The shifting landscape of Identity and Access Management landscape in Cloud

Discover how Identity is Reshaping Access in the Complex Cloud Environment

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Identity and Access Management in the Cloud

This week we ran a BlackHat Recap LIVE on our audio and video channels and if you missed it, you can still catch it here. It will also be dropping (in an edited version) on YouTube and your podcast platforms next week and you can expect a deep dive on next week’s edition of this newsletter.

One of the themes that we saw this year, gaining some maturity and some revisited attention and rightly so was IDENTITY & ACCESS. For the other themes you will just have to wait for next week’s edition of the newsletter (we promise it would be worth the wait ??)

To take us on a journey of IAM in the Cloud, today we will revisit our conversations with Brigid Johnson , Director of AWS Identity, Ian McKay, Cloud Principal, Jeff Moncrief , Field CTO of Sonrai Security

?? Definitions and Core Concepts

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a crucial aspect of cloud security, especially in complex environments like today’s cloud ecosystem. Let's break down some key concepts:

• Identity: In the cloud context, identity extends beyond human users to include non-human entities like server roles, serverless functions and other cloud services who can execute actions in the cloud provider.
• Access Management: The process of controlling “who” or “what” can access specific resources and if they “should be allowed” to perform certain actions within a cloud environment.
• Least Privilege: A security principle where users and entities are given only the required levels of access required to perform their tasks.
• Federation: The practice of using an industry standard with an external identity providers to manage user authentication and authorization to applications and systems.

"When you move into the cloud, it's very different. Identity suddenly doesn't mean only your user identities, but also means the components that make up your computer as well. So your servers and your things that are really serve like serverless Lambdas things like that. And so suddenly those servers take on their own identity and they have privilege to do things or not do things."

?Ian McKay

What is Identity in Cloud, then?

This expanded concept of identity requires us to expand our approach to access management for “what is an identity in cloud?”:

Human Identities

• Traditional user accounts, now often federated through identity providers
• Examples: employees, contractors, partners
• Typically authenticated via username/password, MFA, or SSO
• May have different levels of access based on role or job function

Non Human Identities

Service Identities

• Roles and permissions assigned to cloud services and components
• Examples: EC2 instances, Lambda functions, managed services
• Often use temporary credentials or assumed roles
• Critical for enabling secure service-to-service communication

Application Identities

• Credentials used by applications to interact with other services
• Examples: API keys, client certificates, OAuth tokens
• Essential for micro services architectures and distributed systems
• Require careful management to prevent credential leakage

Workload Identities

• Identities assigned to specific workloads or processes within an application
• Examples: Kubernetes pod identities, container identities
• Enable fine-grained access control at the workload level
• Critical for implementing zero trust architectures in cloud-native environments

Device Identities

• Unique identifiers for devices connecting to cloud resources
• Examples: IoT devices, mobile devices, edge computing nodes
• Often use device certificates or tokens for authentication
• Important for implementing device-based access policies

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Identities

• Identities used by automated processes and bots
• Examples: CI/CD pipeline bots, automated testing identities
• Require careful privilege management to prevent misuse
• Often need to access multiple systems and services

Temporary or Dynamic Identities

• Short-lived identities created for specific tasks or sessions
• Examples: Just-in-time access grants, session-based tokens
• Enhance security by limiting the lifespan of credentials
• Require sophisticated provisioning and de-provisioning mechanisms

??? The Principle of Least Privilege: A Cornerstone of Modern IAM

Least privilege is not just a best practice; it's a fundamental principle that should guide your entire IAM strategy.

Implementing least privilege involves:

1. Granular Permission Mapping: Understand exactly what each identity needs to perform its function.
2. Dynamic Access Control: Implement just-in-time access for sensitive operations.
3. Regular Access Reviews: Continuously audit and refine permissions based on actual usage.
4. Privilege Escalation Prevention: Design your IAM structure to prevent unintended accumulation of permissions.

?? Identity Federation and Single Sign-On: Simplifying Complexity

As organizations grow and adopt multiple cloud services, managing identities across these environments becomes increasingly complex. Identity federation and Single Sign-On (SSO) offer a solution to this challenge.

Key benefits include:

• Centralized identity management
• Improved user experience
• Enhanced security through standardized authentication methods
• Easier compliance with security policies across multiple platforms

However, it's crucial to remember that federation is not a silver bullet.

"You've heard identity is the new perimeter, right? I don't agree with that. Identity is the new network. We must start saying that it is not about federated identity and multi factor authentication. That is just such a small piece of the puzzle."

?Jeff Moncrief

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Actionable Insights for CyberSecurity Professionals tackle Identity in Cloud ??

?? Visibility and Governance: The Foundation of Effective IAM

In complex cloud environments, maintaining visibility into your identity (both Human and non-human??) landscape is crucial. This involves:

1. Comprehensive Logging: Implement detailed logging of all identity-related activities from identity provider and cloud providers.
2. Access Path Analysis: Understand how identities can potentially access resources through direct and indirect means e.g front door or the backdoor of your organization network.
3. Permissions Inventory: Maintain an up-to-date inventory of different types of permissions across all your environments.
4. Anomaly Detection: Implement systems to detect unusual access behaviour patterns or permission changes.

?? Advanced IAM Strategies for Cloud-Native Environments

As organizations embrace cloud-native architectures, traditional IAM approaches may fall short. Consider these advanced strategies:

1. Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC): Use attributes of the user, resource, and environment to make access decisions dynamically.
2. Just-in-Time Access: Provision access rights only when needed and for a limited time and perhaps using an approval process especially for admin rights request.
3. Micro-Segmentation: Implement fine-grained network controls to limit lateral movement between resources.
4. Continuous Authentication: Move beyond point-in-time authentication to continuously verify the identity and trustworthiness of users and devices.
5. IAM as Code: Manage and version your IAM policies as code using OPA etc, enabling better collaboration, testing, and automation when providing access.

?? Rethinking IAM in the Era of Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Environments

As organizations increasingly adopt multi-cloud and hybrid strategies, IAM becomes even more complex. Key considerations include:

• Cross-Cloud Identity Management: Implement a unified identity strategy across all your cloud providers.
• Hybrid Identity Solutions: Bridge “on-premises” and “cloud” identities seamlessly.
• Cloud-to-Cloud Access Management: Manage access between resources in different cloud environments.
• Identity Governance Across Environments: Implement consistent policies and governance across all your environments.

?? Related Podcast Episodes

AWS IAM Getting Started with Ian McKay, Cloud Principal,

Streamlining AWS Cloud Access Controls for Human and Non Human Identities - AWS IAM Access Analyzer with Brigid Johnson , Director of AWS Identity

Why Least Privilege Matters in Cloud Security? with Jeff Moncrief , Field CTO of Sonrai Security

?? Are you interested in AI Cybersecurity?

Then you should definitely checkout our sister podcast AI Cybersecurity Podcast that is hosted by Ashish Rajan and Caleb Sima .

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Shilpi Bhattacharjee

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