1 Introduction
Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions are foundational for securing enterprise IT environments. For workforce scenarios, IAM solutions commonly need to be able to provide identity verification at onboarding, user management, identity lifecycle management, device management, strong authentication, secure access controls, access recertifications, adaptive risk assessments, and integration with other Identity Provider (IdP) services. These solutions are designed to ensure that only properly authenticated and authorized individuals have appropriate access to digital resources, safeguarding sensitive information and critical systems from unauthorized access, breaches, espionage, and sabotage.
One of the first considerations in workforce IAM is identity verification during employee (and contractor) onboarding. This process ensures that individuals are who they claim to be before giving them credentials and granting them access to corporate systems. Identity verification often involves a combination of government-issued identification, biometric data, and background checks. This step is necessary for generating credentials and user accounts at the proper identity assurance level.
Strong multi-factor authentication (MFA) is another common requirement for IAM solutions. MFA requires users to present two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource. These factors typically include something the user knows (password), something the user has (hardware token or smartphone), and something the user is (biometric templates). By leveraging multiple forms of authentication, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access due to compromised credentials. Modern MFA systems can be passwordless, which eliminates the threat of leaked or weak passwords and minimizes the threat of phishing. The FIDO authentication standards, especially passkeys, promote interoperability and ease-of-use in addition to improving authentication security.
Device management is another essential aspect of IAM, particularly in the era of Work From Anywhere (WFA) and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies. IAM solutions must be able to manage and secure a wide range of devices, such as smartphones, tablets, desktops, point-of-sale terminals, etc. This includes enforcing device-level security policies, such as requiring devices to be fully patched and have up-to-date endpoint security software running. Many organizations need to be able to associate device identities with individuals or groups of users.
Device attributes and intelligence can be analyzed periodically or continuously in conjunction with attributes about the users and the request context (sometimes called environmental factors) to evaluate the risk associated with an authentication attempt in real-time. Based on the assessed risk, the IAM system can enforce appropriate authentication measures, such as requiring additional verification steps for high-risk attempts (also known as step-up authentication) or allowing streamlined access for low-risk scenarios.
Authorization management in IAM is inherently complex, as it involves defining and enforcing access policies that dictate which resources a user can access and under what conditions. This includes implementing role-based access control (RBAC) and attribute-based access control (ABAC) models. RBAC assigns permissions based on a user’s role within the organization, simplifying the management of permissions as roles change. ABAC systems can evaluate attributes such as user location, time of access, group membership, nationality, employer, department, and others, as well as attributes about the resources being accessed to make fine-grained runtime authorization decisions. These access control models ensure that users only have access to the resources necessary to do their jobs.
Consent management is becoming increasingly important, especially with stringent data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. IAM solutions must facilitate the management of user consent for data processing activities. This involves obtaining explicit consent from users, recording their preferences, and ensuring that these preferences are honored across all systems. Effective consent management helps organizations maintain compliance with legal requirements and build trust with their users. While consent management is generally thought of in the context of consumer or customer IAM, it is also necessary in workforce situations for privacy regulatory compliance in some jurisdictions too.
User management within IAM solutions encompasses the creation, maintenance, and deactivation of user accounts. This process includes provisioning users with appropriate access rights and updating these rights as users move within the organization. Automated workflows and self-service capabilities can streamline these processes, reducing administrative overhead and improving accuracy. Identity lifecycle management requires regular audits, deactivation of dormant accounts, and the timely removal of access for terminated employees. Access recertification capabilities are needed to periodically review and verify that user entitlements are still appropriate and compliant with organizational security policies and regulatory requirements.
IAM solutions should be able to federate identities between different IdPs and relying party applications. This requires support for standards such as SAML, OAuth, and OpenID Connect. This is important for cases where enterprises may have multiple IdPs, or may have complex business relationships with contractors, partners, or gig workers.
