Access Management is the system that can simplify these processes through identity management, user credentials, and unified access.
In the following paragraphs, you will explore the components, capabilities, and benefits.
Introduction to Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Identity and Access Management, always referred to as IAM, is a variety of tools, processes, and policies. IAM system is used to define and manage the roles and access privileges of network users and devices. It can be applied in a hybrid environment of cloud and on-premises applications.
Those users include employees, partners, or customers, while devices include servers, computers, routers, switches, controllers, mobiles, tablets, and sensors.
Identity and Access Management Components
You need to establish essential components to get your IAM system working.
1. Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
CIAM mainly revolves around safeguarding your workforce’s access to the company’s resources. It integrates authentication and authorization into public-facing applications. Further, it enhances the experiences of self-service customer registration and login as it facilitates the registration and login process.
According to Gartner, CIAM also features self-service for consent management, profile generation, identity repositories, and reports and analytics, as well as APIs and SDKs for mobile applications.
2. Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
MAF is an authentication approach that depends on more than one factor to avoid unauthorized access to data. Simply put, the multifactor authentication approach incorporates something that a user knows with something that a user owns. There are multiple techniques that MAF can use to verify identities:
- Digital certificates
- One-time passwords (OTP)
- Biometrics like face, fingerprints, hand geometry, iris, and retinal patterns.
3. Privileged Access Management
Privileged identities are necessary for any organization to administer servers, databases, virtual machines, network devices, platforms, and applications. Accordingly, these identities or accounts are the principal target for advanced persistent cyberattacks and are likely exploited by malicious insiders.
So you need to prevent unauthorized users from navigating through the organization systems with those elevated rights. You need to have privileged access management to identify privileged identities, remediate privileged issues, authenticate and manage users, and monitor the use of privileged identities.
4. Identity as a Service (IDaaS)
Identity as a Service (IDaaS) can help users access and use identity management services from the cloud. In other words, it is a subscription-based cloud model for IAM.
Utilize the power of cloud computing and adaptive authentication aimed at improving and accelerating business processes. It makes sure that the right personnel in your organization have the proper access to the right resources. IDaaS can be utilized to implement a centralized cloud-based system tailored by identity experts.
5. Single Sign-on (SSO)
A single sign-on (SSO) approach enables users to authenticate their accounts once to a range of applications and continue to do so automatically. It is unified access with which you don’t have to know login credentials. Further, it facilitates the management of various usernames and passwords.
6. Passwordless Authentication
Another method that simplifies login, registration, and account management is passwordless authentication. Its method verifies users without a password. With Passwordless authentication, you don’t have to depend on users to use safe and unique passwords. Passwords are no longer reliable as they can be easily guessed, stolen, or forgotten. As a passwordless authentication approach, one-time codes, sent via email or SMS messages, are a common alternative to traditional passwords.
Identity and Access Management Baseline Capabilities
Excluding Weak Passwords
Recent reports revealed that over 80% of data breaches occur due to stolen or weak passwords. By installing your IAM system, you will enforce the best practices that ensure that users never use weak or default passwords. Additionally, they will make sure that all users change their passwords periodically.
Diminishing Insider Threats
You can prevent data breaches caused by insider activities by pinpointing any malicious actors. IAM system enables organizations to guarantee that users have only access to the systems and apps they need for their tasks. Organizations also can supervise and prevent any privilege escalation.
Fast, Decisive Anomaly Detection
IAM solutions go beyond simple credential management. They utilize machine learning, artificial intelligence, and risk-based authentication to detect anomalies. Modern identity and access management solutions are brilliantly designed to pinpoint time, count, or pattern anomalous activities.
Multifactor Authentication
With MFA, you will enhance your security posture against malicious activities that target your apps or systems. As we discussed in the components section, multifactor authentication minimizes the odds of a successful cyberattack.
Identity and Access Management Benefits
As the IAM system identifies and manages user identities and access permissions, it delivers numerous benefits so that business can upgrade their IT environment and enhance their technology readiness.
Let’s dive into the key benefits of the identity and access management system.
a. Enhanced Security Posture
Identity and access management solutions identify security threats to mitigate the risk of information breaches. It asserts granular access control over devices like desktops, mobile phones, tablets, router servers, and controllers. On the other hand, the single sign-on facilitates the process of complying with strong password policies. Additionally, identity governance delivers better visibility into your systems and data, which helps predict potential threats.
b. Easy Use for End Users
IAM systems enable employees, customers, partners, and third parties to access the organization’s systems and apps regardless of the device or place. Users no longer need to have different credentials for different applications. With a unique digital identity, they can access their systems with a single set of credentials.
c. Improved Productivity
With this simplified login process, users will be able to finish tasks anytime, anywhere. End users can also fully tap into the benefits of productivity applications, such as email, project management, and collaboration tools. A single digital identity is key to the modern workplace. Simplified access management empowers the users of productivity applications.
d. Simplified Security Operations
Having a digital identity for every user facilitates solving IT issues. Whenever a problem arises, IT administrators can resolve it and circulate the process across departments and users. Then IAM optimizes the efficiency and effectiveness of security teams. Moreover, IT administrators can grant authorized access rights based on user duties and liabilities.
e. Minimized IT Management and Costs
According to reports, password resets account for 30% to 50% of help desk calls. What’s more, the average cost for a password reset is $70. Then, having an identity and access management system will save time and money for password reset requests. At the same time, the time spent on such tasks will be spent on other essential tasks.
Final Words on the IAM System
Unified and simplified access management delivers the user experience that businesses and companies strive for. In today’s complex work environment, users need to access productivity applications through various devices, desktops, tablets, and laptops. Moreover, with the complexity of the multi-modal style of computing environment, the security threats doubled over. So IAM technology is designed to address these issues and equip businesses with the tools required to stimulate their operations.
