Understanding the scope of IAM

The topics to this point of the chapter have defined identity and access, as well as provided use cases of where identity and access are utilized. In those use cases, the process of identity being verified, and access being granted, is IAM.

Defining IAM

Now that identity and access principles are understood, how do they relate to IAM? IAM is the process by which we assign roles to those users, groups, and resources to determine what permissions they have when they verify their identity. In other words, when a user verifies their identity, they are provided a level of access. IAM is that process of reviewing and providing those access permissions.

This is where the role of identity and access administrator becomes important. It is the role of this group to interact with executives and department supervisors to properly plan, define, assign, and test the roles that are required for every task within the organization and provide them with the proper...