How can you align your IAM audit and assessment program with industry standards?

For 5 years of my career, I've worked in IAM domain and was involved in multiple engagements while working with Big4 firms. Here is how you can go about it: - Assess the need as to why you want to align your IAM audit and assessment program with industry standards - Gain support (and budget) from senior management - Identified the gaps, key challenges, and benefits post-alignment - Identify a few standards and control frameworks you'd like to consider (from PCI DSS, ISO27001, NIST, CIS, etc.) - Identify the essential regulatory requirements you need to comply with (local and global) - Compare and vet each selected control with similar others, and choose the one that comprehensively addresses industry standardization needs and regulations.

Firstly, ensure familiarity with relevant standards like ISO 27001, PCI DSS, and NIST Cybersecurity Framework. It provide guidelines and requirements for IAM practices. Next, evaluate your IAM program against these standards by conducting a gap analysis to identify areas of non-compliance. Develop a roadmap to address these gaps and implement necessary controls and policies. Regularly review and update your IAM program to ensure ongoing compliance with industry standards. Finally, consider third-party audits or certifications to validate your program's alignment with industry best practices.

Risks and gaps that need to be addressed: Weak authentication method: Improve password policies and introduce multi-factor authentication. Lack of appropriate permissions: Users may not have the necessary permissions, which may disrupt business operations. Audit deficiencies: Audit logs may be inaccurate or fail to detect unauthorized access.

Aligning identity and Access Management audit and assessment program with industry standards, focus on adopting recognized frameworks like NIST, ISO/IEC 27001, or CIS Controls. Customize your program to encompass these standards' key principles, ensuring thorough documentation, regular reviews, and compliance checks. Regularly update your IAM practices to reflect evolving industry standards and best practices, promoting a robust and adaptable security framework.

HIPAA is security in the medical field. Also, PCI DSS has security issues for card companies. The above two industry standards are often taken up as industry standards in security and frameworks. This is an important part of security. This is because medical and financial information is at high risk of being leaked.

To align your IAM audit and assessment program with industry standards, start by conducting a comprehensive review of relevant frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001, and COBIT. Tailor your program to incorporate key elements from these standards, ensuring a robust foundation for compliance. Implement a risk-based approach, identifying critical assets and focusing efforts on high-impact areas. Regularly update policies and procedures to reflect evolving industry benchmarks, fostering adaptability. Foster collaboration with key stakeholders to align IAM goals with overall business objectives. Periodically conduct benchmarking exercises against industry peers to identify areas for improvement. Require stay updated with IAM latest stuff.

The following IAM standards are relevant for Financial Services Industry: ISO 27001, PCI DSS, NIST SP 800-53, and SWIFT Customer Security Controls Framework.

Clarification of purpose: Define specific objectives for IAM audits and assessments. Be clear about why you need the activity and what you want to achieve. Selection of criteria: Select and document audit and evaluation criteria. This should be informed by standards, regulations, best practices, etc. I think the above two issues are important.

Verification of data and evidence: Verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of collected data and evidence. Make sure your logs are configured properly and are recording exactly the information you need. Analysis and evaluation: Analyze collected data and evidence to evaluate the suitability and effectiveness of your IAM program. Identify policy violations, misconfigured access rights, security risks, and more. Both of the above can ensure reliability and transparency.

Prioritize issues: Prioritize identified issues and findings based on impact, urgency, and feasibility. It is important to give high priority to significant security risks and breaches. Identifying root causes and contributing factors: Identify the root causes behind issues and findings. We also consider contributing factors and suggest corrective actions to reduce future risks. I think the above two are important.