What is Identity and access management (IAM)?
The processes and tools that decide who someone is and what they are allowed to do.
In plain English
IAM covers the full life of an identity: creating the account, proving who is using it, granting only the access the role needs, reviewing that access, and removing it when it is no longer needed. Cloud platforms have their own IAM services where you attach permissions to users, groups and roles.
Example
A new starter gets a role with access to the tools for their job. When they change teams, the old access is removed.
Where you will meet it
This idea belongs to the subject area of these practice tests. We do not publish or predict real exam questions.
Related terms
- Least privilege: Give every person and system only the access they need to do their job, and nothing more.
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA): Proving who you are with two or more different kinds of evidence.
- Single sign-on (SSO): Signing in once to reach many applications.
Quick answers
What is Identity and access management (IAM)?
The processes and tools that decide who someone is and what they are allowed to do.
Test yourself
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