Identity and Access Management (IAM)

Identity access management (IAM) is one of the critical components used to control the security of our systems. IAM ensures everyone has access to the resources they need. It also makes sure that users are not able to access the resources they don’t need access to.

The most important role of an IAM service is to avoid security breaches. Simple usernames and passwords are common ways to hack into the systems. We should check user claimsA user claim is information that describes a user and is included in a security token. while they try to log in to the system. We can also verify the user’s location to check if something suspicious is taking place and if someone’s trying to access it from a place where it has never been signed in.

Microsoft Entra ID manages centralized authentication and authorization for applications and services on the Microsoft Cloud platform. It allows administrators to manage user accounts, access permissions, and authentication policies across a range of applications. IAM, on the other hand, is a broader component that encompasses all the policies, processes, and technologies used to manage access to digital resources.

This includes not only authentication and authorization, but also identity governance, privileged access management, and other related functions. In short, Entra ID is a specific implementation of IAM, which focuses on providing authentication and authorization services for applications and services running on the Microsoft Cloud platform.