Avoiding Pitfalls when Building an Identity Practice - Part 2: Leading Practices for Identity Governance

This is a multi-part series written by Marcus Wells and WellSecured IT

What is Identity Governance?

Identity Governance is the process of creating policies, procedures, and controls to manage identity Security (IAM, PAM, CIAM, and Zero Trust) activities within an organization. A robust Identity Security governance program is essential for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data and systems.

So, what are some of the leading practices for Identity Governance? In this article that is exactly what we will take the opportunity to explore!

Monitor and audit Identity Security activities

Monitoring and auditing Identity Security activities is essential for detecting and responding to security incidents and policy violations. This starts with performing an assessment and asset management audit of all the identities in your organization and should include both Human and System (non-Human) accounts. The cataloging of identities in an organization allows you to understand the full scope of what you are trying to protect. This also allows for an effective implementation of a comprehensive monitoring and auditing program that includes real-time monitoring of access logs, periodic reviews of user activity reports, and regular audits of Identity Security policies and procedures. The value of this activity is immeasurable as it allows an organization to identify any suspicious activity and puts you in a prime position to promptly investigate and remediate any issues. Effectively limiting any potential blast radius of attack that may impact business operations!

Establish clear policies and procedures

Establishing clear policies and procedures is crucial to ensure consistent and effective management of Identity Security activities. Policies should define the objectives and principles of the Identity Security program, while procedures should outline the specific steps and activities that are required to meet those objectives. Clear policies and procedures help to ensure that Identity Security activities are aligned with business goals, regulatory requirements, and industry-leading practices. The clear creation and design of Identity Security procedures will allow for fine-grained workflows to be created more easily. These workflows are going to be critical in communicating to the necessary parties, Data/Product Owners, Managerial approvers, etc., who is requesting access, why the access is required, how long the access is needed, what level of access is required, as well as, who approved the access and who provisioned the access. The proofing of this data is referred to as the attestation process and becomes incredibly important during an audit.

Conduct regular risk assessments: Satisfying the CIA Triad

Conducting regular risk assessments helps to identify potential security threats and vulnerabilities within the Identity Security program. These assessments should be conducted on a regular basis and should cover all aspects of Identity Security, including user provisioning, authentication, and access control. Based on the results of the risk assessment, organizations should take steps to mitigate identified risks and vulnerabilities. In this way your organization can ensure operations meet or exceed the rule of the five 9’s (Availability of resources 99.999% of the time), while also addressing the confidentiality of sensitive information (PAM), and the integrity of the data both while in transit and while at rest.

Implement strong access controls: Kneel Before SOD!

Implementing strong access controls is critical to ensure that only authorized users have access to data and systems both in Privileged and Non-Privileged enclaves. Access controls should be based on the principle of least privilege, which means that users are only granted the access they need to perform their job functions. Separation of duties (SOD) is additionally of a high level of importance to first define the scope of each employee’s job functions within the organization. Access controls should also be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that users have the appropriate level of access at all times. It is also important to note that with the current drive for many organizations to adopt Cloud native and Cloud Hybrid infrastructure, Identity Security becomes far more important to securing these environments that are increasingly decentralized.

Provide regular training and awareness

Providing regular training and awareness to employees, contractors, and partners is critical to ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities as it relates to the Identity Security program. Training should cover topics such as password management, data classification, and incident response. Regular awareness campaigns can also help to reinforce the importance of security leading practices and encourage a culture of security within the organization. One of the most impactful things an organization can do to develop awareness is having executive sponsorship and highlighting the focus on behavioral intervention. By simply encouraging a change in behaviors to include simple practices, such as taking an extra 30 seconds to review that email before clicking on any links, an organization can see incredibly huge, positive impacts with very little relative costs.

Continuously review and improve

Identity governance is an ongoing process that requires continuous review and improvement. Organizations should regularly review their Identity Security policies and procedures, conduct risk assessments, monitor, and audit Identity Security activities. Based on the results of these activities, organizations should identify opportunities for improvement and take steps to implement changes that enhance the effectiveness of the Identity Security program. By doing this the organization can see huge benefits beyond Identity Security that can include:

• Improved Productivity: Effective Identity Security practices can reduce the time and effort required to manage access to resources and systems, allowing employees to focus on their core business activities. Effective processes can speed up the provisioning and de-provisioning of access, ensuring that users have the right access to the right resources at the right time.

• Enhanced User Experience: A well-designed Identity Security practice can provide users with a seamless experience, enabling them to easily access the resources they need while maintaining security. This can lead to increased user satisfaction and, once again, enhance productivity.

• Improved Compliance: Effective Identity Security practices can help an enterprise comply with regulatory requirements and audit demands.

• Enhanced Business Agility: A robust Identity Security practice can enable an enterprise to quickly adapt to changing business requirements, such as mergers and acquisitions, new business units, and changes in employee roles and responsibilities.

• Improved customer trust: As more customers become aware of the importance of Identity Security, having a strong Identity Security practice can help build trust with them. This can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat business, which can result in increased revenue.

Improved brand reputation: A data breach or other security incident can damage an organization's brand reputation. By investing in Identity Security and continuously improving it, the organization can demonstrate its commitment to protecting customer data and maintaining a secure environment. This can enhance its reputation, positive publicity, and increased customer trust.

Identity Security governance is a critical component of any organization's security program. By following these leading practices, organizations can ensure that their Identity Security program is effective, efficient, and aligned with business goals, regulatory requirements, and industry-leading practices.