07/24/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/24/2024 11:03
While identity and access management (IAM) has always been vital to cybersecurity, its prominence has grown as IT networks have become more complex and businesses have embraced cloud computing. Indeed, a robust IAM strategy is imperative for all organizations today to reduce the risk of costly security breaches, compliance penalties, and business disruptions.
This article explores what IAM entails and how organizations can build an effective IAM framework to secure their sensitive data and systems according to modern best practices.
Identity and access management (IAM) is the practice of managing digital identities and their access. As its name implies, IAM has two components. The first is identity management, which ensures that only the right identities exist and are accurate. Identities are often individuals, such as employees, contractors, customers, partners, and vendors. However, they can include service and computer accounts that access specific applications and services. The second component is access management: ensuring that each identity has exactly the right access privileges to sensitive information and other resources based on the requirements of its role or roles in the organization and closely monitoring access activity for threats.
Accordingly, a comprehensive IAM strategy involves a wide range of processes, such as:
These processes are not one-time events; they require constant attention. Accordingly, modern IAM solutions that provide automation are vital to success. For instance, a good tool will streamline the user provisioning and deprovisioning processes, ensuring that each account's access rights remain accurate even as the user shifts roles and business applications are adopted or retired. This improves operational efficiency while reducing the risk of human error, allowing companies to focus on their core business objectives while maintaining a robust security posture.
IAM is a core strategy for reducing an organization's risk from ransomware attacks, destructive attacks, data theft, and other cybercrime. The cost of a single data breach is staggering: In 2023, the global average reached $4.45 million, a 15% increase over three years. This total cost includes multiple factors, including:
In addition to helping enterprises mitigate the risk of costly data breaches, strong IAM governance offers many other benefits. They include:
Traditionally, IAM focused on building a walled perimeter around the network to keep threat actors out. This approach is no longer effective for multiple reasons. First, nearly 7 in 10 breaches (68%) today involve the human element, according to the Verizon 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report. Examples include errors in which users falling prey to social engineering campaigns or accidentally email sensitive data to inappropriate recipients, as well as the intentional misuse of access privileges to steal data or sabotage systems.
Second, IT ecosystems have grown far more complex: According to the 2024 Netwrix Hybrid Security Trends Report, 74% of organizations have a hybrid IT infrastructure across on-premises and cloud environments, and another 11% are fully in the cloud. With this embrace of cloud computing, the traditional network perimeter has evaporated, making identity the new security perimeter.
Perimeter-based approaches to IAM also often failed to address internal threats properly. For example, granting each user local admin rights on their assigned desktop was common practice. This approach is convenient for users, and IT support personnel since it enables users to manage their devices according to their needs. However, it also significantly increases the risk of security incidents. For example, a user with local admin privileges can accidentally or deliberately alter critical system configurations or install malicious software. If an attacker compromises the user account, they can gain full control over the device, a solid foothold from which to complete a successful attack.
Building an IAM framework that enhances security, supports compliance with regulatory requirements, and maximizes business continuity requires using the right strategies and following best practices. Here are the key elements to understand.
A core strategy for any IAM framework is the principle of least privilege (PoLP): Each identity must be granted only the access rights necessary for its job functions. Minimizing access privileges is a best practice because it reduces the attack surface by limiting the damage an account can do, whether in the hands of its intended user or after being compromised by an adversary.
A common technique for enforcing the PoLP accurately and efficiently is role-based access control (RBAC). Assigning access rights directly to users one at a time is both time-intensive and highly prone to errors that introduce security risks. Modern organizations use role-based access control (RBAC) to overcome these issues. With role-based access control, the security team establishes a set of roles, such as Helpdesk Technician and Sales Team Member. It grants each role the appropriate permissions to data, applications and other resources. Each user is then assigned the appropriate roles based on their responsibilities and inherits the associated access rights.
While every account represents an exploitable pathway for an intruder or insider threat, some accounts require greater attention than others - namely, accounts granted powerful privileges. Accordingly, modern IAM strategies extend the PoLP by implementing privileged access management (PAM). A PAM solution helps minimize the risk from privileged accounts, such as those held by IT administrators, by providing features like strict role-based access control, session monitoring, credential vaulting, and multifactor authentication (MFA). The most effective solutions replace standing privileged accounts with just-in-time access for specific tasks.
At a more technical level, here are some of the most common identity and access management components used today:
While properly managing identities and user access is vital to any IAM strategy, implementing effective monitoring, auditing, and reporting is equally essential. Effective monitoring helps security teams detect threats like malicious insiders and compromised accounts and respond in time to minimize damage. Detailed auditing enables the identification of security gaps like inactive accounts and is required for compliance with regulations such as GDPR, PCI-DSS, and HIPAA. Efficient reporting is vital to periodic access reviews that enable adherence to the principle of least privilege.
To implement an effective IAM security strategy, you must understand the common threats you must protect against.
A foundational measure for an effective IAM strategy is a robust password policy. The policy requirements should be based on current best practices determined by NIST or other experts. In general, longer and more complex passwords are much harder for adversaries to guess or crack, and frequent password changes further reduce risk. However, organizations need to balance these security benefits with realities like the cost of user lockouts and the risk of workarounds like writing passwords down. A password manager can enable users to comply with a stringent password policy much more easily.
Another IAM best practice is to embrace a Zero Trust security strategy based on the principle "Never trust; always verify." Rather than authenticating a user just once, a Zero Trust approach assesses the risk of access requests and, whenever appropriate, requires additional verification of an identity. For example, users attempting to access sensitive data or using an unknown device may be required to complete an MFA step.
It's essential to conduct regular identity and access audits. Audits enable the organization to identify and rectify excessive access privileges, unused accounts, and orphaned security groups, which can pose significant security risks. Audits also provide critical insights into access patterns and potential security gaps, enabling proactive adjustments to IAM policies. Furthermore, detailed audit logs and reports are essential for demonstrating compliance with regulations.
An IAM strategy and architecture for safeguarding digital resources is analogous to a castle. The castle's moat represents the network perimeters. Much like a castle that has thick walls and checkpoints, IAM employs layered defenses like role-based access control and multi-factor authentication. Finally, the monitoring controls IAM mirror a castle's patrols.
Developing an effective IAM framework involves several steps. Below is an outline to get started:
With many modern IAM solutions, implementation is straightforward. In particular, cloud-based IAM solutions can be quick and easy to deploy. Nevertheless, engaging with IAM professionals can pay dividends. Their specialized knowledge and experience can help design and implement a robust IAM framework tailored to an organization's specific needs while ensuring that best practices are followed and vulnerabilities are addressed. Plus, they can provide ongoing support, regular audits, and updated threat information.
A solid identity and access management framework is essential to any modern cybersecurity and cyber resilience strategy. IAM equips organizations to effectively manage user identities and control access to resources, reducing the risk of data breaches, downtime, and compliance penalties. Look for modern IAM solutions that offer capabilities like multifactor authentication, single sign-on, identity threat detection and response, and just-in-time privileged access.