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São Paulo/SP – December 19, 2022. Identity and access management is a structure of business processes, policies and technologies that help manage employee profiles and groups.

*By Rodrigo Santiago

Do your organization's employees have access to company resources through the cloud or systems? Can the same employee make and approve purchase orders or change contract information, without having to go through a review? Does your organization know or have an approval hierarchy or eligibility matrix defined?

Whenever we use tools that handle multiple types of data to get work done or purchase a product, we need a strong set of rules to back it up for implementing access controls that will protect information systems from security threats. cybernetics.

Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems are designed to do just that.

Why do we need Identity and Access Management?

As cybersecurity threats increase, the need for robust systems that protect different types of user information also grows. Accompanying an increase in the use of remote work, due to the pandemic, the importance of IAM solutions has increased, to ensure better management of access to the systems and tools used by the organization.

What is an Identity and Access Management system?

Simply put, identity and access management is a framework of business processes, policies, and technologies that help manage employee profiles and groups. It helps administrators control user access to critical information within their organizations.

Identity and access management systems include Login single-factor authentication, two-factor authentication, multi-factor authentication, and privileged access management. They also provide the ability to store and share only the appropriate data.

What is the difference between identity management and access management?

Identity management verifies the user's identity and stores information about the user. An identity management database stores information such as role/workspace and authenticates that the user is, in fact, the person described in the database.

Access management uses the stored identityThe to determine which sets of software the user has access to and what actions he can perform when accessing them. For example, access management will ensure that all managers have access to a profile for approving spreadsheets, but with a set of rules defined in the software so they can't approve their own sheets.

What are the benefits of identity and access management?

Identity and access management systems help you keep track of employee activity. Knowing which employees can view programs and applications makes it challenging for someone who is not authorized to gain access. You can also set system parameters to catch any suspicious transactions, communications or errors that might otherwise go unnoticed.

When users are required to log into multiple applications and enter passwords multiple times to access different information, they tend to create passwords that are easier to enter and remember. With authentication tools like SSO and MFA, users no longer need to make multiple login attempts. Login or remembering multiple passwords. These tools ease the user's burden of creating “hard” passwords to prevent information security breaches and incidents. Instead, login will require information that the user has readily available, such as his fingerprint or the answer to a simple security question that targets only information he knows. Most SSO and MFA tools also encrypt data and can use hashes to protect your password databases.

Identity and access management systems appeal to companies that plan to expand headcount. Gradually, they grant permissions to new hires as they evolve in the organization with updated positions and qualifications. The use of identity and access management systems reduces the risk of sudden changes in the workplace, helping to mitigate cybersecurity risks.

— Rodrigo Santiago is Senior Consultant at [SAFEWAY]

How can we help?

THE SAFEWAY is an Information Security consulting company recognized by its clients for offering high value-added solutions through projects that fully meet the needs of the business. In 14 years of experience, we have accumulated several successful projects that have earned us credibility and prominence with our clients, who largely make up the 100 largest companies in Brazil.

today through 25 strategic partnerships with global manufacturers and our SOC, SAFEWAY is considered a one stop shopping with the best solutions in technology, processes and people. We have both the technical skills and the experience necessary to assist your company in the process of structuring controls and preparing the environment for the implementation of an ISMS, SGS or SGCN and, consequently, certification of operations, services or companies to the ISO27001, ISO20000 or ISO22301 standards.

In order to support companies in this process of evaluation and adaptation to the requirements of the LGPD, [SAFEWAY] has in its portfolio of services, the Cybersecurity Health Check whose objective is to carry out a diagnosis of the CyberSecurity, Information Security and Data Privacy implemented in your company, contemplating the pillars of Law SuitPeople and Technology.

through the Cybersecurity Health Check, risks associated with information security and privacy of internal processes and activities are identified, existing controls and new controls evaluated according to the size of your organization to increase the level of maturity and compliance, in accordance with good information security practices. If you would like more information, contact one of our experts!