Source: Medium
Author: James Booth
URL: https://jmspbooth.medium.com/1-1-identity-governance-in-a-zero-trust-world-1ca5b58c4b8c
ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: Identity governance operationalizes Zero Trust security by continuously managing user access, entitlements, and lifecycle events through automated, policy-driven controls.
MAIN POINTS:
- Most breaches occur due to unmanaged identities, orphaned accounts, and excess permissions.
- Zero Trust requires continuous verification of identity and entitlements in real-time.
- Identity governance ensures accurate user verification through robust identity proofing methods.
- Centralized directories with policy-as-code enforce consistent access controls across all systems.
- Decentralized identity (DIDs) enhances trust through cryptographically verified credentials.
- Automated lifecycle management rapidly revokes permissions when users change roles or leave.
- Non-human identities (bots, containers) require similar rigorous lifecycle governance controls.
- Conditional access dynamically evaluates real-time risk signals to adjust access levels immediately.
- Governance-as-code provides auditable, immutable records of entitlement changes and compliance.
- Effective identity governance significantly reduces breach probability and audit overhead costs.
TAKEAWAYS:
- Implement identity proofing and high-assurance authentication to enhance trust in user identities.
- Leverage centralized, policy-as-code IAM systems for consistent and secure access management.
- Adopt automated processes for join-move-leave events to mitigate risks from orphaned accounts.
- Include non-human identities in governance frameworks to address all possible security threats.
- Use decentralized identity and conditional access to build resilience against single points of failure.