The Key Step Beyond Authentication in Identity and Access Management
Identity Governance and Administration helps businesses control what resources authenticated users can access.
Ask any information security professional what companies can do to improve cybersecurity, and it won’t be long before they bring up multifactor authentication. MFA, as most now know, requires an employee who wants to use an application to prove that they are authorized to do so by providing more than one form of identification.
In the world of identity and access management, MFA is a key tool for verifying a person’s identity. What many companies don’t realize, however, is that a complete IAM solution should go beyond effectively authenticating and authorizing users. Here’s how to take IAM to the next level with identity governance and administration, or IGA.
IAM vs. IGA: What’s the Difference?
IAM and IGA are both important aspects of cybersecurity and the safe and efficient management of company resources. The former has to do with controlling access to systems, while the latter is focused on ensuring that access is compliant with business policies and regulations.
When we talk about basic IAM, we’re really interested in strategies and tools we use to make sure a person is who they say they are. These can include solutions such as MFA, single sign-on and role-based access control. The goal of IAM is to give the right employees access to the right applications when and where they need them, and, conversely, to ensure that unauthorized users are denied access to those applications.
IGA goes beyond identity management by emphasizing the importance of governance and oversight of the processes used in IAM. With IGA, security teams can ensure that their IAM strategies align with a company’s internal policies and with applicable regulations.
They can do so using periodic reviews and audits designed to determine who has access to what, and they may use tools to generate reports for submission to regulatory agencies. Public companies must adhere to the financial data security requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, for example. IGA can make compliance easier by automating much of the work.
Ramping Up Lifecycle Management
Another important and related function of IGA is to facilitate identity lifecycle management. While IAM ensures that individuals can use the tools they need to do their jobs after they are hired, IGA allows administrators to easily modify that access as workers’ roles change over time.
If an employee is promoted or transferred, for example, they may need to use new applications they weren’t permitted to access previously. And when employees are demoted, fired or retire, systems access may need to be restricted or eliminated altogether.
A good IGA solution automates lifecycle management so information security professionals and company administrators can devote more attention to other aspects of their jobs. Even better, some IAM platforms now come with IGA functionality built in. If you’re looking to modernize your cybersecurity strategy with identity and access management plus governance and administration, you may find it pays to choose a solution that gives your team a strong handle on both.
