Identity and Access Management in Cloud Environment
Cloud computing consists of multiple computing resources that can be configured. These resources include networks, servers, storage tools, servers, and applications. “The resources help in providing convenient and on-demand access to the cloud users” (Indu, Anand. Bhaskar, 2018). The adoption of cloud computing is increasing rapidly. However, the organizations using cloud technology have experienced significant data leakages, which are associated with vulnerabilities in the identity management systems. Vulnerabilities in the cloud environment have made identity and access management (IAM a concern regarding the acceptance of cloud-based service. Currently, identity management in the cloud is CSP-centered, which does not satisfy flexibility needs of users.
Cloud computing allows multiple users to access hardware, software, and other cloud services. The primary role of IAM is to ensure that unauthorized persons can’t access clout and other IT resources. “Access to all IT systems and or services must be made secure by identifying and authenticating the users or IT systems seeking access” (Eman, 2013). Access control in most organizations is achieved through a policy or specific procedures used to deny, allow, or restrict access to a given system. Access control can also be in the form of system that monitor and alert the security teams about any attempts to access secured systems. Besides monitoring, access control can identify the people accessing a system to help in case of a breach.
Access control is a critical mechanism in promoting security in the cloud environment. Organizations can chose among various control models to enhance their identity and access management systems. Examples of these models include Mandatory Access Control (MAC), Discriminatory Access Control (DAC), and Role-based Access Control (RBAC). Access control plays a significant role in preventing and regulating access to the cloud. However, organizations face challenges in using access control in the cloud environment because organizational identification might not automatically extend into the cloud. Moreover, extending the organizational framework or changing it to support cloud services is not easy. Some organizations employ two authentication systems to serve organizational systems and cloud-based systems, which, in turn, leads to complexity that might limit the effectiveness of cloud computing services.
Another challenge of IAM in the cloud is identity management across various independent organizations. One of the solutions to this is having several logon ids and passwords. However, this is not effective because there are chances of passwords being re-used r creation of weaker passwords. Technological development has led to the concept of federated identity management (FIdM), which enable organizations to authenticate their users through a single identity provider that it chooses. An example is where a user with an account ID can add other applications from other external providers to the account and be efficiently authenticated and authorized to access them. By using this concept, multiple client organizations can share their identities without making their persona credentials and private attributes public. Federated identity management is essential because of its benefits, especially to organizations that are shifting to the cloud. “The primary benefit of federation is to simplify the user authentication experience, saving time and headaches “(Kressin, 2019). Additionally, the approach allows organizations that use cloud services to extend IAM services to the cloud and implement a standard federation model that support single-sign to cloud services.
References
Emam, A. H. M. (2013). Additional authentication and authorization using registered email-ID
for cloud computing. International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering, 3(2),
110-113.Retrieved from
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.458.7332&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Indu, I., Anand, P. M. R., & Bhaskar, V. (2018). Identity and access management in cloud
environment: Mechanisms and challenges. Engineering Science and Technology, an
International Journal, 21(4), 574–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jestch.2018.05.010
Kressin, J. (2019). Federated Identity Management: A Logical First Step in the IAM Maturity
Model. Identityautomation.Com. https://blog.identityautomation.com/federated-identity
management-a-logical-first-step-in-the-iam-maturity-model