The IAM Gatekeepers Best Practices Blog Series launches with an exploration of identity uniqueness and its critical importance in organizational security. The piece examines how various identity forms—including employees, contractors, customers, partners, and machines—shape modern access management strategies across corporate environments.
Chapter 1: Unleashing the Power of Identity Uniqueness
Organizations establish foundational security through “assigning a distinctive identifier to each individual.” Unique identifiers like KerberosIDs, GUIDs, SSO IDs, or employee numbers create consistent tracking throughout an individual’s organizational tenure, enabling traceability and logical access management.
Chapter 2: The Unifying Thread: Associations and Correlations
This section examines connecting downstream applications and their local identifiers to primary human identities. The narrative addresses challenges inherent in local authentication through techniques like virtual directory structures that facilitate correlations and comprehensive access visibility.
Chapter 3: The Enigma of Non-Human Identities
Non-human account management presents unique obstacles due to unclear ownership structures. The chapter emphasizes identifying human owners behind service accounts and leveraging correlations to bridge this gap.
Chapter 4: The Path to Illumination: Robust Provisioning and Reconciliation
Comprehensive identity management requires robust provisioning and reconciliation processes. These enable organizations to maintain “a single, unique identity identifier for each individual,” ensuring streamlined de-provisioning, proper password management during transitions, and enhanced access reviews.
Conclusion
Identity uniqueness strengthens organizational security, enables comprehensive traceability, and provides visibility over critical digital assets for long-term control.