Report on Identity and Access Management (Research Paper Sample)

Report on Identity and Access Management (IAM)
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Report on Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Executive summary
A health care premise needs a robust system devoid of possibilities to lose vital information. Therefore, it is necessary to deploy systems that simplify the work of care providers and that of the patients. Identity and access management is a vital tool in this setting to provide such. Thus, its analysis, including its description, importance, developments, and recommendation for its implementation in the organization, is vital. The report recommends IAM.
Introduction
As technology advance, there is need to advance IT security system as security threats rise. It is entirely upon the IT personnel to keep track and pace of the updates, especially in the healthcare premise. A healthcare IT system stores massive data of patients and, therefore, needs to be safe. For instance, identity and access management tool helps the premise decide who to access it for the security system to operate effectively. Not everybody in such a setting is fit to access all the data. The system allows the administrators to automate various user accounts that are related to assigned work. IAM is the best tool to secure data and division of labor in a healthcare setting.
Description of IAM
Identity and access management is a framework used in business operations to facilitate digital and electronic identities. It includes an organization's policies for managing digital identity and technologies for the support of identity management (KHVOSTOV et al., 2021). This management is all about the definition and management of the users' access privileges and their roles. This system should have a function that supports a user repository, the definition of their role, and the authorization engine. It should also have an authentication system with single sign-on capabilities (Djosic et al., 2020, p. 3). It should also have a function playing the role of password management, audit, provision, and de-provision of accounts.
The said single sign-on ought to be a federated identity service that offers users permission to utilize a set of login information to access multiple applications and systems. Technically, this helps in that an account holder does not require to give their credential more than once while switching between systems (Djosic et al., 2020, p. 4). With the help of role definition and user's profile, this aspect also helps to narrow down to the only data accessible by the user. If a caregiver needs to check for a patient's information, they will be required to log in to the system with their credentials (Djosic et al., 2020, p. 4). Once the system validates the credentials, the system grants the user access to the requested data based on the account user's authorization as far as the system is concerned. Another essence of this system is that it can audit account user actions and compliance purposes.
Importance of IAM
This system can give an assurance of data safety. It can also investigate non-compliant behaviors as it keeps track of the user actions on the data. The ability to limit the number of users to access multiple applications in the system strengthens not only the data security but also the organization's operational programs (KHVOSTOV et al., 2021). Moreover, firms could set some parameters in the system to detect suspicious activities, including communication or other activities that could be undetected (Drummond, 2020). Given that the system permits the administrators to limit a user on what to access, the system also has a "one-button" control which administrators could use to remove employee (s) access from all systems they were permitted to access in the system.
IAM helps healthcare organizations meet industry compliance requirements and helps save costs by reducing the time needed to deal with a user’s related issues (Drummond, 2020). It also saves organizations time through its concepts of IAM standardization and automation of critical aspects of the management of authentication, identities, and authorization.
Developments of IAM
Humans are social beings who uphold communication. There has been a need to control and keep this communication safe. Even sometimes back, this controlling was like today. One had the responsibility to prove who one is before accessing data (Drummond, 2020). This proving is, unarguably, authentication that led to whether one could take specified actions after authentication. This process is an authorization (Daioglou et al., 2020, p. 1607). In ancient days, proving one's identity was easy, where what one could access depended on one's societal status. As the sophisticated nature of the society increased along with the increment of the population and information, more advanced and formal approaches to these processes became inevitable.
In the 1960s, the need for advanced methods came to pass with the development of network computing (Macy, 2019, p.13). As business organizations expand due to employees coming onboard and leaving these institutions while others are changing positions, IAM became handy for automating tasks that helped. However, the system had regulatory issues. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in 1996. It was for the data privacy and the security provisions seeking to safeguard medical data (Drummond, 2020). Nonetheless, in the late 90s, major corporations were caught with insider trading and fraudulent accounts, leading to Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). It led to a mandate for tighter internal controls.
It got more difficult to manage information access. Few firms could provide IAM solutions back then. Nevertheless,