Identity Fundamentals

Learn the Basics

What's IAM?

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a comprehensive framework of policies and technologies designed to ensure that the right individuals have appropriate access to the right resources. It enables organizations to protect sensitive data, maintain regulatory compliance, and efficiently manage user identities through authentication, authorization, user provisioning, and audit capabilities.

A foundational IAM principle is Least Privilege, which dictates that users should receive only the minimum level of access required to complete their work. This approach minimizes security risks by restricting unnecessary access to critical systems. IAM systems typically implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC), enabling organizations to grant access based on user roles, attributes, or specific contextual conditions.

Modern IAM platforms incorporate Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to strengthen security by requiring users to provide multiple verification factors. They also support Single Sign-On (SSO), which streamlines the user experience by enabling access to multiple applications with a single authentication session.

In cloud environments, IAM is indispensable—providing centralized access management across hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures. It's equally critical for regulatory compliance, helping organizations meet requirements set by standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2. As the threat landscape continues to evolve, IAM remains fundamental to protecting digital identities and securing organizational resources.

Authentication vs Authorization

• Authentication: Verifies your identity (e.g., using a password, biometrics, or security key)
• Authorization: Determines your permissions and what actions you're allowed to perform

Glossary

• IAM: Identity and Access Management
• MFA: Multi-Factor Authentication
• RBAC: Role-Based Access Control
• SSO: Single Sign-On
• ACL: Access Control List
• JWT: JSON Web Token – A compact, URL-safe token format for securely transmitting claims between parties, commonly used in authentication and authorization flows
• JWK: JSON Web Key – A JSON-based structure representing cryptographic keys used to sign and verify JWTs