Identity and Access Management (IdAM) is a set of technical systems, policies, and procedures for creating, defining, and governing the use and security of identity information, as well as managing the relationship between an entity and the resources to which access is required.
What Are The Fundamental Capabilities Of IDAM?
It has three fundamental capabilities. They are:-
- Manage Digital Identities:- Managing digital identities ensures the security and accountability of digital identity data creation, trust, and definition. This comprises processes for identifying a person uniquely and securely attaching a digital identity to a user and managing digital identity data for enterprise use. User contact and organizational information, as well as user qualities for access control, are all included in digital identity data. The cornerstone for securing access to IT resources is accurate and consistent digital identification data.
- Authenticate Users:- Authenticate user is a service that verifies a user’s digital identification. It’s the digital version of establishing your identity. This is done by presenting and authenticating credentials as identification proof. Something you have, something you know, and/or something you are all examples of credentials. A user name and password, PKI, and biometrics are all examples of credentials used by the Department of Defense. Authentication gives resources confidence that the users are who they say they are.
- Authorize Access to Resources:- Authorize access to resources allows an authority to restrict access to resources on a local or enterprise level based on the evaluation of policies. Protecting private and confidential information from unauthorized users necessitates resource access control. User accounts and user roles with access rights, as well as user traits and access control policies, can be used to determine access. The authorization process usually starts with a request for access to a resource and ends with an access control decision based on the transaction’s security context. This evaluation’s access control decision assesses if the user seeking to interact with the resource conforms with the resource’s policies and governance criteria.
What Does It Offer You?
- New users can gain access in a matter of minutes.
- Dashboards that are easy to use provide a lot of information.
- Access is automatically terminated, which reduces hazards.
- Onboarding, offboarding, and promotion routines can all be automated.
- For role-defined punishments, a summary is provided.
- CMDB is a centralized storage system.
- Dashboards for management access.
- Due to a transparent access request process, there is an audit trail.
- Makes sure you’re GDPR compliant.
- Administration of permission-related groups.
Why Should You Have IDAM in your organization?
According to research, over 60% of data breaches occur within the organization, via both criminal and non-malicious means. Third parties, former employees, and, more recently, active users accidentally triggering dangers such as ransomware by just clicking on a link from within the perimeter have all been known to cause breaches.
Contractors, visitors, employees, third parties, and other types of staff have only the access that is appropriate to their role within the organization, and that access is removed when that role changes. An IdAM solution can help mitigate these risks by ensuring that these individuals have only the access that is appropriate to their role within the organization, and that access is removed when that role changes.
Why Is IDAM important?
While IDAM is typically thought of simply as an administrative function, security and compliance are more compelling reasons to use it. Password sprawl is a prevalent problem in today’s business world, and a push toward a single sign-on environment might save employees a lot of time when accessing resources. Given the numerous devices and services that require authentication, having a single password to govern them all with multi-factor authentication based on device or IP address is a great idea.
IDAM will increase efficiency, improve the user experience, and reduce IT support tickets if properly deployed. Automation is a bonus since it allows IT to focus on its goals. Risk is decreased, and audit and compliance needs can be met with full tracking. IdAM solutions often work across all platforms, allowing for a smooth transition and secure monitoring of a BYOD or CYOD environment. All of these advantages lower prices, which is frequently a deciding factor when choosing new technology. Despite the obvious benefits, even though IdAM is not new, it is still not widely used.
