Understanding identity lifecycle management
Identity lifecycle management is the evolution of an identity from creation to deactivation. It covers identities for all types of users, such as employees, contractors, customers, and partners, as well as on-site and cloud-based applications, resources, and systems. All functions related to managing an identity during its lifecycle are included, from the initial assignment of access privileges to tracking and implementing changes in access requirements to auditing users and usage and creating reports.
Importance of identity lifecycle management
All organizations should have some type of identity lifecycle management system in place. Identity lifecycle management plays a crucial role in organizations’ overall security posture and is vital to meeting the compliance requirements that most organizations must address.
While some organizations continue to rely on manual processes for identity lifecycle management, this approach is often inefficient and error-prone. Automated identity lifecycle management has become a must-have for most organizations.
Automating identity lifecycle management helps organizations streamline the many associated processes, from generating identities, making updates, and deactivating them when they are no longer needed. Several reasons that this is important are:
- Audits and reporting
Identity lifecycle management systems and processes ensure that organizations maintain and can readily access information about which users have access to what resources. - Compliance
Most organizations are subject to rules and regulations that include requirements for managing and protecting digital assets. Identity lifecycle management systems ensure that the appropriate protections are in place and can be used to provide proof of how digital identities and access are managed and controlled. - Cost reduction
With automated identity lifecycle management systems, organizations can significantly reduce costs by eliminating time-consuming and error-prone tasks. This reduces costs associated with time spent on these tasks and minimizes expenses related to remediation and fines related to compliance failures. - Internal threat mitigation
Identity lifecycle management systems and processes help minimize potential risks from internal threats by ensuring that users are only granted access rights based on the minimum access needed to perform their functions (i.e., the principle of least privilege). They also monitor changes in access requirements and adjust rights to maintain the minimum necessary rights. - Overall security posture
Employing identity lifecycle management as a complement to other security measures closes a critical gap. Identity lifecycle management systems and processes protect resources from unauthorized access by implementing and enforcing critical controls to help minimize exposure and reduce the attack surface.
Overview of the identity lifecycle management stages
Identity lifecycle management is broken into three core stages. These cover the critical aspects of managing identities and changing access privileges from creation to deactivation.
- Provisioning (onboarding)
When a new user is onboarded, a digital identity must be created, and access to resources must be provisioned based on roles and responsibilities. Key elements of the stage include:- Creating, verifying, and onboarding the identity
- Documenting roles and attributes and mapping them downstream
- Configuring access permissions across resources
- Automating imports of external users in the case of a bulk onboarding process
- Manage identities
This is a critical part of identity lifecycle management. Managing identities ensures that the optimal access privileges are maintained and updated in a timely manner. This stage involves collaborating with department heads to stay on top of changing needs. - De-provisioning (offboarding)
The final stage in the identity lifecycle management is deactivating users’ accounts when they are no longer needed, or the user is no longer part of the organization. This is a crucial step as it ensures that orphaned accounts are not open and accessible as they can be used as backdoors or exploited by insider threats.
Four components of identity lifecycle management
Identity lifecycle management has four main components that work in concert to give users the access they need while protecting resources.
Authentication
Before a user can access a resource, their identity must be verified, confirming that they are a legitimate user. Identities are verified using one or more authentication methods, including passwords, tokens, and biometrics (e.g., facial recognition, iris scans, and fingerprints).
After a user is authenticated, they are granted access to resources based on their authorizations. Authorization can be restricted, such as timing out after a specified period of time or after the user completes a task.
Authorization
Authorization defines the access privileges that users have. Once a user is authenticated, they are granted access to resources based on their authorization levels.
Administration
The administration component of identity lifecycle management focuses on access governance. Administration covers the specifics related to user account creation, role assignments, and permission configurations.
This should be a continuous process that includes the establishment and enforcement of policies through rules. Access can be controlled using rules that grant access based on roles or tasks as well as device, location, and behavior.
Auditing and reporting
All activity throughout the identity lifecycle management must be monitored and recorded. This not only meets requirements for compliance (e.g., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS)) and audits, but also ensures that identity and access systems are performing as expected. Additionally, monitoring helps detect anomalous activity that could be a sign of an attack or security breach.
Challenges in identity lifecycle management
While identity lifecycle management provides many benefits, it is not without its challenges. Common pain points related to identity lifecycle management include the following.
Access review and recertification
Once identities are created, they require regular reviews and should also be recertified periodically. Setting up the rules to manage this can be complex and time-consuming.
Adjusting users’ access
As user needs change, access rights should also be adjusted accordingly to avoid over-exposure and privilege creep. Making these changes in a timely fashion and ensuring that privileges are correctly allocated is a challenge. This includes terminating access when a user leaves an organization or their work there is complete.
Balancing user experience and security
IT and security teams struggle to strike the right balance between security and user experience. While requiring layered authentication helps meet security requirements, it can create bottlenecks and frustration for users.
Continuous monitoring
Continuous monitoring of user activities and access patterns is imperative to identify unusual behavior that could indicate a security issue. However, dedicated resources are required for detection and response to control identities and their related privileges effectively.
IT burden
Managing identities can be time-consuming as teams have to set up new users, adjust settings for existing users, and deactivate users. In addition, they must handle troubleshooting related to identities, such as password resets and vetting access requests.
Managing diverse user groups
Identities are assigned to humans and non-humans. The people range from employees and contractors to partners and customers, each of whom has their authorizations. The same goes for non-humans, but these often require integrations to ensure that access controls can be enforced according to policies.
Onboarding and assigning access
The larger and more complex an organization, the more difficult the process of onboarding new users can be. In addition to setting up authentication systems, care must be taken when determining and assigning access privileges. This can be especially tedious when dealing with external users and integrated systems that require access.
Privilege management
Organizations seeking to implement the principle of least privilege access often encounter difficulties managing it. Ensuring that users only have the minimum access they need can be complex and tedious, and it can impede users’ productivity if they are unable to access the resources they need.
Security risks and compliance issues
When setting up identity lifecycle management systems and processes, security vulnerabilities can be created, leaving organizations subject to the negative consequences related to the exposures and noncompliance. Overprovisioning, enforcing rules pertaining to monitoring and changing access, and deactivating accounts are several of the biggest areas of risk.
Identity lifecycle management solutions and tools
The challenges associated with identity lifecycle management can be addressed with purpose-built solutions. When considering identity lifecycle management solutions and tools, it is important to conduct a comprehensive evaluation. This includes assessing key features and functions, costs, and benefits to find the best solution for the organization.
Key features and functions of identity lifecycle management tools
Above all, an identity lifecycle management solution should offer a high degree of automation. Other key features and functions to look for in an identity lifecycle management solution include:
- Access request workflows, including submission, reviews, approvals, and status
- Audit and reporting tools
- Authentication tools
- Automating provisioning and deprovisioning
- Continuous monitoring for suspicious activities
- Enhanced security
- Password management, including synchronization of passwords across resources and the ability for self-service resets and changes
- Policy automation
- Privileged user management
- Role-based access controls
- Streamlined approval workflows
- Strict enforcement of access controls
Evaluating the cost of identity lifecycle management solutions
Several costs to consider when assessing identity lifecycle management solutions and tools are:
- Potential cost savings that can be realized by automating manual tasks
- Upfront licensing fees and additional fees as new users are added
- Implementation expenses, including configuration, customization, and integrations
- Ongoing maintenance and support costs
- Hidden costs, such as fees to connect to a single sign-on vendor
Benefits of identity lifecycle management tools
There are many benefits that may come from identity lifecycle management automation. Among the most commonly cited benefits are the following.
Faster provisioning and de-provisioning
Quickly add new users and grant appropriate access privileges. When access is no longer required, identities can be automatically deleted and associated access rights revoked.
End-to-end visibility
Gain a holistic overview of all identities. This visibility includes details about access privileges, who is authorized to approve additional access rights and a record of all actions taken by a user.
Policy enforcement
Policies can be automatically enforced for all users. Examples of policies that are enforced with an identity lifecycle management system include installing updates within a certain time, requiring strong passwords, setting lock screen times, and blocking the use of removable storage devices.
Compliance maintenance
By enforcing security policies and access controls, identity lifecycle management solutions help organizations maintain compliance with regulations and industry standards.
Enhanced productivity
Automating identity lifecycle management functions streamline user onboarding, deactivation, and updates. This not only helps relieve burdens on IT teams but also eliminate time-consuming errors caused when these tasks are handled manually. Additionally, automation allows users expedited access to the resources they need, allowing them to get to work more quickly.
Protection from insider threats
Identity lifecycle management enables strict controls on access privileges, helping ensure that users only have access to the minimum resources needed. These solutions also can reduce the risk of privilege creep and provide oversight for users with privileged access.
Best practices for effective identity lifecycle management
Balance security and user experience
When implementing security protocols, consider user experience. Select and enforce security controls that do not impede users’ productivity or cause unnecessary overhead for IT teams.
Provide security awareness training
Provide regular training sessions and materials in various formats to ensure that all users understand why identity security systems are in place and their role in protecting their identities from unauthorized access.
Foster collaboration between HR and IT teams
Create clear communication channels and workflows to facilitate collaboration between HR and IT teams as well as other relevant groups. When teams collaborate, identity lifecycle management is more effective, efficient, and secure.
Establish clear policies
Develop and communicate identity lifecycle management. Ensure that it is kept up to date and easily accessible for all users.
Implement the principle of least privilege
Build the principle of least privilege into identity lifecycle management to help ensure that users are only granted the minimum access to resources required to perform their functions. Processes should also be put in place to regularly assess access privileges and make necessary adjustments to continually enforce the principle of least privilege.
Use role-based access controls (RBAC)
Leverage RBAC to grant and manage access rights according to users’ roles and functions. RBAC streamlines access management, making it easier to assign and revoke access as roles and responsibilities change.
Integrate with other systems
Integrate the identity lifecycle management solution with other security systems and IT tools, such as applications, directories, and cloud services.
Monitor identities
Use continuous monitoring to track users’ activities. Log all activities and use advanced analytics to detect anomalies and patterns that could be indicators of a security risk or breach.
Identity lifecycle management use cases
Several common identity lifecycle management are user onboarding, user offboarding, and updating identity records when changes are made in human resources (HR) systems.
User onboarding
Part of new user onboarding is connecting with the IT team to establish a new identity established. Identity lifecycle management systems can automate the authentication and authorization processes for access.
User offboarding
When a user account is no longer needed, identity lifecycle management solutions can automatically disable or delete an identity. The system can revoke all access privileges for the identity across all resources.
Update records based on HR changes
When a user’s role is changed in an human resources system, integration with identity lifecycle management allows associated access privileges to be automatically updated. This eliminates tedious, time-consuming tasks and ensures that updates are made in a timely fashion.
Moving forward with identity lifecycle management
Understanding identity lifecycle management involves managing an identity from creation to deactivation, covering all users and applications. It's crucial for security and compliance. Manual management is error-prone; automation is preferred for efficiency.
Benefits of identity lifecycle management include streamlined processes, more efficient audits, cost reduction, threat mitigation, and improved security. Challenges include access review, adjusting access as needs change, balancing security with user experience, continuous monitoring, and handling diverse user groups. Advanced tools offering automation, monitoring, and strict controls can help address these challenges.
