Glossary

What is IGA?

Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) is a strategic approach employed by organizations to manage and monitor digital identities and access rights across multiple systems and applications. IGA is essentially a sub-field of Identity and Access Management (IAM), focusing on ensuring only the right individuals have access to the appropriate business resources and systems, from the right devices, and at the correct times. This framework incorporates policy-based centralized orchestration of user identity management and access control. It ensures defined and well-managed roles, automated role-based provisioning and de-provisioning, consolidated auditing, and activity reporting to address compliance needs.

‍

The Importance of Identity Governance and Administration

IGA exists to provide businesses with a comprehensive understanding of who has access to what within their organization, how access was granted, and how the access is being used. This approach addresses key challenges related to security, compliance, and operational effectiveness. With the increasing number of cyber threats and the continued digital transformation of businesses, controlling and managing access to information has become a crucial concern. IGA helps in minimizing user-associated risks and improving organization's overall security posture.

‍

Who Needs IGA?

Identity Governance and Administration is a fundamental need for organizations of all sizes, especially those handling sensitive data subject to regulatory requirements. It is particularly essential for industries such as banking, healthcare, and retail where data privacy and security are of paramount importance. IGA helps such organizations detect and prevent insider threats, manage user identities, ensure compliance with regulatory standards, and reduce risk of data breaches.

‍

The Role of IGA in Cloud Infrastructure and SaaS

In the context of Cloud Infrastructure and Software as a Service (SaaS), IGA plays a significant role in maintaining secure and efficient use of resources. As organizations increasingly adopt cloud services and SaaS applications, effectively managing identities and permissions across these diverse platforms can prove challenging. IGA provides a structured and unified approach to managing user identities, easing the administration of cloud-based resources, improving data protection, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

‍

The Popularity of IGA

The practice of Identity Governance and Administration is quite common and becoming more so with rapid digital transformations and the rise in remote working environments. Its implementation can be seen in businesses globally to ensure system integrity, data safety, and regulatory compliance in a seamless and efficient manner. Various IGA tools are available in the market today, and their popularity continues to grow as more businesses recognize the importance of a robust IGA strategy.

Identity Governance and Administration (IGA)

FAQ

1. How does IGA relate to Permission Management?

IGA plays a crucial role in managing appropriate permissions. It enables businesses to control who can access which resources at what times and for what reasons. It supports an efficient request and approval process for access rights, followed by automated provisioning and de-provisioning. In DevOps, for instance, permissions can be set at various levels, ensuring that users have only the necessary access rights to perform their jobs, upholding the principle of least privilege access.

‍

2. How does Identity Governance and Administration support Cybersecurity?

IGA supports cybersecurity by putting measures in place to prevent unauthorized access to systems and data. IGA ensures only authorized users have access and that their access is limited to just what they need to fulfill their tasks (least privilege or just-in-time access). By controlling and monitoring access, IGA helps to reduce the risk of internal and external breaches.

‍

3. How can Cloud infrastructure benefit from IGA?

Cloud infrastructure can significantly benefit from IGA as managing the identities and access of numerous users at a granular level becomes crucial in a cloud environment. Furthermore, IGA can help automate access control tasks, manage temporary access, and conduct regular audits, which are particularly important in a dynamic, flexible cloud environment. By governing who has access to what information and monitoring those access rights, IGA significantly enhances the security posture of an organization's cloud infrastructure.

‍

4. Why is temporary access a key part of IGA in a DevOps environment?

Temporary access is fundamental to IGA in a DevOps environment because it ensures that users and developers have access to the resources they need only when they need them. This approach is in sync with the principle of least privilege, reducing the risk of access misuse. Temporary access can be managed automatically through an IGA system, thus providing just-in-time access and reducing unnecessary permissions, both of which enhance the security of a DevOps environment.

It's 2024,

See how easy it is to automate

Automated Access Management Platform - Entitle - Limit cloud access without pushback

Entitle is a seamless way to grant employees granular and just-in-time access within cloud infra and SaaS.