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Identity Information and Protection

Identity Information and Protection

Identity protection is a phrase used to describe activities that safeguard digital identities (and information linked to those identities) from being used by unauthorized sources for (usually) illegal advantage. 

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Identity and Access Management (IAM)

What is IAM?

Identity and access management (IAM) is a business and security discipline that enables the right people, software, and hardware, as appropriate to job roles and functionality, to have access to the tools required to perform assigned duties, without also granting them access to those that are not needed and/or present a security risk to the enterprise. Organizations that utilize IAM can streamline operations by managing identities without requiring individuals to log into applications as administrators.

 

Identity and access management is a vital initiative for any enterprise because it supports the crucial need to enable the appropriate access to tools and resources in increasingly diverse technological ecosystems and to comply with ever-changing privacy and security regulations. IAM affects many aspects of the enterprise, not just IT, and requires strategic business planning in addition to specialized technical capabilities.

IAM Concepts

The core of identity and access management, is, of course, identity. The objective of IAM is to assign one digital identity per individual or other entity, which must then be controlled, managed, and supported throughout its lifecycle. 

 

Another important concept is digital resource, defined as any combination of data and applications, such as software, databases, application programming interfaces (APIs), devices, and more, in a computer system. 

 

When a team member, customer, device, robot, or any other entity with an identity needs access to an organization’s resources, identity and access management confirms the identity and controls its access to the digital resource.

 

IAM Terminology

Before diving into a deep discussion of identity and access management, it’s helpful to know brief definitions of related terms, including: 

 

Access management: Access management is defined as the practices and tools that monitor and manage network access. Identity management solutions, whether on-premises or cloud-based, typically include features like authentication, authorization, and trust and security auditing.

Active directory (AD): AD, a user-identity directory service, is a proprietary Microsoft product that is widely available through the Windows Server operating system. Integrations allow access to be seamlessly provisioned and deprovisioned, easing IT team workloads. 

Biometric authentication: This security method uses unique characteristics such as fingerprints, retinas, and facial features to authenticate users.

Cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM): CIEM is the process of managing identities and access across increasingly complex cloud infrastructure environments. A least privilege approach is utilized to ensure that users only have access to the resources they need, and only for long as they need them.


Deprovisioning: Deprovisioning is the act of removing user access to applications, systems, and data within a network. 

Digital identity: A digital identity consists of user attributes (such as name, government ID number, email address, biometrics, and other personally identifiable information), and digital activity and behavioral patterns (such as browsing history, downloads, and operating system).

Identity and access management (IAM): IAM is a specialty discipline within cybersecurity designed to ensure only the right people can access the appropriate data and resources, at the right times and for the right reasons.

Identity as a service (IDaaS): IDaaS is an is an application delivery model that allows users to connect to and use identity management services from the cloud. 

Identity governance: Identity governance is the act of using IT software and systems to manage user access and compliance.

Identity provisioning: A key component of the identity governance framework, identity provisioning manages user accounts and ensures users have access to the right resources and are using them appropriately.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA is an access management tool that combines two or more security mechanisms for accessing IT resources, including applications and devices.

Principle of least privilege: To protect data and applications, access is only granted to an identity for the minimum length of time required, and is only permitted to the resources required to perform the task.

Privileged access management (PAM): Privileged access is limited to users such as administrators who must have access to applications, systems, or servers for implementation, maintenance, and updates. Since breaches to these credentials could be catastrophic to the enterprise, PAM tools separate these user accounts from others and track activities associated with them closely. 

Role-based access management (RBAC): RBAC allows the enterprise to create and enforce advanced access by assigning a set of permissions. The permissions are based on what level of access specific user categories require to perform their duties. In other words, different people in the organization can have completely different levels and types of access privileges based solely on factors such as their job functions and responsibilities.

Separation of duties (SoD): Also known as Segregation of Duties, Separation of Duties is a security principle used by organizations to prevent error and fraud. This internal control relies on RBAC to prevent error.

Single sign-on (SSO): SSO is an authentication service allowing a user to access multiple applications and sites using one set of credentials.

User authentication: A fundamental task of IAM systems is to validate that an identity is who or what it claims to be when logging in to and utilizing applications and data. Most people are familiar with the traditional authentication that occurs when a user enters a username and password into a sign-in screen; modern user authentication solutions, and those of the future, utilize artificial intelligence and other technical advancements for improved safeguarding of organizational assets. 

Authentication vs Authorization

Authentication and authorization are often used interchangeably, but they are separate processes used to protect the enterprise from cyber attacks. 

 

Authentication is the process of verifying an identity; authorization is the process of validating the specific applications, files, and data the user can access.

 

Authentication is accomplished through passwords, one-time personal identification numbers, biometric information, and other information provided by the user; authorization is performed via settings that are implemented and maintained by the organization. 

 

Why the Enterprise Needs Identity and Access Management
 

Why Is IAM Important?


The enterprise needs IAM to support security and compliance, as well as improve organizational productivity. This applies not only to people resources, but to any entity to which an identity is assigned (e.g., Internet of Things (IoT) devices, application programming interfaces (APIs)). The proliferation of device types and locations from which applications and data are accessed also underlies the importance of identity and access management.

 

Identity and access management enables the enterprise to manage access based on groups or roles, rather than individually, vastly simplifying IT operations and allowing IT professionals to pivot focus to non-automated projects that require their expertise and attention. Team members also appreciate IAM because it offers them access to the tools they need while minimizing frustration over passwords. 

 

However, identity and access management are not only used for employees, but for contractors, partners, customers, robots, and even code segments such as APIs or microservices. Increasing efficiency, reducing costs, enabling greater business productivity, and optimizing the functionality of technical systems make the IAM solution not just important, but a critical tool for the enterprise. 

 

IAM’s Role in Security

Identity and access management reduces the number of traditional points of security failure associated with passwords. The enterprise is vulnerable not only to data breaches associated with passwords and password recovery information, but to human frailties when it comes to creating passwords – generating easy-to-remember (and easy to crack) passwords, using the same passwords across multiple applications and systems, and updating passwords with one minor change instead of completely new, randomly generated passwords.

 

The IAM ecosystem is even more complex, and the demand for security even greater, when it comes to multi-cloud hybrid environments and software as a service (SaaS) solutions. Genuine data security for today’s organizations is impossible without a structure for managing identity and access. 

 

A robust identity and access management requires the enterprise to go beyond securing a network; the organization must revise access policies that are often outdated, with legacy rules and role definitions that have not evolved with the growth of the business. The IAM system also must extend beyond IT to all parts of the enterprise, with integrations to support increased visibility and control. 

 

IAM and Regulatory Compliance

Regulatory compliance is a rapidly-changing environment; in addition to well-known laws like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), many other regions, countries, and states are enacting their own privacy regulations. Identity and access management supports rigorous data security requirements and provides the transparency and documentation needed to enable compliance. 

 

When IAM processes are not complete or are ineffective, organizations can find themselves out of compliance with government regulations or industry standards. Even when the identity and access management program is functioning properly, incorrect or deficient information about the program or how data is protected can compromise an audit.

 

IAM and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Identity and access management solutions can improve employee productivity by enabling access not only to large volumes of data and multiple applications, but granting that access across numerous devices and locations. IAM also facilitates collaboration with partners, vendors, and other third parties that support the enterprise. 

 

IAM and the Internet of Things (IoT)

The proliferation of IoT devices offers many benefits, but also generates numerous cyber security concerns. Identity and access management solutions treat IoT devices as identities that must be authenticated and authorized before granting access to the enterprise’s digital resources. 

 

Benefits of IAM

Automation: Automating low-risk functions focuses expert IT attention on larger problems and on how to accelerate the business. The enterprise can increase IT team effectiveness while reducing IT costs. Onboarding and offboarding can also be automated to seamlessly grant, modify, or revoke access as users join, change roles, or leave the organization. 

Advanced anomaly detection: IAM uses artificial intelligence to help organizations understand trends and anomalies in access data to identify risks and track the effectiveness of their identity programs.

Enabling zero trust: The enterprise that implements identity and access management can enable a zero trust model that goes beyond simple authentication decisions and uses a complete, up-to-date identity record for each user, ensures users only have access to the resources they need when they need them, and adapts as changes occur and when new threats are detected. 

Eliminating weak passwords: Many data breaches are caused by default, frequently used, and poorly structured passwords. However, password administration places a heavy burden on IT – 40% of all helpdesk calls are about password issues, and the average cost of a helpdesk call for a password reset is $17. Password management enables the enterprise to efficiently use password policies to enforce strong password requirements and use sync groups and a password dictionary for greater control.

Mitigating insider threats: Data breaches can also be caused by neglectful or malicious insiders, but relying exclusively on employee awareness is insufficient without proper technology. Identity and access management closes the security gap. It recognizes that many identities other than employees should be considered insiders (e.g., contractors, clients, partners, smartphones, servers), and that coupling identity management of systems, applications, and data files with behavior monitoring and analysis can counter insider threats.

Simplifying compliance: Identity and access management helps organizations govern access, track usage, and enforce policies for all users, applications, and data to automate regulatory enforcement and demonstrate compliance.

 

Passwordless Security

Passwordless Security provides a secure alternative to passwords and 2FA /MFA based authentication. Organisation's user is provided with an AuthVR5 authenticator app which holds cryptographic keys, certificates (digital signatures), seeds (for generating Pseudo Random token), which are unique for every user.

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