According to Gartner companies without concrete Identity and Access Management (IAM) programs go 40% spending more on IAM-related issues, while achieving less than companies with solid IAM processes. Curious about what IAM entails, and what impact it can have on your business? In this article, we take a closer look.
What is Identity & Access Management?
An Identity and Access Management (IAM) system manages user identities and access rights. It is important to understand that IAM users can be both employees and customers. With IAM technologies, IT administrators can ensure that users are who they say they are (authentication), and that users get access to the applications and data they need (authorization).
In this way, IAM ensures the correct use of resources in technological environments that are becoming increasingly extensive and diverse today. Therefore, by recognizing and differentiating data about users, applications and computer hardware, IAM plays an important role in securing increasingly complex business networks, which are susceptible to cyber threats and data breaches.
Why IAM?
Does your organization manage remote employees who need access to company resources through your Cloud? Or does your company enable customers to create accounts that streamline their payment and ordering information? When you manage users who need access to multiple types of data to do their jobs or purchase a product, you need a strong set of security standards. This will help you implement access controls and protect your information systems from cybersecurity threats. Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems. are designed to do just that.
Capabilities of IAM
First, IAM confirms that a user is who they say they are by verifying their identity against an internal database or a so-called Identity Provider, which is responsible for storing and managing digital identities. If the login credentials are correct, the IAM system grants access to the user. As a result, IAM identity management is more secure and adaptable than traditional username and password authentication. IAM systems can also help organizations meet the requirements of various data security and privacy legislations, such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance. As these legislations become increasingly stringent and complex, it is beneficial to have a solution that supports audits, compliance reviews and mandatory reporting.
Identity access management systems grant only the exact level of access based on the assigned role. Instead of granting access to, say, a complete view of business contact data, IAM limits the access level based on the position an employee holds within an organization. This is known as Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). Also, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Single Sign-On (SSO) are common examples of IAM components; MFA creates an additional layer of security by requiring a user to provide multiple methods of identification, such as a one-time code sent via email or text message in addition to a regular password. SSO systems authenticate users with MFA and then share that authentication with multiple applications, so in a sense SSO is an automated extension of MFA.
IAM implementation through Nestor
Our IAM implementation follows a methodology focused on user engagement to ensure that a solution we develop meets your needs. Thus, we avoid technical redundancies, support your systems, and develop the technology that creates a secure environment for your processes and data. As a trusted cybersecurity partner with expertise in the full lifecycle of a data security system, we help you build an entirely new IAM program, or evolve an existing one. Want to learn more about IAM? Don't hesitate to contact us!