Access management (AM) grants an operator control over identifying, tracking and managing authorized or specified users' access to a system, application or any IT instance. The process will cover all policies, processes, methodologies and tools to maintain access privileges within an IT environment.
The main objectives of Access management is to either restrict or allow users the right to be able to access a particular service or group of services for a particular time period. It helps execute policies and actions defined by the management for availability and security. For instance, if an employee were to need access into a file within the accounts department to complete a task, that employee would be given a password to access the particular file while at the same time restricting his access to the company’s complete accounting data.
Access management also protects Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability (CIA) also sometimes known as rights management or identity management. This area looks at removing access of employees or individuals who are no longer holding the roles or job functions. It also looks at conducting regular audits on access permissions to make sure they remain legitimate. At the same time, it will discreetly record and take into account any and all security incidences and problems related to access management issues.
Access management has to verify every request for access to an IT service from two perspectives which are that the user requesting access is who they say they are and that they have a legitimate requirement for that service.
Other roles of Access Management include Providing rights, Monitoring identity status, Job changes and Promotions or demotions just to name a few.
In todays’ data centric age, it is important that management take steps to mitigate security risks and pitfalls that would risk revenue and cause downtime. However, every company has their own specific control and management requirements. BeyondTrust and SailPoint are companies dedicated to the management and security of an organisations IT requirements. To get a clear representation and idea of how access management can benefit your company, go to this link for further information.
