How do you audit identity and access management?

Security breaches = unauthorized access. If done right, auditing parts or all of IAM helps take an 80/20 approach to managing risk, and can be a very high ROI endeavor. Sometimes organizations prefer to start small, show quick wins, show ROI and get visibility (and more funding) from the board.

Each application in any environment should have Separation of Duties document. This document should include toxic combination matrix with consideration of need to know basis. Each users and roles should be assessed possibly with automation then toxic combinations (conflicts) should be identified. These conflicts should be addressed via controls (privilege monitoring via logs), exceptions (it should be registered for reviewing timely manner) or fixing conflicts via separation of duties.

Understand the IAM Framework: Start by gaining a deep understanding of the organization's IAM framework, policies, and procedures. This includes user provisioning, authentication methods, authorization processes, and access controls. Review IAM Policies and Procedures: Examine IAM documentation, including policies, procedures, and guidelines. Ensure they align with industry best practices and compliance standards like ISO 27001 or NIST SP 800-53. Review Authentication Methods: Analyze the authentication methods used, such as passwords, multi-factor authentication (MFA), or biometrics. Verify that strong authentication mechanisms are in place.

Reporting identity and access management (IAM) audit results is crucial for maintaining strong cybersecurity practices. Start by summarizing key findings, including any vulnerabilities, compliance issues, or deviations from IAM policies. Provide a detailed breakdown of audit procedures, methodologies, and the scope of the assessment. Use clear language and visual aids, such as charts or graphs, to present the results effectively. Include recommendations for remediation and prioritization of issues based on their severity.

1. First understanding the scope, objectives, and criteria, don't go beyond the scope. 2. Make a audit schedule, once you understand the scope. 3. Audit the relevant data, including user lists, logs, policies. 4. Identification, access control, lifecycle management, and policies. 5. Review access policies align with objectives and compliance requirements. 6. interviews respective team members, tests, and software, tools. 7. Identifies vulnerabilities, unauthorized access, and improves performance and accountability. 8.Prepare a concise audit report summarizing scope, methods, findings, 9.Continuously monitor, assess, and update IAM system actions and policies in response to audit findings to ensure ongoing effectiveness and efficiency.

1. Focus on your security policy. ... 2. Assign responsibilities clearly. 3. Review privileged user credentials. 4. Schedule user reviews to clean up IAM systems. 5. Apply segmentation of duties where appropriate. 6. Clean up unused accounts. 6. Review compliance documentation.

Clearly define the objectives of your IAM audit, including the specific areas and systems you intend to assess. Consider the scope, such as applications, databases, networks, and cloud services. Involve key stakeholders, including IT personnel, compliance officers, and security experts, in the audit process to ensure a comprehensive evaluation. Examine your organization's IAM policies and procedures to ensure they align with industry best practices and regulatory requirements. Verify that policies cover user provisioning, deprovisioning, authentication, and authorization. Assess access controls to determine whether user access is appropriately restricted based on job roles and responsibilities.

Here are the steps to audit IAM effectively: >Define Objectives and Scope >Understand IAM Policies and Procedures >Access Control Review >User Lifecycle Management >Password and Authentication Policies >Audit Trail and Monitoring >Review Third-Party Access >Compliance and Regulations >Incident Response and Reporting >Security Awareness and Training >Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Scanning >Documentation and Documentation Review >Audit Reporting and Remediation >Continuous Monitoring Last but not the least: Schedule periodic follow-up audits to ensure that issues have been resolved and that IAM controls remain effective.

Audit the process of user account creation, modification, and deactivation. Ensure that accounts are created for legitimate users and promptly deactivated when no longer needed. Evaluate password policies to confirm that they enforce strong and secure password requirements. Check for password complexity, expiration, and history. Review authentication methods, including multi-factor authentication (MFA) implementations, to ensure that they provide an appropriate level of security. Verify that access requests are appropriately documented, and approvals are obtained before granting access. Check for proper record-keeping of access requests and approvals.

In addition to David's input, consider the following: - Cross current active users' list against current employee list, obtained with HR, and check if there are active users linked to terminated employees or if accesses are aligned to employees' functions (i.e.: finance employees with admin access); - Check if alternative login methods (i.e.: Windows PIN also follow password policies/best practices; - Check if accesses were granted following what was requested/approved.

1. Know your audit objectives/scope. 2. Know your audience. 3. No surprises (as much as possible, report early and often) and have a few remediation suggestions ready.

Document your audit findings, including any identified issues or non-compliance. Create comprehensive reports that include recommendations for remediation. Always report in a comprehensive way and easy to understand. At the end a management need understand the reports. What does the result means to them? Which risk do they have?

When reporting IAM audit findings, focus on summarizing major issues and quantifiable risks to spotlight key vulnerabilities. Provide actionable, risk-prioritized recommendations with owners and timeframes. Use metrics, rankings, and visualizations to simplify and add impact. Maintain concision, clarity, and context. Allow internal review to validate accuracy and secure buy-in. Offer follow-ups to answer questions and explain audit methodology, findings, and proposed remediation. Well-written reports instill confidence in audit quality and enable data-driven decisions on managing IAM risk and control improvements.

A dashboard could be created with power BI or PoweShell for this. Another approach is to clean up the data and provide the spreadsheet to the audience with the private information purged.

After an IAM audit, create a remediation plan addressing top findings. Assign owners and deadlines per risk priority. Track progress to ensure actions complete on time. Re-assess controls post-implementation using metrics to quantify improvements. Update IAM policies and procedures to reflect changes. Document lessons learned and remaining gaps to inform future audits. Keep momentum by regularly reporting status to executives. Stay engaged until major issues fully mitigate. Follow-up drives change, sustains focus on strengthening IAM, and builds upon each audit iteration. It's essential to verify recommendations are implemented effectively and program enhancements stick.

Work with relevant teams to address identified issues and vulnerabilities. Implement necessary improvements and track progress until issues are resolved. Implement ongoing monitoring of IAM controls to ensure that they remain effective. Regularly review IAM policies and procedures, and conduct periodic audits to maintain security. Communicate audit results and recommendations to relevant stakeholders and management. Use the audit findings to drive improvements in IAM practices.

A crucial but often overlooked aspect of IAM auditing is the "Shadow IT" phenomenon. During an audit for a client, we discovered a series of unsanctioned cloud services procured by a department without IT's knowledge. These services housed sensitive data and were governed by makeshift access controls. This breach underscored the need to integrate all elements of an organization into the IAM framework, regardless of their official or unofficial nature. Remember, an effective IAM audit isn't just about checking boxes; it's about unearthing the hidden corners where risk might be lurking.

Adhere to industry best practices and standards for IAM auditing, such as NIST Special Publication 800-53, ISO/IEC 27001, and CIS Controls.

Based on my professional experience, I have found that IAM processes greatly benefit from automation, as it streamlines processes and reduces the burden on business areas. Automation rules typically revolve around changes to an employee's work scenario, such as a department or title change, or significant dates like work anniversaries for non-role granted access provisioning. As part of an IAM audit, it is crucial to assess the accuracy and effectiveness of these automated procedures across the entire company or enterprise. This helps to ensure that there are no workarounds or other issues and that the processes align with the success scenarios defined within the software.

User Inventory: List all active users and their roles. Check for stale or unauthorized accounts. Permission Review: Analyze user permissions against job requirements, flagging over-privileged accounts. Authentication Checks: Validate the strength and periodicity of password policies. Assess multi-factor authentication deployment. Log Scrutiny: Examine access logs for anomalies or unauthorized activities. Policy Compliance: Compare current IAM practices against the organization's set policies and industry standards. Auditing IAM is a continuous cycle of assessment and refinement, ensuring that only the right people have the right access.