Factoring identity management into IT modernization plans

As federal agencies continue modernizing their IT environments and moving away from legacy systems, they should take advantage of the opportunity to untangle their identity management capabilities. 

Government networks, especially within large, federated agencies, are complex, dynamic, and frequently depend on legacy infrastructure and applications that do not easily integrate with modern Identity and Access Management (IdAM) platforms. While the cost and complexity of modernizing can be daunting, it is often the only way to implement a robust IdAM structure—and it brings a host of other gains as well. 

Without modernization, a new IdAM solution will be fragmented, incomplete, and integrated with only a subset of enterprise applications.  Moreover, delaying an IdAM implementation only leaves the agency vulnerable to potential data breaches that could cost more to recover from than modernizing would.

Replacing an existing IdAM solution can be a significant challenge that introduces risk and change to users who leverage critical enterprise applications. However, careful planning and choosing the right tools greatly reduces the risk—and the payoff in improved security is substantial. 

Start with a plan

Any modernization project, large or small, must start with careful planning. IdAM implementation is no exception, especially as a subset of a larger modernization effort. The IdAM plan weighs resources, requirements and risks, which ultimately enables agencies to choose the right tools to achieve the desired scalability, flexibility, adaptability and cost.  

Counting the benefits: How enterprise IdAM protects critical resources

An enterprise IdAM approach introduces standardization, logging, auditability and reliability, all of which enhance the organization’s security posture. Platforms that integrate with a wide range of applications to provision and deprovision accounts upon the triggering of relevant events further enhance those four core capabilities. Triggers typically include onboarding new hires, resignations and terminations, promotions or changes to security clearance status.  

Additional opportunities to introduce efficiencies result from IdAM modernization.  Manually updating applications to recognize joiner, mover or leaver scenarios frequently introduces human error. When investigating errors such as inappropriate application enrollments or privilege levels, managing and researching the trail of actions that led to them is complex, time-consuming and expensive.

Automating identity lifecycle events produces reliable, faster and simpler enrollment processes for users, dramatically reducing errors and facilitating an efficient and convenient user experience. 

Additionally, a modern enterprise IdAM solution immediately introduces infrastructure enabling reliable auditing of every transaction.  Such a system replaces detail-oriented manual configuration with automated and reliable execution that is fully traceable and less expensive.

IdAM and zero trust 

In addition, federal agencies are mandated to comply with Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) principles, due to successful cyberattacks against multiple federal agencies over the past few years. 

A modern IdAM solution is the cornerstone of a ZTA journey. For an agency initiating a sustained effort towards Zero Trust, the introduction of capabilities across enterprise applications will require expertise, analysis and planning to comprehensively test and deploy all required features. These typically include:

• SSO capabilities: Simplifies user access by allowing a single set of credentials to access multiple applications
• Phishing-resistant MFA: Requires multiple forms of verification reducing the risk of phishing attacks
• ABAC: Provides dynamic user authorization based on user attributes rather than static roles, offering more granular and flexible access control 
• Centralized identity management: Streamlines identity management across the organization, ensuring consistent and secure user authentication and authorization
• Least privilege access: Ensures users have the lowest level of authorization that enables them to gain access to everything their job requires 
• Global policies: Enforces security policies such as eliminating legacy username/password authentication, prohibiting forced password resets, and managing session durations
• Monitoring and compliance: Ensures compliance with security standards through robust monitoring and configuration management

By integrating these features, an IdAM solution addresses the Identity pillar of Zero Trust Architecture, providing a comprehensive and secure identity management system for federal agencies.  

Effective and automated user provisioning in a modern software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution demands a cloud-based IdAM platform designed for such capabilities. Modern IdAM platforms have extensive libraries of application integrations that can quickly be leveraged to implement SSO with SaaS solutions, and ABAC introduces flexibility and robust power in managing user access.

Our commitment to security helps protect sensitive information and supports the mission-critical operations of our clients.  

Learn more about our secure offerings at www.cgi.com/cybersecurity.