Identity Management
In short, identity management manages digital identities. Identities combine digital attributes and entries in the database to create unique names for users. Its leadership includes developing, maintaining, monitoring, and deleting these identities as they operate in the enterprise network. Enterprises need to ensure that users have the permissions to perform their jobs and restrict other permissions. In addition, it handles authentication.
Access Management
Also, access management controls the yes/no decision to allow or block users from accessing resources, databases, etc. In addition, it manages access to the portal through login pages and protocols while also ensuring that the user requesting access belongs to all. It is different from authentication, which identifies users, but does not determine whether they are worthy of entry. Instead, it manages authorization.
“Enterprises need to ensure that users within their network have the required permissions to perform their jobs while restricting other permissions outside their job description. This clearly explains role-based access control, touching on the principle of least privilege. Both are subcomponents of access management and are essential requirements for ensuring adequate access control.
Identity Management: Identity management ensures that authorized personnel (and only those that are authorized) have access to the technology resources they need to perform their job functions. It also prevents unauthorized access to systems and alerts when access attempts are made by unauthorized people.
Access Management: authenticates and authorizes access to applications and IT systems. It also helps strengthen security, reduces risk, and ensures the right users have access to the right resources at the right times for the right reasons.
Differences: Identity Management is about managing attributes related to the user, group of users, or other identity that may require access. Access Management is about evaluating those attributes based on existing policies and making a yes or no access decision based on those attributes.
Chris,
Great examples relating to this discussion! Not only does it help strengthen security, reduce risks, and ensure the correct users into the systems are who they say they are, but other benefits include reduced IT costs, improve user experience, reduces password issues, and improve regulatory compliance.
I like your point about the reduction of costs. I recently came across this article from Okta: https://www.okta.com/blog/2019/08/how-much-are-password-resets-costing-your-company/ The article highlights the importance of identity management and some of common issues that come up. They estimate that a manual password reset costs $70. Using modern identity solutions and SSO provide a better management experience while reducing costs.
Matt,
Thanks for sharing this article – security is already seen a money pit to most c-suites and I never thought about quantifying the cost of manually resetting passwords. These types of use cases should put people at ease who fear AI is taking over. No one wants to be burdened with mass password resetting and automation as you have highlighted is such a critical compoment to all areas of security including IAM.
Hello Christopher, to further support your position, Acess management, if adequately implemented, comes with a bouquet of benefits, namely: strengthening security, reducing risk, and ensuring the right users have access to the right resources at the correct times for the right reasons.
The difference between identity management and access management is that one relates to authorization, and the other authentication.
Identity management refers to the processes related to authentication and verifying that an individual is who they say they are.
On the other hand, access management refers to the processes related to authorization and verifying that an individual has the authority to access information or physical locations.
The main difference between identity management and access management is who accessed resources vs. what can a user access. An example of this would be how all users in a domain (Temple.edu) receive a digital identity such as @temple.edu, which allows users to access the Temple library, log on to Canvas, and more. However, a student at Temple does not share the same permissions as Temple’s IT department or even faculty members, for that matter. As such different roles may require access to payroll systems, submitting grades on canvas, and viewing security cameras. Students should not have access to these platforms, and Temple’s IT department can segment access by limiting students based on their assigned permissions based upon their identity as a student. Access management allows us to control what resources Temple’s students have access to, whereas identity management solely manages the student’s unique identity.
Thank you for the better understood explanation. The difference between the two is primarily who accesses the resource vs. the user, and what the user can access. Authentication identifies users, but not whether they are worthy of access. Identity management is about managing the attributes associated with a user. Access management is about evaluating attributes and making decisions based on policies, like you said temple’s IT department can manage to restrict student access based on student identity based on assigned permissions, identity management can determine what they can access, while access management controls allow users to visit whether they can access resources.
Kelly,
Great examples you gave regarding to this discussion! This lays out a better understanding to us Temple students that we use in our everyday lives. A student should not have the same exact access as a faculty or the IT department. This is where identity management and access management comes into play. While identity management verifies a user’s identity and their level of access to a system, access management makes that decision to block or accept that user into the database. This is a great example of why identity management should be as strong as access management.
The main idea behind the identity and access management is to make sure that the right user have appropriate access to resources. Identity management makes sure the person is the right one by verifying a user’s identity while access management controls their level of access to a particular system. Identity management deals with authentication when access management determines what resources a user can access by authorization.
An example to understand the differences between identity and access management is to understand the steps of security process. Usernames, passwords, pins, finger scans, all of them is being verified for authentication purposes. Later on, what you can access within the system after you verified, is access management. It is important because applications and services can use different levels of authorization by using access management controls.
Miray,
Just like our phones and devices, a facial recognition and finger print identifies who we are and ensures we are the ones signing into our own device.
It is important to know the difference between identity management and access management because misunderstanding can lead to potential security issues. If access management is well defined but identity management isn’t, it creates issues for users trying to gain that information that is needed.
I like the way you distinguished the different technologies and their functions. This was very well thought out and written post. I also appreciated the example you gave to the readers to understand the differences between identity management and access management.
Identity management deals with an individual’s digital identity. It verifies who the individual is, and this can be done through identity management tools like LDAP and Active directory. Access management deals with providing the individual with the necessary resources/applications once they have been authenticated to the system. For example, the software my organization creates, you must first be authenticated to the platform through an LDAP provider, and then once authenticated you will see what tools you have access to which would fall under access management.
Identity Management manages digital identities, and its management includes creating, maintaining, monitoring and deleting these identities that operate in the enterprise network. Identities combine digital attributes and entries in the database to create unique names for users. Enterprises need to ensure that users have the permissions they need to perform their jobs and restrict other permissions. At the same time, it handles authentication. Access Management controls the yes/no decision to allow or block users from accessing resources, databases, etc. It manages access to the portal through login pages and protocols, while also ensuring that the user requesting access actually belongs to all. This is not the same as authentication, which identifies users, but does not determine whether they are worthy of access. Identity management is about managing the attributes associated with a user. Access management is about evaluating attributes against policies and making decisions.
Hi Dan,
Identities combine numeric attributes and entries in the database to create unique names for users. Its leadership role includes developing, maintaining, monitoring, and deleting these identities as they operate in the enterprise network.
What is the difference between identity management and access management?
Identity management is verifying a user’s identity and their level of access to a system. Examples of identity management are access control, security token service, and a single sign on. Identity management can not only include a user’s credentials but fingerprints, facial recognition, and unique tokens to ensure the user is the one assigned to get that information.
Access Management controls the decision to allow or block users from accessing a resource or a database. Additionally, it manages the access portals while ensuring the user requesting is supposed to belong to the system. It helps reduce the administrative efforts that are involved.
Even though access management implementation might seem extra effort at the beginning, it is definitely true that it eliminates future administrative efforts as you said here. It is important that the organization is able to allow and block users from accessing and taking actions on the organization’s information systems. It would be a disaster if right access management is not in place to understand the user manipulated data or adjust the access controls during the project.
The difference between identity and access management is that the former deals with authentication and the later deals with authorization. In other words, once the user is authenticated by identity management, the system can authorize their permissions via access management.
For example, a user validates their identity by signing into a network domain using a username and password. Once authenticated, the user is limited by access controls that are specific to their role. An admin user will have more permissions than a non-admin user given their responsibilities. Identity management validates the user so that access management can authorize their use of assigned resources.
Nice clean definition of the 2 activities and how they inter-relate to each other. -especially with respect to timing of the 2 activities. First we authenticate and then we authorize – based on successful authentication and permissions previously granted!
I agree with Richard really solid description of how identity and access management are inter-related. It’s important to note that an update to ones identity, for example a staff claims examiner switching to an underwriting role, needs to be reflected in their access controls. The user in this example could still be using the same system to perform their new daily duties as an underwriter – however, it’s important that the access controls for the user are updated in a timely manner to ensure they can perform their new functions seamlessly (i.e. availability) while the system should block them from performing functions required by a claims examiner (i.e. integrity).
Identity Management ensures the rights users have to access certain technologies. It deal with user management, role based provisioning, access, governance, role management, and identity intelligence. Overall it mainly focuses on the individual identity from a provisioning standpoint as opposed to Access Management. In access Management it focuses on the controls of who has access to what and grants access to users depending on their specific role. Access Management deals with authentication, MFA,SSO, authorization.
Great explanations between the two. I like the examples you provided with each to help differentiate. SSO along with OAuth and others are great examples of tools used for access management.
The phrase that “Identity Management mainly focuses on the individual identity from a provisioning standpoint as opposed to Access Management that focuses on the controls of who has access to what and grants access to users depending on their specific role, is on point. Secondly, it clearly articulates the difference between Identity management and Access management.
What is the difference between identity management and access management?
Identity management is making sure that the right specific user has the correct access to certain resources. Access management is making sure that a specific user is allowed to have access to certain technological resources. Identity management deals with authentication and access management deals with authorization.
Identity management is used to determine whether a user has access to an IT system. In contrast, Access control, a sub-component of asset management, sets the level of access and permissions that an identified user has to that IT system.
Identity management includes the following areas: User provisioning, creating, maintaining, reviewing, and retiring user identities for access to IT infrastructure.
Access control is the process and technology implemented to monitor and control access granted to an identified user. Access management features include Identification, Authentication, Authorization, Auditing, and Accountability (Non-Repudiation).
Hey Olayinka,
That’s a great post. Identity management does cover those are to identify the user that is trying to access the system within the network. Access control does cover those area and it also ensure the user are only getting access to the resolves to which they are permitted to access,
Identity Management refers to as mechanism where identity management manages digital identities. Identities combine digital attributes and entries in the database to create a unique designation for a user. Its management consists of creating, maintaining, monitoring, and deleting those identities as they operate in the enterprise network. Businesses are required to make sure that users have the permissions they need to perform their jobs, and reduce other permissions. Also, it handles authentication. Whereas access Management on the other hand controls the yes/no decision to permit or block users from having an opportunity accessing a resource, database, etc. Additionally, it manages the access portals via login pages and protocols, while also ensuring that the user requesting access actually belongs at all. This actually differs from authentication, since authentication can determine the user but not whether they deserve access. Instead, it manages authorization
I like how you describe one of the differences between identity management and access management to be that access management deals with the individual yes or no when it comes to someones online identity being able to access certain data or applications, or perform specific actions. Identity management contributes to the level of access privileges that users get, but access management is more specific and deals with the yes or no when it comes to app and file usability.
Identity management is the security field where individuals in an organization are defined by their login credentials and groups they are assigned to by administrators. Identity management also involves the management of users who switch departments, leave an organization, and other factors in which their access privileges would need to be changed. Identity management and access management are very related, but they are not exactly the same thing.
Access management is the security field where users (identities) are assigned to groups within the organization that have access privileges to certain directories and information. Access management is sometimes managed on the individual user level, but this is uncommon due to the fact that it makes it harder to keep track of and make changes to access privileges one-by-one. When an identities access privileges need to be changed, the identity itself is changed (switched to a different group, added to an additional group, deleted, etc) so that the required privileges are granted.
Hi Jordan,
An excellent piece of information but one of the most challenging identity management problems is simply keeping track of all the identities connecting to and acting on your network..
I like the example that you used to describe when identity management would be applied – particularly with when roles change. A lot of organizations fail to remove privileges from previous employees that perform certain roles which allows them to gain access to certain systems. This is important because an attacker could leverage somebody’s credentials outside of the system and gain access to more than one operating system – or – an employee would have access to unauthorized resources they shouldn’t be allowed to view/alter.
Identity management is identifying the user before allowing the access to the system or resources within the company’s network. Identity management has a responsibility to track the changes within the related to the user information as if they move to a different role or if there are any changes within the users attributes. Access management validates the identity of the user before allowing the access to the company resources within the network and the systems connected to the network. There are many ways the users are being granted access to the system as an example authentication or single sign-on.
I agree there are many ways users are being granted access to the system. This is also why Identity and access management are critical to have set properly
What is the difference between identity management and access management?
Identity management is concerned with verifying that an entity is authenticated under the relevant / implemented process of proving that identity is who it claims to be. This can be done via different authentication methods like something one has, knows, is, or any combination of these. To combat prior deficiencies in identity management systems, federated identity management systems were implemented, which handle authentication mechanisms like user credentials in a decentralized way while simultaneously allowing them to be interoperable across different systems. Access management is using the identities that were proven by authentication methods in use in a given system to provide them with access to the systems they are interacting with under the privileges established for that type of user. User groups and permissions are examples of relevant access control mechanisms.
Good description on the differences between identity and access.. It’s good to know the differences. Identity being concerned with verifying authentication and proving the identity of who they claim to be and access management using identities that were proven by the authentication methods of a system. Thanks for the detailed information.
Identity management is the process of identifying the individual accessing a certain network or application. It is the authentication that establishes who the user is and if they are who they say there are. Access management comes after identity management. Access management is the process of establishing what certain users can access. For example, a user may log into a computer resource via remote desktop. But that user may not have administrative access to that machine that they are logging into. A different user such as a domain admin would have administrative access. The two processes are similar and work hand in hand.
I thought you did a great job explaining the key differences between identity management and access management. It’s important to know that while the two concepts work hand in hand, identity management focuses more on authentication and access management focuses with authentication.
Identity management refers to the process of representing, using, maintaining, deprovisioning, and authenticating entities as digital identities in computer networks. This is a key issue that will ensure not only the service and functionality expectations but also security and privacy.
Access Management refers to the processes and technologies used to control and monitor network access.
The difference is that identity management authenticates users in the system by asking them private information like user names, password, fingerprints to make sure an unauthorized person is not trying to connect to the system. While access management grants authorized users the right to access the system.
I agree. A key way to enforce IAM is by following the policy of least privilege. You should only be authorizing people to access data and systems that are required for their job.
Identity management provides attributes to specific users in order to maintain what allocated resources an individual is attributed to depending on their role. For example; an Network Administrator is going to have more power than the standard end user whom just has access to basic office applications and browsing. Access control decides who has access to those different resources based on the identity of the user. This typically happens after the user is authenticated and then granted access based on their current attributes with their identity.
Using the prior example above the Network Administrator would be granted access to Microsoft Active Directory because of their attributes as that role within their identity. A normal end user would not be able to access Active Directory since they do not have these attributes defined in their role.
Monitoring IAM is a major component for an AD environment. Without proper configuration – well managed, monitored, and implemented group policies and IAM, serious access vulnerabilities could be present, in which case an attacker could gain access to a highly privileged area within the internal systems containing more sensitive data that could be exfiltrated or altered.
It’s true that in an AD environment monitoring IAM is very important. Companies need to make sure they follow the policy of least privilege. And with Admin accounts, those individuals need to have multiple sets of credentials, an Admin and a standard user account. That way they can perform all their non administrative actions with their standard account. So if using the credentials less frequently they decrease the chance of a bad actor compromising their credentials/system.
Identity management is focused on identifying, authenticating, and authorizing users through automated means. Access management are the things you do to make sure the people can get to the stuff they need to do their jobs. Moreover, Identity management relates to authenticating users. & Access management relates to authorizing users. Both are critical steps for a user who is accessing information.
What is the difference between identity management and assess management? Identity management is a framework of policies and technologies to ensure that the right users have the correct access to technology resources. Access management is the process of identifying, tracking, controlling and managing authorized user access to a system.
Identity management (IdM) is the process of authenticating users. MFA is a method of authentication, as it involves some combination of things the user knows, has, or is. A common method of corporate MFA involves something the user knows (a password) and something a user has (a code sent to their phone).
Access management (IAM) is the method of authorizing users. Users should have access to the minimum amount of data needed to do their job. This is important for protecting the company from both internal and external threats. Rogue employees will be able to do less harm, and compromised credentials won’t get the threat actor as much information.
Having good IdM and IAM is vital. IdM limits the threat actor’s ability to gain access to the network (reducing frequency of attacks). IAM limits the threat actor’s ability to gain access to information (limiting the severity of attacks). A combination of the two will greatly reduce the impact of a breach.
Security is also a matter of law, regulation, and contracts. Data protection standards like Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation and HIPPA and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the U.S. enforce strict standards for data security. With an IAM solution, your users and organization can ensure that the highest standards of security, tracking, and administrative transparency are a matter of course in your day-to-day operations.
What is the difference between identity management and access management?
Identity management is knowing ‘who’ someone is. An example would be using your drivers’ license (DL) at a bank to open a new account. Your DL validates ‘who you are’ – (the bank will likely ask for more proof, but this is one part). Access management is knowing ‘what people are allowed to do’. This means what files or email accounts they are allowed to view etc. Extending the DL example – it would mean what vehicles are you licensed to operate – Commercial (CDL), motorcycles (M), etc.
In technical terms we refer to Authentication (who you are) and Authorization (what you are allowed to do).
Hi Richard. I really like the analogy you used here. The example of a driver’s license really exemplifies the multifaceted approach of identity and access management; as this small rectangular card can grant users the authorized ability to, like you said, drive motorcycles, but also serve as authentication when opening up a mortgage.
Although these concepts are very similar in both ideologies and end goals, I would say the main difference between identity management and access management lies within the different between authentication and authorization.
Identity management refers to the ‘process of representing, using, maintaining, deprovisioning and authenticating entities as digital identities in computer networks (Vacca)’. Identity management pertains to the confirmation that an individual is who she/he says they are, using methods such as something you have (like biometrics) or something you know (such as PIN’s). However, access management pertains to ensuring that proper users are at the right access/privilege levels, and are authorized to access the right information in accordance to their status/position in an organization. Access management can also pertain to physical access (i.e. certain employees have the badge-approved access to a company data center), as well as logical access management (i.e. employees in one department cannot access the data on servers in a different department). Logical and physical access both tie back into the idea of authorization, since rights must be delegated to users through a well-defined authorization process before accessing potentially sensitive information.
What is the difference between identity management and access management?
I think to a lot of users, there is no real difference between identity management and access management because very few people need to understand the distinctions, or maybe they don’t realize that they need to understand how the two concepts are not the exact same thing. They are related, but definitely not the same thing.
To put it in easy terms, Identity management relates to authenticating users and Access management relates to authorizing users.
Just because you have strict authentication requirements does not mean that you have strict authorization standards. You can have a single admin login account that is used for authenticating users and users can only access the desired information if they have the login for the account, however once accessed that account may have access to all kinds of data that should only be accessed by a certain level employee.
Jason, you make a great point. The average employee in accounting probably considers access management and identity management to be the exact same thing, if it’s something they even think about at all. When someone in IT set up everyone’s computer in the accounting department, they have to use access management and identity management so that the entry-level staff accountant doesn’t have access to same level of financial information that the controller does, and it is something that I’m sure neither employee even considers.
Identity management involves creating and subsequently maintaining unique attributes for all users that exist within an environment. These attributes include but are not limited to a user’s name, their department, their job title, and much more. Access management will either provide or not provide access authorization to, for example an application or an object, to a user based on the attributes that make up the users digital identity.
When looking at identity management vs access management on a surface level, they may seem very similar, but they actually hold a key difference. That key difference is that identity management relates to authenticating users, whereas access management relates to authorizing users. To have authentication does not mean a user should be able to have authorization, which is the reason for the separation. For example, when a user in the marketing department accesses the system, the system recognized who it is, their job title, etc, which is identity management, but it also gives them access to said marketing data on the system because that is what they are authorized to access, which is access management. The separation of the two is vital for the security of an organization so that said user in marketing, after identified, is not able to access financial data, HR data, or any other department’s information which is irrelevant to his job duties.
Identity Management may be defined as identity management manages digital identities. Identities combine digital attributes and entries in the database to create a unique designation for a user. Its management consists of creating, maintaining, monitoring, and deleting those identities as they operate in the enterprise network. Businesses need to make sure users have the permissions they need to perform their jobs and limit other permissions. Also, it handles authentication. Whereas Access Management is basically referred to as access management controls the yes/no decision to allow or block users from accessing a resource, database, etc. Additionally, it manages the access portals via login pages and protocols, while also ensuring that the user requesting access belongs at all. This differs from authentication since authentication can determine the user but not whether they deserve access. Instead, it manages authorization
zijian ou says
Identity Management
In short, identity management manages digital identities. Identities combine digital attributes and entries in the database to create unique names for users. Its leadership includes developing, maintaining, monitoring, and deleting these identities as they operate in the enterprise network. Enterprises need to ensure that users have the permissions to perform their jobs and restrict other permissions. In addition, it handles authentication.
Access Management
Also, access management controls the yes/no decision to allow or block users from accessing resources, databases, etc. In addition, it manages access to the portal through login pages and protocols while also ensuring that the user requesting access belongs to all. It is different from authentication, which identifies users, but does not determine whether they are worthy of entry. Instead, it manages authorization.
Olayinka Lucas says
Hello Zijian, well said,
“Enterprises need to ensure that users within their network have the required permissions to perform their jobs while restricting other permissions outside their job description. This clearly explains role-based access control, touching on the principle of least privilege. Both are subcomponents of access management and are essential requirements for ensuring adequate access control.
Thank you.
Christopher Clayton says
Identity Management: Identity management ensures that authorized personnel (and only those that are authorized) have access to the technology resources they need to perform their job functions. It also prevents unauthorized access to systems and alerts when access attempts are made by unauthorized people.
Access Management: authenticates and authorizes access to applications and IT systems. It also helps strengthen security, reduces risk, and ensures the right users have access to the right resources at the right times for the right reasons.
Differences: Identity Management is about managing attributes related to the user, group of users, or other identity that may require access. Access Management is about evaluating those attributes based on existing policies and making a yes or no access decision based on those attributes.
Victoria Zak says
Chris,
Great examples relating to this discussion! Not only does it help strengthen security, reduce risks, and ensure the correct users into the systems are who they say they are, but other benefits include reduced IT costs, improve user experience, reduces password issues, and improve regulatory compliance.
Matthew Bryan says
Victoria,
I like your point about the reduction of costs. I recently came across this article from Okta: https://www.okta.com/blog/2019/08/how-much-are-password-resets-costing-your-company/ The article highlights the importance of identity management and some of common issues that come up. They estimate that a manual password reset costs $70. Using modern identity solutions and SSO provide a better management experience while reducing costs.
Kelly Sharadin says
Matt,
Thanks for sharing this article – security is already seen a money pit to most c-suites and I never thought about quantifying the cost of manually resetting passwords. These types of use cases should put people at ease who fear AI is taking over. No one wants to be burdened with mass password resetting and automation as you have highlighted is such a critical compoment to all areas of security including IAM.
Kelly
Olayinka Lucas says
Hello Christopher, to further support your position, Acess management, if adequately implemented, comes with a bouquet of benefits, namely: strengthening security, reducing risk, and ensuring the right users have access to the right resources at the correct times for the right reasons.
Andrew Nguyen says
The difference between identity management and access management is that one relates to authorization, and the other authentication.
Identity management refers to the processes related to authentication and verifying that an individual is who they say they are.
On the other hand, access management refers to the processes related to authorization and verifying that an individual has the authority to access information or physical locations.
Kelly Sharadin says
The main difference between identity management and access management is who accessed resources vs. what can a user access. An example of this would be how all users in a domain (Temple.edu) receive a digital identity such as @temple.edu, which allows users to access the Temple library, log on to Canvas, and more. However, a student at Temple does not share the same permissions as Temple’s IT department or even faculty members, for that matter. As such different roles may require access to payroll systems, submitting grades on canvas, and viewing security cameras. Students should not have access to these platforms, and Temple’s IT department can segment access by limiting students based on their assigned permissions based upon their identity as a student. Access management allows us to control what resources Temple’s students have access to, whereas identity management solely manages the student’s unique identity.
Dan Xu says
Thank you for the better understood explanation. The difference between the two is primarily who accesses the resource vs. the user, and what the user can access. Authentication identifies users, but not whether they are worthy of access. Identity management is about managing the attributes associated with a user. Access management is about evaluating attributes and making decisions based on policies, like you said temple’s IT department can manage to restrict student access based on student identity based on assigned permissions, identity management can determine what they can access, while access management controls allow users to visit whether they can access resources.
Victoria Zak says
Kelly,
Great examples you gave regarding to this discussion! This lays out a better understanding to us Temple students that we use in our everyday lives. A student should not have the same exact access as a faculty or the IT department. This is where identity management and access management comes into play. While identity management verifies a user’s identity and their level of access to a system, access management makes that decision to block or accept that user into the database. This is a great example of why identity management should be as strong as access management.
Miray Bolukbasi says
The main idea behind the identity and access management is to make sure that the right user have appropriate access to resources. Identity management makes sure the person is the right one by verifying a user’s identity while access management controls their level of access to a particular system. Identity management deals with authentication when access management determines what resources a user can access by authorization.
An example to understand the differences between identity and access management is to understand the steps of security process. Usernames, passwords, pins, finger scans, all of them is being verified for authentication purposes. Later on, what you can access within the system after you verified, is access management. It is important because applications and services can use different levels of authorization by using access management controls.
Victoria Zak says
Miray,
Just like our phones and devices, a facial recognition and finger print identifies who we are and ensures we are the ones signing into our own device.
It is important to know the difference between identity management and access management because misunderstanding can lead to potential security issues. If access management is well defined but identity management isn’t, it creates issues for users trying to gain that information that is needed.
Joshua Moses says
Hello Miray,
I like the way you distinguished the different technologies and their functions. This was very well thought out and written post. I also appreciated the example you gave to the readers to understand the differences between identity management and access management.
Dhaval Patel says
Identity management deals with an individual’s digital identity. It verifies who the individual is, and this can be done through identity management tools like LDAP and Active directory. Access management deals with providing the individual with the necessary resources/applications once they have been authenticated to the system. For example, the software my organization creates, you must first be authenticated to the platform through an LDAP provider, and then once authenticated you will see what tools you have access to which would fall under access management.
Dan Xu says
Identity Management manages digital identities, and its management includes creating, maintaining, monitoring and deleting these identities that operate in the enterprise network. Identities combine digital attributes and entries in the database to create unique names for users. Enterprises need to ensure that users have the permissions they need to perform their jobs and restrict other permissions. At the same time, it handles authentication. Access Management controls the yes/no decision to allow or block users from accessing resources, databases, etc. It manages access to the portal through login pages and protocols, while also ensuring that the user requesting access actually belongs to all. This is not the same as authentication, which identifies users, but does not determine whether they are worthy of access. Identity management is about managing the attributes associated with a user. Access management is about evaluating attributes against policies and making decisions.
zijian ou says
Hi Dan,
Identities combine numeric attributes and entries in the database to create unique names for users. Its leadership role includes developing, maintaining, monitoring, and deleting these identities as they operate in the enterprise network.
Victoria Zak says
What is the difference between identity management and access management?
Identity management is verifying a user’s identity and their level of access to a system. Examples of identity management are access control, security token service, and a single sign on. Identity management can not only include a user’s credentials but fingerprints, facial recognition, and unique tokens to ensure the user is the one assigned to get that information.
Access Management controls the decision to allow or block users from accessing a resource or a database. Additionally, it manages the access portals while ensuring the user requesting is supposed to belong to the system. It helps reduce the administrative efforts that are involved.
Miray Bolukbasi says
Hi Victoria,
Even though access management implementation might seem extra effort at the beginning, it is definitely true that it eliminates future administrative efforts as you said here. It is important that the organization is able to allow and block users from accessing and taking actions on the organization’s information systems. It would be a disaster if right access management is not in place to understand the user manipulated data or adjust the access controls during the project.
Matthew Bryan says
The difference between identity and access management is that the former deals with authentication and the later deals with authorization. In other words, once the user is authenticated by identity management, the system can authorize their permissions via access management.
For example, a user validates their identity by signing into a network domain using a username and password. Once authenticated, the user is limited by access controls that are specific to their role. An admin user will have more permissions than a non-admin user given their responsibilities. Identity management validates the user so that access management can authorize their use of assigned resources.
Richard Hertz says
Nice clean definition of the 2 activities and how they inter-relate to each other. -especially with respect to timing of the 2 activities. First we authenticate and then we authorize – based on successful authentication and permissions previously granted!
Bryan Garrahan says
I agree with Richard really solid description of how identity and access management are inter-related. It’s important to note that an update to ones identity, for example a staff claims examiner switching to an underwriting role, needs to be reflected in their access controls. The user in this example could still be using the same system to perform their new daily duties as an underwriter – however, it’s important that the access controls for the user are updated in a timely manner to ensure they can perform their new functions seamlessly (i.e. availability) while the system should block them from performing functions required by a claims examiner (i.e. integrity).
Wilmer Monsalve says
Identity Management ensures the rights users have to access certain technologies. It deal with user management, role based provisioning, access, governance, role management, and identity intelligence. Overall it mainly focuses on the individual identity from a provisioning standpoint as opposed to Access Management. In access Management it focuses on the controls of who has access to what and grants access to users depending on their specific role. Access Management deals with authentication, MFA,SSO, authorization.
Dhaval Patel says
Hi Wilmer,
Great explanations between the two. I like the examples you provided with each to help differentiate. SSO along with OAuth and others are great examples of tools used for access management.
Olayinka Lucas says
Hello Wilmer,
The phrase that “Identity Management mainly focuses on the individual identity from a provisioning standpoint as opposed to Access Management that focuses on the controls of who has access to what and grants access to users depending on their specific role, is on point. Secondly, it clearly articulates the difference between Identity management and Access management.
Thank you.
Michael Galdo says
What is the difference between identity management and access management?
Identity management is making sure that the right specific user has the correct access to certain resources. Access management is making sure that a specific user is allowed to have access to certain technological resources. Identity management deals with authentication and access management deals with authorization.
Olayinka Lucas says
Identity management is used to determine whether a user has access to an IT system. In contrast, Access control, a sub-component of asset management, sets the level of access and permissions that an identified user has to that IT system.
Identity management includes the following areas: User provisioning, creating, maintaining, reviewing, and retiring user identities for access to IT infrastructure.
Access control is the process and technology implemented to monitor and control access granted to an identified user. Access management features include Identification, Authentication, Authorization, Auditing, and Accountability (Non-Repudiation).
Vraj Patel says
Hey Olayinka,
That’s a great post. Identity management does cover those are to identify the user that is trying to access the system within the network. Access control does cover those area and it also ensure the user are only getting access to the resolves to which they are permitted to access,
kofi bonsu says
Identity Management refers to as mechanism where identity management manages digital identities. Identities combine digital attributes and entries in the database to create a unique designation for a user. Its management consists of creating, maintaining, monitoring, and deleting those identities as they operate in the enterprise network. Businesses are required to make sure that users have the permissions they need to perform their jobs, and reduce other permissions. Also, it handles authentication. Whereas access Management on the other hand controls the yes/no decision to permit or block users from having an opportunity accessing a resource, database, etc. Additionally, it manages the access portals via login pages and protocols, while also ensuring that the user requesting access actually belongs at all. This actually differs from authentication, since authentication can determine the user but not whether they deserve access. Instead, it manages authorization
Michael Jordan says
Kofi,
I like how you describe one of the differences between identity management and access management to be that access management deals with the individual yes or no when it comes to someones online identity being able to access certain data or applications, or perform specific actions. Identity management contributes to the level of access privileges that users get, but access management is more specific and deals with the yes or no when it comes to app and file usability.
-Mike
Michael Jordan says
Identity management is the security field where individuals in an organization are defined by their login credentials and groups they are assigned to by administrators. Identity management also involves the management of users who switch departments, leave an organization, and other factors in which their access privileges would need to be changed. Identity management and access management are very related, but they are not exactly the same thing.
Access management is the security field where users (identities) are assigned to groups within the organization that have access privileges to certain directories and information. Access management is sometimes managed on the individual user level, but this is uncommon due to the fact that it makes it harder to keep track of and make changes to access privileges one-by-one. When an identities access privileges need to be changed, the identity itself is changed (switched to a different group, added to an additional group, deleted, etc) so that the required privileges are granted.
kofi bonsu says
Hi Jordan,
An excellent piece of information but one of the most challenging identity management problems is simply keeping track of all the identities connecting to and acting on your network..
Michael Duffy says
I like the example that you used to describe when identity management would be applied – particularly with when roles change. A lot of organizations fail to remove privileges from previous employees that perform certain roles which allows them to gain access to certain systems. This is important because an attacker could leverage somebody’s credentials outside of the system and gain access to more than one operating system – or – an employee would have access to unauthorized resources they shouldn’t be allowed to view/alter.
Vraj Patel says
Identity management is identifying the user before allowing the access to the system or resources within the company’s network. Identity management has a responsibility to track the changes within the related to the user information as if they move to a different role or if there are any changes within the users attributes. Access management validates the identity of the user before allowing the access to the company resources within the network and the systems connected to the network. There are many ways the users are being granted access to the system as an example authentication or single sign-on.
Jason Burwell says
Hey Vraj,
I agree there are many ways users are being granted access to the system. This is also why Identity and access management are critical to have set properly
Antonio Cozza says
What is the difference between identity management and access management?
Identity management is concerned with verifying that an entity is authenticated under the relevant / implemented process of proving that identity is who it claims to be. This can be done via different authentication methods like something one has, knows, is, or any combination of these. To combat prior deficiencies in identity management systems, federated identity management systems were implemented, which handle authentication mechanisms like user credentials in a decentralized way while simultaneously allowing them to be interoperable across different systems. Access management is using the identities that were proven by authentication methods in use in a given system to provide them with access to the systems they are interacting with under the privileges established for that type of user. User groups and permissions are examples of relevant access control mechanisms.
Corey Arana says
Hey Antonio,
Good description on the differences between identity and access.. It’s good to know the differences. Identity being concerned with verifying authentication and proving the identity of who they claim to be and access management using identities that were proven by the authentication methods of a system. Thanks for the detailed information.
Wilmer Monsalve says
Very well put description of identity management I agree it is implemented process of provisioning for verification of entities within a system.
Ryan Trapp says
Identity management is the process of identifying the individual accessing a certain network or application. It is the authentication that establishes who the user is and if they are who they say there are. Access management comes after identity management. Access management is the process of establishing what certain users can access. For example, a user may log into a computer resource via remote desktop. But that user may not have administrative access to that machine that they are logging into. A different user such as a domain admin would have administrative access. The two processes are similar and work hand in hand.
Michael Galdo says
Hi Ryan,
I thought you did a great job explaining the key differences between identity management and access management. It’s important to know that while the two concepts work hand in hand, identity management focuses more on authentication and access management focuses with authentication.
Ornella Rhyne says
Identity management refers to the process of representing, using, maintaining, deprovisioning, and authenticating entities as digital identities in computer networks. This is a key issue that will ensure not only the service and functionality expectations but also security and privacy.
Access Management refers to the processes and technologies used to control and monitor network access.
The difference is that identity management authenticates users in the system by asking them private information like user names, password, fingerprints to make sure an unauthorized person is not trying to connect to the system. While access management grants authorized users the right to access the system.
Madalyn Stiverson says
Hi Ornella,
I agree. A key way to enforce IAM is by following the policy of least privilege. You should only be authorizing people to access data and systems that are required for their job.
Michael Duffy says
Identity management provides attributes to specific users in order to maintain what allocated resources an individual is attributed to depending on their role. For example; an Network Administrator is going to have more power than the standard end user whom just has access to basic office applications and browsing. Access control decides who has access to those different resources based on the identity of the user. This typically happens after the user is authenticated and then granted access based on their current attributes with their identity.
Using the prior example above the Network Administrator would be granted access to Microsoft Active Directory because of their attributes as that role within their identity. A normal end user would not be able to access Active Directory since they do not have these attributes defined in their role.
Antonio Cozza says
Monitoring IAM is a major component for an AD environment. Without proper configuration – well managed, monitored, and implemented group policies and IAM, serious access vulnerabilities could be present, in which case an attacker could gain access to a highly privileged area within the internal systems containing more sensitive data that could be exfiltrated or altered.
Ryan Trapp says
Antonio,
It’s true that in an AD environment monitoring IAM is very important. Companies need to make sure they follow the policy of least privilege. And with Admin accounts, those individuals need to have multiple sets of credentials, an Admin and a standard user account. That way they can perform all their non administrative actions with their standard account. So if using the credentials less frequently they decrease the chance of a bad actor compromising their credentials/system.
Joshua Moses says
Identity management is focused on identifying, authenticating, and authorizing users through automated means. Access management are the things you do to make sure the people can get to the stuff they need to do their jobs. Moreover, Identity management relates to authenticating users. & Access management relates to authorizing users. Both are critical steps for a user who is accessing information.
Corey Arana says
What is the difference between identity management and assess management? Identity management is a framework of policies and technologies to ensure that the right users have the correct access to technology resources. Access management is the process of identifying, tracking, controlling and managing authorized user access to a system.
Madalyn Stiverson says
Identity management (IdM) is the process of authenticating users. MFA is a method of authentication, as it involves some combination of things the user knows, has, or is. A common method of corporate MFA involves something the user knows (a password) and something a user has (a code sent to their phone).
Access management (IAM) is the method of authorizing users. Users should have access to the minimum amount of data needed to do their job. This is important for protecting the company from both internal and external threats. Rogue employees will be able to do less harm, and compromised credentials won’t get the threat actor as much information.
Having good IdM and IAM is vital. IdM limits the threat actor’s ability to gain access to the network (reducing frequency of attacks). IAM limits the threat actor’s ability to gain access to information (limiting the severity of attacks). A combination of the two will greatly reduce the impact of a breach.
Bernard Antwi says
Security is also a matter of law, regulation, and contracts. Data protection standards like Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation and HIPPA and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the U.S. enforce strict standards for data security. With an IAM solution, your users and organization can ensure that the highest standards of security, tracking, and administrative transparency are a matter of course in your day-to-day operations.
Richard Hertz says
What is the difference between identity management and access management?
Identity management is knowing ‘who’ someone is. An example would be using your drivers’ license (DL) at a bank to open a new account. Your DL validates ‘who you are’ – (the bank will likely ask for more proof, but this is one part). Access management is knowing ‘what people are allowed to do’. This means what files or email accounts they are allowed to view etc. Extending the DL example – it would mean what vehicles are you licensed to operate – Commercial (CDL), motorcycles (M), etc.
In technical terms we refer to Authentication (who you are) and Authorization (what you are allowed to do).
Lauren Deinhardt says
Hi Richard. I really like the analogy you used here. The example of a driver’s license really exemplifies the multifaceted approach of identity and access management; as this small rectangular card can grant users the authorized ability to, like you said, drive motorcycles, but also serve as authentication when opening up a mortgage.
Lauren Deinhardt says
Although these concepts are very similar in both ideologies and end goals, I would say the main difference between identity management and access management lies within the different between authentication and authorization.
Identity management refers to the ‘process of representing, using, maintaining, deprovisioning and authenticating entities as digital identities in computer networks (Vacca)’. Identity management pertains to the confirmation that an individual is who she/he says they are, using methods such as something you have (like biometrics) or something you know (such as PIN’s). However, access management pertains to ensuring that proper users are at the right access/privilege levels, and are authorized to access the right information in accordance to their status/position in an organization. Access management can also pertain to physical access (i.e. certain employees have the badge-approved access to a company data center), as well as logical access management (i.e. employees in one department cannot access the data on servers in a different department). Logical and physical access both tie back into the idea of authorization, since rights must be delegated to users through a well-defined authorization process before accessing potentially sensitive information.
Jason Burwell says
What is the difference between identity management and access management?
I think to a lot of users, there is no real difference between identity management and access management because very few people need to understand the distinctions, or maybe they don’t realize that they need to understand how the two concepts are not the exact same thing. They are related, but definitely not the same thing.
To put it in easy terms, Identity management relates to authenticating users and Access management relates to authorizing users.
Just because you have strict authentication requirements does not mean that you have strict authorization standards. You can have a single admin login account that is used for authenticating users and users can only access the desired information if they have the login for the account, however once accessed that account may have access to all kinds of data that should only be accessed by a certain level employee.
Alexander William Knoll says
Jason, you make a great point. The average employee in accounting probably considers access management and identity management to be the exact same thing, if it’s something they even think about at all. When someone in IT set up everyone’s computer in the accounting department, they have to use access management and identity management so that the entry-level staff accountant doesn’t have access to same level of financial information that the controller does, and it is something that I’m sure neither employee even considers.
Bryan Garrahan says
Identity management involves creating and subsequently maintaining unique attributes for all users that exist within an environment. These attributes include but are not limited to a user’s name, their department, their job title, and much more. Access management will either provide or not provide access authorization to, for example an application or an object, to a user based on the attributes that make up the users digital identity.
Alexander William Knoll says
When looking at identity management vs access management on a surface level, they may seem very similar, but they actually hold a key difference. That key difference is that identity management relates to authenticating users, whereas access management relates to authorizing users. To have authentication does not mean a user should be able to have authorization, which is the reason for the separation. For example, when a user in the marketing department accesses the system, the system recognized who it is, their job title, etc, which is identity management, but it also gives them access to said marketing data on the system because that is what they are authorized to access, which is access management. The separation of the two is vital for the security of an organization so that said user in marketing, after identified, is not able to access financial data, HR data, or any other department’s information which is irrelevant to his job duties.
Bernard Antwi says
Identity Management may be defined as identity management manages digital identities. Identities combine digital attributes and entries in the database to create a unique designation for a user. Its management consists of creating, maintaining, monitoring, and deleting those identities as they operate in the enterprise network. Businesses need to make sure users have the permissions they need to perform their jobs and limit other permissions. Also, it handles authentication. Whereas Access Management is basically referred to as access management controls the yes/no decision to allow or block users from accessing a resource, database, etc. Additionally, it manages the access portals via login pages and protocols, while also ensuring that the user requesting access belongs at all. This differs from authentication since authentication can determine the user but not whether they deserve access. Instead, it manages authorization