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Identity and Access Management (IAM)

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a framework of policies and technologies that ensure the right individuals have the right access to the right resources at the right time.

What is IAM?How it typically works?Common techniquesImpactFurther reading

What is IAM?

IAM is the foundation of enterprise security, governing user identities and access to resources. It includes authentication (verifying identity), authorization (granting access based on role or policy), and auditing (tracking user actions). For SecOps, IAM is critical for limiting attack surfaces, enforcing least privilege, and ensuring compliance with regulations. Without proper IAM, attackers who compromise a single account may move laterally and gain access to sensitive systems.

How it typically works?

  1. User provisioning: creating, updating, and disabling accounts across systems.
  2. Authentication: verifying user identity, often with MFA.
  3. Authorization: assigning roles or permissions that define what resources users can access.
  4. Auditing: logging and monitoring user activity to detect misuse.

Common techniques

  • Single Sign-On (SSO): allows users to authenticate once and access multiple systems.
  • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): access is determined by user roles within an organization.
  • Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC): access decisions based on attributes like department or location.
  • Federation: allows identity sharing between organizations, using standards such as SAML or OAuth.
  • Identity governance: periodic reviews and recertification of access rights.
  • Privileged access integration: linking IAM with PAM solutions to manage sensitive accounts.

Impact

Strong IAM reduces insider threat risk and prevents unauthorized access. Properly implemented IAM supports Zero Trust by enforcing continuous authentication and least privilege access. On the other hand, poor IAM leads to excessive permissions, shadow accounts, and audit failures.

IAM is also essential for regulatory compliance, including GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX. For SecOps, IAM provides a unified framework for managing identities across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid systems, making it central to modern security operations.

Further reading

Related topics

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)Privileged Access Management (PAM)Zero Trust Security