Identity Management

What is identity management? 

Identity management ensures that only authorized individuals have access to the data and systems they require to fulfill their job functions. It encompasses various policies, procedures, and technologies to authenticate and authorize individuals and teams through access provisioning and identity-based restrictions. 

Businesses use identity and access management (IAM) software to protect their systems from unauthorized access or misuse. IAM software makes certain that only authenticated, authorized users have access to specific company data and systems. With IAM software, IT administrators can provision and de-provision user identities, assign access levels, and verify identities with secure authentication methods.

Elements of identity management

Identity management encompasses various technologies, policies, and processes for managing identities, allowing them to access an organization’s systems and data. Common elements of identity management include: 

• Log-in methods. The most common way users provide their identity to grant access is by using a username and password. Many organizations also use multi-factor authentication (MFA), which requires users to provide more than one identification marker, typically in addition to a username and password. Teams can allow users to access multiple systems through one login to simplify identity management. For example, IT teams can enable single sign-on (SSO) and allow users to access various applications by logging in through a connection to their email account. 

• Provisioning and de-provisioning identities. Organizations must manage access privileges so the right people have access to company systems and information at the right time. Provisioning involves creating new user accounts when a new employee joins the team. Deprovisioning refers to disabling or deleting user accounts when individuals leave an organization to prevent unauthorized access.

• Processes for identity lifecycle management. Organizations need clear policies and procedures for managing a user’s identity lifecycle throughout their career journey with the company. This includes onboarding, offboarding, and role changes that impact information access.

Benefits of identity management

Identity management contributes to security measures, efficiencies, and organizational effectiveness. Some of the key benefits organizations experience from a robust identity management system include:

• Enhanced security and control. Identity management helps teams handle user access to systems and resources, reserving sensitive information for only those who need to see it. It also enhances security by using various authentication methods to verify identities. 

• Operational efficiencies. Manually granting and revoking user access is daunting and time-consuming. Identity management automates these activities and makes it easier for teams to oversee user accounts. These efficiencies are crucial for organizations as they scale. 

• Reduced security risks. Identity management helps businesses protect their critical assets and reduce the risk of security breaches and stolen information. For example, cloud directory services allow an organization to quickly remove a user’s access to systems if they suddenly and unexpectedly leave the organization.

Identity management challenges

Businesses need to account for the obstacles associated with identity management to ensure they have proper strategies and policies to combat them. Some common challenges organizations experience include: 

• Untimely user lifecycle management. Manual provisioning and de-provisioning of user access can negatively affect the timeliness of granting or removing access. Since manual updates can take longer, users may not always have access to the information they need to do their jobs in a reasonable timeframe. Additionally, user identities change throughout the lifecycle, including onboarding, role changes, and offboarding, all of which must be executed promptly.

• Identity governance and maintenance. It can be challenging for organizations and their IT teams to define and maintain clear roles for different job functions, especially when companies grow rapidly. Improper identity governance can lead to role confusion, inappropriate access permissions, and inconsistent policies around role access. 

• Scalability issues. As organizations grow, they gain more employees, which means more users and more user identities. Managing identities and access permissions becomes more difficult over time, especially when IT teams lack resources. 

Identity management best practices

Organizations adopting identity management solutions should follow specific best practices to guarantee maximum effectiveness and security. 

• Use a tool to centralize identity information:. Avoid managing user identities in multiple locations and use a tool to operate a centralized repository instead. This helps verify that identity administration is consistent across systems and access points and reduces the administrative burden on IT teams.

• Use role-based access control (RBAC): Assigning access permissions at the individual level can lead to unnecessary privileges and unwanted data sharing. Instead, organizations should use RBAC to assign access to perform the duties associated with their job function. 

• Follow the “least privilege” principle. Always grant users the minimum access required to perform their specific duties. It’s best to follow the “least privilege” principle and add additional permissions as needed rather than provide too much access and unnecessary exposure to information. 

• Automate provisioning and de-provisioning processes: Implementing automated processes for provisioning and de-provisioning users makes sure that access is granted and revoked promptly. This makes it easier to onboard new users as they join and helps protect information when employees leave the organization. 

Identity management vs. access management 

Identity management and access management are interrelated, but they serve distinct purposes. 

Identity management focuses on managing and maintaining digital identities for individuals within an organization. It includes lifecycle user management, provisioning and de-provisioning, and identity verification. 

Access management centers on controlling and granting access to data and systems based on the authenticated identity of a user. It includes determining what information and data users can access after their identity is authenticated. 

Learn about access control lists (ACLs) and how they help secure files and resources.