Here goes my best shot. Identity management is the combination of business process and technology used to manage data on IT systems and applications about users. Managed data includes user objects, identity attributes, security entitlements and authentication factors.
Identity management is a class of technologies intended to streamline the management of user identity information both inside and outside an enterprise.
Identity management (IdM) is a wide-ranging set of processes that enable the secure access of end users to a broad range of internal and external IT systems, control the digital identity of those users, and manage information about those identities. In general, digital identities comprise electronic records that represent network principals, including people, machines, devices, applications, and services. Another definition is: Identity management comprises the set of business processes (and supporting infrastructure) that enable the creation, maintenance, and use of digital identities within a legal and policy context. Problems occur when for example, end user’s leave the company but no one cancels that persons “right” to login and access the system. A process must be created to see that this example does not happen. HR staff or management should be responsible to make the identity-change request. A paper or electronic form can be used to capture the request. Proper approvals should be obtained from the supervisors, application owners, or HR management to authorize these changes. The IT support team will then make the changes in the IT systems, in accordance with the request. In this way, any identity changes will be captured and reflected in the digital identities that are stored in the IT systems.
If protocols are not established there will the potential for “shadow accounts” or ghost accounts lying dormant in the system. A less than honest ex-employee could still access data that the previous position allowed and they could do serious damage.
This is the sum of what I know about the issue. I am sure that with an in depth investigation on your part you will easily learn more than this.
