Information Security Policy Management (ISPM) is the process of managing and improving an organization’s security policies and controls related to digital identities and their access. ISPM helps identify and remediate weaknesses and vulnerabilities associated with identity and access management (IAM).
It is vital for any organization to ensure that all user accounts are secure so that resources can be accessed securely. However, they also present risks if not properly managed. ISPM aims to identify and mitigate these risks through continuous monitoring of access controls. This includes reviewing access policies, access entitlements, authentication methods, and auditing capabilities.
ISPM is essential for any organization that relies on user accounts to control access. It helps:
In order to achieve effective ISPM, organizations need to implement continuous monitoring of their IAM environments. This includes automating identity audits, access reviews, and control assessments to detect potential issues. Organizations should then remediate any identified risks by updating policies, deprovisioning excessive access, enabling MFA, and applying other security controls to strengthen their security posture.
With increasing threats targeting identities, ISPM has become crucial for cybersecurity and protecting critical resources. By continuously applying stronger access controls to their users, organizations can reduce their attack surface and strengthen their defenses. Overall, ISPM helps enable a proactive approach to identity security.
As organizations adopt cloud services and expand their digital footprints, identity security posture management has become more crucial. If mismanaged, dormant accounts, weak passwords, overly permissive access rights, and orphaned accounts can all become attack vectors for bad actors to exploit.
In hybrid environments, identity synchronization between on-prem directories and cloud platforms must be properly set up and monitored. Out-of-sync identities and passwords create security threats.
With comprehensive identity security posture management, organizations can gain visibility into their identity weak spots, automate controls, and proactively reduce potential risks to their digital assets and infrastructure.
ISPM solutions enable organizations to implement technologies like MFAand single sign-on (SSO) to verify users’ identities and control access to systems and data. MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring multiple methods to log in, such as a password and a one-time code sent to the user’s phone. SSO allows users to access multiple applications with a single set of login credentials.
ISPM solutions facilitate the management and monitoring of privileged accounts, which have elevated access to critical systems and data. Capabilities include vaulting and rotating (or regularly changing) privileged account passwords, closely auditing the activities of privileged users, and enforcing multi factor authentication for privileged accounts.
ISPM solutions help organizations manage user identities, access rights, and permissions. Key capabilities include automating user provisioning and de-provisioning, streamlining the review and certification of user access, and detecting and remediating excessive user access and entitlements.
ISPM solutions leverage data analytics to gain visibility into user behavior and identify threats. Capabilities include baselining normal user behavior, detecting anomalies that could indicate compromised accounts or insider threats, analyzing access and entitlement risks, and calculating an organization’s identity risk posture and maturity.
ISPM solutions provide a robust set of capabilities to help secure an organization’s user accounts, manage privileged access, govern user entitlements, and gain intelligence into identity risks. By leveraging these capabilities, organizations can reduce their attack surface, strengthen compliance, and build resilience.
To implement an effective Identity Security Posture Management (ISPM) program, organizations should take a comprehensive approach focused on continuous monitoring, risk assessments, strong authentication, least privilege access, and addressing SaaS sprawl.
Continuous monitoring of user activities and access in real-time is crucial for managing identity security risks. By constantly scanning for anomalies in user behavior and access patterns, organizations can quickly detect potential threats and vulnerabilities. Continuous monitoring solutions analyze user activities across on-premises and cloud environments to identify risky behaviors that could indicate compromised accounts or insider threats.
Conducting regular risk assessments is key to uncovering weaknesses in an organization’s identity and access management program. Risk assessments evaluate roles, entitlements, and access permissions to identify excessive privileges and unused accounts. They help organizations revise access policies to implement least privilege access and tighten security controls.
Requiring MFA for user logins and privileged access helps prevent unauthorized access. MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring not only a password but also another method like a security key, biometric, or one-time code sent to the user’s mobile device or email. Enforcing MFA, especially for administrative access, helps shield organizations from compromised credential attacks.
Implementing least privilege access control policies ensures that users only have the minimum level of access necessary to perform their jobs. Strict access management, including frequent access reviews and the timely de-provisioning of unused accounts, reduces the attack surface and limits the damage from compromised accounts or insider threats.
With the rapid adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) apps, organizations struggle to gain visibility and control over user access and activities across a growing number of cloud services. Solutions that provide a single pane of glass to manage access and entitlements across SaaS environments help address the security risks introduced by SaaS sprawl. They enable a consistent approach to access governance, risk management, and compliance across the organization.
