Most data breaches are caused by either human errors, misconfigurations, erroneous leakage of secrets, and/or poor digital hygiene. Hackers exploit weaknesses in and/or improper Identity and access management, password management, etc. to successfully get unauthorized access and breach systems.

Identity Access Management (IAM) aims to ensure that your data/informational assets can only be accessed by those who should be able to access it. “A strong IAM program allows the appropriate persons to access the right resources at the right times and for the right reasons,” says Gartner.

Why it is important?

IAM is important because if properly done, it is an effective control against cyber criminals from accessing unauthorized resources. For every business, identity and access management (IAM) is an essential endeavour. As a result, it is becoming more business-oriented and demands commercial abilities, not simply technical ability. IAM solutions for user credentials and access rights have grown in relevance as the cybersecurity sector became aware that user login credentials are a major component in data breaches. In order to keep user credentials safe, IAM systems employ established standards and procedures to safeguard personal information.

Below highlights some best practices for an effective Identity and Access Management strategy:

Enforce only individual/personalized user accounts

It may be more convenient for certain firms to utilize a single login and password to access many platforms or vendors. When a company’s marketing department shares social media credentials with an advertising agency, everyone working on the campaign may see the statistics and outcomes of the social media campaign. Managing security standards and protecting data becomes more difficult when an administrator’s authority is diminished. The danger of an insider threat may be reduced by creating unique credentials and managing user access on a finer level.

Regular review identities, access and user privileges

Establish a schedule for regularly checking the roles and privileges of your users across all of your systems. Google Workspace, Slack channels, and cloud storage solutions like AWS should be reviewed on a regular or bi-weekly basis. Limit access for users who have stopped using certain apps or services, such as email. Keep an eye on your system and network to make sure you’re only issuing permissions that are necessary for the task at hand. Identity management software and identity access management technologies may assist speed up this procedure.

Employ third party tools

However, the usage of third-party technologies may substantially boost the efficiency with which you handle IAM. In order to avoid being overwhelmed by alerts, a multi-cloud solution is a need. It also helps to keep your IAM systems and platforms independent of one another.

The third-party tools themselves must also be secure, as well. There is a place for open-source security technologies, but they also have their drawbacks.

Automate Onboarding and Offboarding

On-boarding and off-boarding issues may be solved using access management. It is necessary for your IT staff to manually examine the privilege and permission needs of a new employee, contractor, vendor, or partner when on-boarding them. Scaling up big businesses is a complicated operation, and the manual provisioning method raises the risk of mistake even more.

Identity and access management solutions allow you to automate the process of getting new workers up and running, as well as the process of getting them off the system when they leave or move to another department within the firm.

Develop a zero-trust security strategy

In the identity management landscape, zero trust is a network security paradigm. When it comes to people and applications, zero trust is the concept that they should not be trusted unless their identity has been confirmed. Once a user has been authenticated, they will be subjected to further security procedures until they exit the network.

Organizations should live and breathe the zero trust principle of trusting no one and constantly authenticating as more individuals work outside their company networks, use various devices and apps, and utilize on-premise and SaaS systems.

CONCLUSION

IAM best practices are ever-changing, but there are certain basic ones that may help your company as your IAM strategy matures. If you want to enhance your IAM strategy, these best practices are an excellent place to start.