Why  Identity and Access Management  Matters in Today’s Digital World

Organizations today are dealing with an overwhelming amount of data and a significant rise in security threats. According to ISACA, in 2022, 76% of organizations experienced a ransomware attack, with 64% suffering infections. Cyber attacks, data breaches, and information leaks can disrupt information systems, halt production, and damage a company’s reputation. In this situation, identity and access management (IAM) is essential for organizations that want to succeed in a digital world.

What is IAM?
Identity and access management encompasses processes, policies, and technologies that securely manage user identities, authentication, authorization, and access to systems and data. IAM controls who can access what, when, and how while maintaining essential IT security principles: confidentiality, integrity, availability, and traceability of information.

IAM goes beyond just managing usernames and passwords. It’s a strategic way to secure access to digital assets—like data and applications—while providing a smooth user experience.

Here are the main reasons why identity and access management is crucial for modern cybersecurity:

Better IT Security
IAM centralizes identity management and access control, which lowers the risk of data breaches and boosts resilience against cyberattacks. With IAM tools, organizations can apply the same security policies throughout the enterprise, limiting user access to sensitive data and reducing the chances of unauthorized access.

IAM methods like Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) help protect user credentials. Users don’t have to remember multiple passwords; they need additional verification—like security questions or one-time passwords—to access essential resources, reducing the chances of cybercriminals gaining access.

Organizations can use IAM techniques like Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and the principle of least privilege (giving users only the necessary access) to meet regulatory requirements.

Regulatory Compliance
IAM supports organizations in complying with privacy and data protection regulations in several ways. IAM tools track user activities and access attempts, which helps with audits and compliance. For instance, the European Union’s Digital Operational Resilience Regulation (DORA) encourages ongoing audits of identities and access rights in the financial sector.

IAM solutions also simplify compliance reporting by documenting access policies and user activity, which shows adherence to regulations like the GDPR in Europe and the California Privacy Rights Act in the US These reports help identify security weaknesses and implement necessary protections.

Increased Employee Productivity

By automating access management processes, IAM reduces friction for users and boosts their productivity. With security measures like SSO and MFA, organizations can improve data security while minimizing barriers that hinder employees from working efficiently. Employees can quickly access the resources they need, no matter where they are, making them feel more secure.

IAM solutions that allow automatic user provisioning enable employees to request and gain access to resources quickly, preventing IT from becoming a bottleneck.

Lower IT Costs

IAM streamlines identity management and access control processes, which can lower operational costs related to IT security. By automating many identity, authentication, and authorization tasks, IT administrators can focus on more valuable projects.

Gartner Group estimates that 30% to 50% of IT help desk calls are for password resets. Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) solutions can significantly reduce this number by allowing users to reset their passwords.

Many IAM services are now offered on cloud platforms, which reduces the need for costly on-premises infrastructure.

IAM Capabilities

IAM solutions can control access to sensitive data and applications by setting strict policies based on criteria like time and location. They ensure that data creation, modification, and deletion are done securely. For instance, RBAC restricts user actions, preventing temporary employees from accessing sensitive data.

Identity Lifecycle Management

IAM makes managing the identity lifecycle easier, covering onboarding, offboarding, and employee transfers. It ensures appropriate access and is revoked promptly, maintaining fine-grained control over roles and permissions.

Segregation of Duties (SoD)

SoD ensures that no single user has total control over sensitive processes, requiring multiple people to complete a task to prevent fraud. IAM solutions help automate this separation to improve security.

Identity Reconciliation

This involves linking existing accounts to current users and ensuring access rights align with their roles. IAM solutions automate this process, ensuring appropriate access and compliance with security policies.

A Real-World IAM Example

A large international company, a client of Devoteam, needed to set up configurations for external identity management using Entra ID. This involved creating a secure environment for managing external user accounts requiring sensitive application access.

Key goals for the project included:

• Setting up specific Entra ID configurations for different application types (B2B and B2C).
• Enforcing the principle of least privilege to limit access rights for each application.
• Strengthening access security with conditional access policies and MFA.
• Managing resource access permissions with detailed group and role management in Entra ID.

Project Risks

• Misconfigured security settings could expose critical applications to cyberattacks.
• Poorly designed conditional access policies might allow unauthorized access.
• Complex role management could lead to access issues if not handled properly.

Project Challenges

• Protecting resources by ensuring only authorized external users access applications.
• Centralizing the management of external identities.
• Creating specific configurations to ensure secure and efficient access while boosting user satisfaction.
• Reducing operational risk by applying the principle of least privilege.

Outcome
Thanks to this project, the client now has a solution for managing external users while enhancing the security of their resources.

Conclusion

Identity and access management is crucial for any serious organization. IAM provides a robust solution by ensuring security, compliance, and productivity.

Although implementing IAM can be challenging, its benefits justify the investment. Organizations need to understand the importance of identity management in the digital age and take steps to protect their data effectively.