What is Identity and Access Management (IAM)?
Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a framework of policies, processes, and technologies used to manage digital identities and control access to systems, applications, and data. It ensures that the right individuals have the appropriate level of access at the right time.
IAM integrates core concepts such as Identification, Authentication, Authorization, and Accountability (IAAA), and enforces principles like the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP). It is foundational to modern security architectures, including Zero Trust.
What is IAM used for?
IAM is used to secure access to Critical Business Assets (CBA), reduce Insider Threat risks, and enforce Access Control across environments. It plays a key role in preventing unauthorized access and privilege escalation.
Organizations rely on IAM to support compliance frameworks such as ISO/IEC 27001 and NIST SP 800-53, while integrating with tools like Multi Factor Authentication (MFA), Privileged Access Management (PAM), and SIEM for monitoring and auditing.
