Without those details, though, organizations increase the risk of the wrong people getting into systems and data they shouldn’t – including cybercriminals.
Identity governance and administration solutions provide the control IT departments need to understand who’s who so they can improve security and ease regulatory compliance.
Why Is Identity Governance and Administration Important?
When a new employee gets hired, they might be left waiting for IT to onboard them with access to the platforms and applications they need to do their job. That’s frustrating enough. Now imagine that same employee getting promoted into a role with greater privileges and the same scenario plays out.
It’s not that IT departments want to hold employees up. Managing access rights manually is a cumbersome task. It can take more time than anyone wants. Mistakes can happen too, which opens the door to a host of potential pitfalls.
The concept of identity governance and administration
Identify governance and administration solutions offer a way to automate these processes and overcome these challenges. This means a better employee experience as people move from one role or department to another. It also puts organizations in a better position to manage access privileges and rights for other stakeholders, including vendor partners, contractors and temporary employees.
Most importantly, identity governance and administration (or simply IGA) solutions help fend off threat actors looking for systems with too many permissions to steal data. It’s technology that could save organizations a lot in terms of legal settlements from data breaches, fines from regulators and other negative business outcomes.
Common misconceptions
Don’t assume IGA is only relevant to large organizations, or those operating in industries that are subject to compliance mandates.
IGA can help organizations of any size, particularly growing firms who need to scale in terms of applications and data volumes. IGA is key to keeping data secure and is distinct from identity and access management (IAM), which we’ll go over later in this post.
IGA is also not limited to on-premises applications and systems but those that run in the cloud as well.
Key Features of IGA Solutions
Although IGA solutions will vary somewhat depending on the vendor, the following capabilities are usually included:
Role-based access control and permissions management
An organization’s senior leadership team often has much higher access privileges to systems like HR and financial databases than frontline employees. Role-based access control (RBAC) and permissions management defines these privileges and permits only necessary access and use.
It’s important for security admins to not only define roles but be prepared to update them as the organization and the various permissions of a given role evolve.
User provisioning and deprovisioning processes
IGA solutions should make it easy for admins to grant and revoke access as the occasion demands.
User provisioning processes might designate an employee as a “joiner” for a particular asset, for instance. Later, when they need greater access, they might become a “mover,” and then a “leaver” as they leave the organization for another job.
Bear in mind that admins often have to perform these processes for many different users at a time. This can involve multiple accounts, different levels of user entitlement and other information.
Deprovisioning, where all access and rights are revoked, is a particularly important stage. Otherwise, systems and applications can be left “orphaned” and easily accessed by cybercriminals.
Identity lifecycle management
These phases of an employee’s journey through an organization can be described as their identity lifecycle, and IGA solutions simplify the process of sending requests, facilitating approvals and any onboarding or offboarding.
Identity lifecycle management features in IGA solutions also allow organizations to track and review all user accounts, their access privileges and make any necessary changes.
The Benefits of Identity Governance and Administration
If you’re looking at how to include IGA technology as part of your overall cybersecurity or IT budget, there are multiple areas where you’ll likely see return on investment (ROI):
Enhanced security and reduced data breaches
All it takes is for threat actors to get into a single application. From there, they can potentially steal data, perform unauthorized actions and infect other systems with malware.
IGA solutions make data breaches more difficult by stipulating precisely who is allowed to access applications and data. Even in the event cybercriminals penetrate the network through another means, IGA could limit the extent they can spread.
Improved compliance with regulatory requirements
Governments and regulators around the world are becoming increasingly concerned about protecting people from having their data stolen or comprised via digital channels. That’s why many organizations are now subject to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the Health Information Privacy Protection Act (HIPPA).
IGA solutions support all these regulations and others by blocking inappropriate access to data and making it easier for organizations to monitor and report on how they manage identities and user privileges.
Streamlined user access management processes
IT departments should never be seen as a barrier to getting work done. IGA solutions take the burden of manually provisioning access rights to applications and systems away. This frees up IT departments to focus on other areas.
Automating these workflows also helps new hires hit the ground running when they come on board, while streamlining those transitioning to new roles or higher levels of privilege within an organization. These benefits can be even greater in organizations with a significant contingent or on-demand workforce.
Differentiating Identity Governance and Administration from IAM
As mentioned earlier, IGA and IAM may be discussed as though they are the same thing. They’re not.
Understanding the distinctions between IGA and IAM
Think of IAM as the equivalent of a security guard who stands in front of a door to an important building. The technology will verify a visitor’s credentials and, if there are no issues, allow them inside the building.
IGA goes a step further – the technology not only provides access but governs what they do next. In other words, it’s more like a security guard at a bank vault. They might let you in the vault but will also follow you in to make sure you only try to open your own safety deposit box.
Complementary roles of IGA and IAM in overall security
Though IAM solutions are narrower in scope, they can work well with IGA. While IAM can focus more on double-checking the identity of a user who wants access to a system, for instance, IGA will determine whether that user’s access is consistent with regulations and the organization’s policies and procedures.
How IGA expands on traditional IAM capabilities
Using IAM solutions is sort of like asking a yes or no question. If you’re among those authorized to access an IT asset, it will say “Yes” and let you in.
IGA solutions add a very important series of “but only if” qualifiers. In other words, it will build upon the access an IAM solution has granted by governing the extent of the user’s privileges, including what kind of data they can see and manage.
Importance of Regulatory Compliance in Identity Governance
The regulatory landscape and its impact on businesses
Innovations in technology are allowing us to do incredible things with data, from personalizing services to making predictions about the future. Regulations provide the checks and balances we need so that organizations using these technologies operate with transparency, safety and respect for users’ privacy and best interests.
How IGA helps organizations meet compliance obligations
Beyond enforcing role-based permissions and other aspects of an organization’s usage policies, IGA software provides organizations with reporting features. This means they can produce an audit trail of how requests and access were managed should an incident arise, or questions need to be answered.
Benefits of proactive compliance management
Getting ahead of regulatory compliance benefits organizations in the long run. When a data breach occurs and it becomes complicated to provide the necessary details to authorities after the fact, for example, regulators can impose fines.
Catching up with compliance obligations can also require pulling employees away from day-to-day activities, hampering growth and the ability to achieve other goals.
Considerations for Implementing Identity Governance and Administration
Identifying organizational readiness for IGA implementation
Before you deploy an IGA solution, engage with all the relevant stakeholders in your organization such as IT, HR and the senior leadership team. Review your existing access policies and map out key areas of risk.
Next, define your priorities from a data protection and access standpoint, scoping out how everyday processes and procedures might change. Consult with those directly involved with these processes and educate them to ensure a smooth transition. Create effective channels to communicate feedback along the way.
Best practices for successful IGA deployment
Start with your most high-value applications, systems and other IT assets. Invoke the principle of least privilege (or zero trust) to maximize the security of your IGA implementation strategy. This is where you’ll want to explore single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to complement your IGA solutions. Finally, clarify who needs to be part of ongoing monitoring, reporting and data analysis.
Integration of IGA solutions with existing IT infrastructure
Given that most organizations now run a mix of on-premises and cloud-based IT infrastructure, ask your provider about how IGA solutions can be seamlessly integrated. This will help keep all your data up-to-date and accurate, allowing for better results from IGA technologies.
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