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IAM ACRONYMS REFERENCE
COMPREHENSIVE IDENTITY & ACCESS MANAGEMENT GLOSSARY
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> QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE FOR IAM SECURITY PROFESSIONALS
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2FA – Two-Factor Authentication
Authentication method requiring two different verification factors
A
ABAC – Attribute-Based Access Control
Access control model where permissions are based on attributes (user, resource, environment)
ACL – Access Control List
List of permissions attached to an object specifying which users or system processes can access it
AD – Active Directory
Microsoft’s directory service for Windows domain networks
ADFS – Active Directory Federation Services
Microsoft’s implementation of federated identity and single sign-on
API – Application Programming Interface
Set of protocols and tools for building software applications
Azure AD – Azure Active Directory
Microsoft’s cloud-based identity and access management service
B
B2B – Business-to-Business
IAM solutions for managing partner and business relationships
B2C – Business-to-Consumer
IAM solutions for managing customer identities and access
B2E – Business-to-Employee
IAM solutions focused on employee identity management
BAC – Biometric Access Control
Authentication method using unique biological characteristics
BPM – Business Process Management
Methodology for improving and optimizing business processes
BYOD – Bring Your Own Device
Policy allowing employees to use personal devices for work
C
CA – Certificate Authority
Trusted entity that issues digital certificates
CAPTCHA – Completely Automated Public Turing test
Challenge-response test to determine whether the user is human
CASB – Cloud Access Security Broker
Security policy enforcement point between cloud service consumers and providers
CCPA – California Consumer Privacy Act
California state law governing consumer data privacy rights
CIAM – Customer Identity and Access Management
IAM solution focused on customer-facing applications
CNAPP – Cloud Native Application Protection Platform
Unified security platform for cloud-native applications
COPPA – Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
US law protecting privacy of children under 13 online
COTS – Commercial Off-The-Shelf
Pre-built software solutions available for purchase
CSP – Cloud Service Provider
Company that offers cloud-based platform, infrastructure, or software services
CSPM – Cloud Security Posture Management
Tools for identifying and remediating cloud security risks
CWPP – Cloud Workload Protection Platform
Security solution protecting cloud workloads across environments
D
DAC – Discretionary Access Control
Access control where the owner determines who has access
DevSecOps – Development Security Operations
Integration of security practices within DevOps processes
DID – Decentralized Identifier
Blockchain-based identifier enabling self-sovereign identity
DLP – Data Loss Prevention
Strategy and tools to prevent unauthorized data transfer
DN – Distinguished Name
Unique identifier for an entry in a directory service
DPoP – Demonstrating Proof-of-Possession
OAuth extension for binding tokens to cryptographic keys
E
EAM – Enterprise Access Management
Centralized management of user access across enterprise systems
EDR – Endpoint Detection and Response
Security solution for monitoring endpoint and network events
F
FIDO – Fast Identity Online
Open authentication standard for passwordless authentication
FIM – Federated Identity Management
Agreement among multiple enterprises to permit users to use the same credentials
G
GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation
European Union regulation on data protection and privacy
GNAP – Grant Negotiation and Authorization Protocol
Next-generation authorization protocol successor to OAuth 2.0
GRC – Governance, Risk, and Compliance
Integrated approach to managing organizational governance, risk, and compliance
H
HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
US legislation providing data privacy and security for medical information
HOTP – HMAC-based One-Time Password
One-time password algorithm based on HMAC cryptographic function
I
IAM – Identity and Access Management
Framework of policies and technologies for managing digital identities
ICAM – Identity, Credential, and Access Management
Comprehensive framework for managing identities, credentials, and access
IDaaS – Identity as a Service
Cloud-based identity and access management service
IDM – Identity Management
Management of user identities and their access to resources
IdP – Identity Provider
Service that creates, maintains, and manages identity information
IaC – Infrastructure as Code
Managing infrastructure through machine-readable definition files
IGA – Identity Governance and Administration
Policy-based centralized orchestration of user identity management
ILM – Identity Lifecycle Management
Management of digital identities from creation to deletion
ISO 27001 – Information Security Management
International standard for information security management systems
J
JIT – Just-In-Time
Provisioning strategy where access is granted only when needed
JML – Joiner, Mover, Leaver
Identity lifecycle management framework for employee transitions
JWT – JSON Web Token
Compact, URL-safe means of representing claims between two parties
K
KBA – Knowledge-Based Authentication
Authentication method using information only the user should know
KDC – Key Distribution Center
Service that provides authentication tickets in Kerberos
L
LDAP – Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
Protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information
LoA – Level of Assurance
Degree of confidence in authentication process
M
MAC – Mandatory Access Control
Access control where policies are set by system administrators
MDM – Mobile Device Management
Software for managing mobile devices in enterprise environments
MFA – Multi-Factor Authentication
Authentication requiring two or more verification factors
MTLS – Mutual TLS
Two-way authentication using TLS certificates for both client and server
N
NHI – Non-Human Identity
Identity for bots, services, API keys, and AI agents rather than users
NIST – National Institute of Standards and Technology
US agency that develops technology standards and cybersecurity frameworks
O
OAuth – Open Authorization
Open standard for access delegation commonly used for token-based authentication
OIDC – OpenID Connect
Identity layer built on top of OAuth 2.0 protocol
OTP – One-Time Password
Password valid for only one login session or transaction
P
PAM – Privileged Access Management
Solutions for managing and monitoring privileged accounts and access
PAR – Pushed Authorization Requests
OAuth extension for enhanced security by pushing authorization requests
PBAC – Policy-Based Access Control
Access control using policies to determine permissions
PCI DSS – Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
Information security standard for organizations handling credit card data
PII – Personally Identifiable Information
Data that can be used to identify a specific individual
PKCE – Proof Key for Code Exchange
OAuth extension preventing authorization code interception attacks
PKI – Public Key Infrastructure
Framework for creating, managing, and revoking digital certificates
PIM – Privileged Identity Management
Managing elevated access and permissions for privileged accounts
PoLP – Principle of Least Privilege
Security concept of giving users minimum levels of access needed
PSD2 – Payment Services Directive 2
European regulation requiring strong customer authentication for payments
R
RADIUS – Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service
Networking protocol for centralized authentication and authorization
RAR – Rich Authorization Requests
OAuth extension for fine-grained authorization permissions
RBA – Risk-Based Authentication
Authentication method that varies based on risk assessment
RBAC – Role-Based Access Control
Access control where permissions are assigned based on user roles
REST – Representational State Transfer
Architectural style for designing networked applications
S
SAML – Security Assertion Markup Language
XML-based standard for exchanging authentication and authorization data
SCIM – System for Cross-domain Identity Management
Standard for automating exchange of user identity information
SIEM – Security Information and Event Management
Solution providing real-time analysis of security alerts and log data
SIOP – Self-Issued OpenID Provider
Decentralized authentication where users control their own identity provider
SOC 2 – Service Organization Control 2
Auditing standard for service providers storing customer data
SoD – Segregation of Duties
Principle that no single person should have control over all phases of a critical process
SOX – Sarbanes-Oxley Act
US federal law for financial record-keeping and reporting standards
SPIFFE – Secure Production Identity Framework For Everyone
Framework for establishing trust between software services with identity documents
SPIRE – SPIFFE Runtime Environment
Production-ready implementation of SPIFFE for workload identity
SSI – Self-Sovereign Identity
User-controlled decentralized identity without reliance on centralized providers
SSO – Single Sign-On
Authentication scheme allowing users to log in with a single set of credentials
STS – Security Token Service
Service that issues security tokens as part of federated identity
T
TOTP – Time-Based One-Time Password
Temporary password that is valid for only a short period
TLS – Transport Layer Security
Cryptographic protocol for secure communication over networks
U
U2F – Universal 2nd Factor
Open authentication standard for two-factor authentication using USB devices
UAM – User Access Management
Process of managing user access to systems and data
UBA – User Behavior Analytics
Tracking and analyzing user behavior to detect anomalies
UEBA – User and Entity Behavior Analytics
Advanced analytics examining behavior of users and entities to detect threats
UID – User Identifier
Unique identifier assigned to each user in a system
V
VC – Verifiable Credential
Cryptographic proof of claims about an identity that can be independently verified
VPN – Virtual Private Network
Encrypted connection over the internet from a device to a network
W
WAM – Web Access Management
Control access to web-based applications and resources
WebAuthn – Web Authentication
Web standard for secure authentication using public key cryptography
WS-FED – Web Services Federation
Identity federation standard for sharing identity information across security domains
X
XACML – eXtensible Access Control Markup Language
XML-based language for defining access control policies
Z
ZTA – Zero Trust Architecture
Security model that requires strict identity verification
ZTNA – Zero Trust Network Access
Security solution providing secure remote access based on defined access control policies
> REFERENCE COMPLETE | TOTAL ENTRIES: 120+
Last Updated: January 2026 | IAM Gatekeepers
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