The Best IAM Practices for DevOps

Through identity and access management (IAM), it is possible to assign policies that determine whether a user and the role can access particular services or not. An IAM system is also supposed to maintain the principle of least privilege (POLP), which grants the roles and users the permission to access certain resources. As a business focuses on ensuring the IAM is secure, some of the issues that come about include experimenting using new forms of technology, building fast and reducing friction across teams.

As the scope and number of IAM objects grow, it may be hard to answer questions such as:

• Are there inline policies?
• Which policies are assigned to groups?
• Can another person assume the role of other principles or users?

As a developer, there are different approaches you can use to ensure the IAM configuration is auditable, tidy and right-sized. Automation plays a key role in this case.

Below are the best IAM practices for DevOps:

Use Strong Passwords

The majority of the users will opt for an easy password. In such an instance, a hacker can easily gain access with minimal effort. Users should create passwords that are highly secure by adhering to the following measures:

• The password should have 14 characters or more.
• Include one uppercase alphabet, one special character and non-alphabet characters.
• Avoid reusing the same password.
• Don’t use dictionary words.
• Utilize password-generation tolls.

Use Third-party Tools to Enhance Security

For better results, it is advisable to look beyond the service. For example, tools are available that can automate the creation of the IAM policies, making it possible to save a considerable amount of administration time. However, such tools help to eliminate risks while accelerating different management tasks. The administrators should monitor them since they lack flexibility. Update such tools regularly to ensure they are always useful.

IAM Permissions Review Using Access Levels

The IAM policies should be reviewed and monitored to ensure efficient security. Such policies grant access to permissions needed to execute certain actions as per particular requirements. Policy summary can help to review policies that issue details regarding access level for specific services. The access levels include read, list, permission management, tagging and write.

Use Multifactor Authentication

IAM users should have access to multifactor authentication, which ensures response generation on the user’s device, part of the authentication process. To sign in, the user requires the response generated on the device and the right credentials. If the password is compromised, the account’s resources will be secure because of multifactor authentication.

The response can be developed in the following manner:

• A code is generated using U2F keys after tapping on the device.
• For hardware devices, the response code is generated on the device. You’ll key in the code during the sign-in process.

Get Rid of Unnecessary Credentials

A good security practice should audit the user credentials regularly and get rid of the users who are not active. Credential reports help keep track of the access keys and the password’s life cycle. The report includes the date of creation, user details and when a password was last used or changed. If you’re using a password-rotation policy, you’ll receive a reminder that you should change your password. The auditor can download the credential report and perform additional tasks as per the requirements.

Rotate Credentials Regularly

Change access keys and passwords regularly for all IAM users and place a password policy in place. Also, IAM users should be enlightened about how frequently they should change the passwords.

Never Share Your Account Credentials

Avoid sharing your credentials. If anyone needs to access certain resources, you can create IAM users for them. In such an instance, you can assign permissions to different users.

Monitor User Activities

Organizations should monitor the activities of all the users to get a better view of cloud activities. By doing so, it will be possible to find any threats. A cloud access security broker (CASB) can provide cross-cloud visibility meant to monitor user activity and offer threat protection.

Create a Strategic Plan for IAM

After compiling identities and mapping the access points, you should decide the permissions to keep and change. Every organization should determine its priorities and liaise with the stakeholders while formulating a strategic plan regarding IAM. Put in place a common decision-making framework.

Most firms usually start with privileged accounts. Since such accounts belong to the administrators, they are considered high-value targets for hackers.

An account that has unnecessary access privileges is termed as a security liability. The risks are high if such an account can gain access to sensitive pieces of information. It is always good to determine who has access to the database or different applications.

Come up with an Agile System

Companies are dynamic since they do merge and acquire other firms. Departments are also reorganized in some instances, and people are also assigned new roles. The issue arises when you fail to notify the IT department.

The change is constant; however, security lags since the access updates are limited to a specific time frame. Hackers can take advantage of such loopholes, making companies suffer from a massive data breach, which costs the firm a significant amount of money.

Consider Unstructured Data

Although managing access to applications such as emails is important, it is good to consider the information these applications contain. Ensure you assess the information beforehand to determine who can access it. Failure for an organization to keep track of unstructured data makes it hard to decide whether it’s being stored or transmitted securely.

Some of these apps require social security and credit card numbers. Sending such information through an unencrypted email poses a data breach at some point. It’s, therefore, advisable to keep track of unstructured data.

Conclusion: IAM Best Practices

IAM comprises different pieces of the cloud security issue. By adhering to each of the practices above, it is possible to ensure tight security in the DevOps toolchain.