Cloud IAM

IAM is a combination of practices that allow you to give access and privileges to the right users. Different tools and platforms implement these controls in different fashions, which also affects the level of control. Perhaps you're thinking, how is IAM any different from access control? The answer is in the name – Identity and Access Management.

There are two main components to IAM: identity, which refers to a role given to users or systems, and access, which refers to privileges and rights. These components are closely interrelated and are thus often talked about as a single discipline. However, they are two different things. We'll go into the different components and concepts of IAM in the upcoming sections, but what you need to understand right now is that identity and access are two different security components that can be used as self-sufficient security controls. However, they are much more efficient when used in tandem. Additionally, when used...