IAM Identity Center

IAM Identity Center, formerly known as Single Sign-On (SSO), is a cloud service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that simplifies the management of access to AWS accounts and applications. It enables users to sign in once with their existing corporate credentials and access multiple AWS accounts and applications without the need for multiple sets of credentials.

Why use the IAM Identity Center?

Here are some benefits of using the IAM Identity Center:

• Centralized access management: IAM Identity Center provides a centralized hub for managing access to AWS accounts and integrated applications, streamlining the administration of user access.

• Single Sign-On experience: Users experience a single sign-on process, reducing the complexity of managing multiple passwords and enhancing security.

• Integration with identity providers: IAM Identity Center integrates seamlessly with popular identity providers (IdPs) such as Microsoft Azure AD, Okta, and AWS Directory Service, allowing organizations to leverage their existing identity infrastructure.

• User and group management: Administrators can create and manage user identities and groups within the IAM Identity Center, facilitating the assignment of permissions to users based on their roles and responsibilities.

• Fine-grained permissions: Role-based access control (RBAC) is implemented, allowing organizations to define fine-grained permissions for users within AWS accounts.

• Audit and compliance: IAM Identity Center provides detailed audit logs, enabling organizations to track user activities and maintain compliance with security policies.

• Automatic account provisioning: When integrated with supported identity providers, IAM Identity Center can automatically provision user accounts and synchronize changes, reducing administrative overhead.

How IAM Identity Center works

IAM Identity Center uses IAM roles to give the requesting entities permissions to AWS services/resources. We start with assigning a permission set. For each permission set IAM Identity Center creates an IAM role with the corresponding policies in each account.

For the authentication part, we need to add an identity source in the IAM Identity Center. This source can be any one of the following:

• Identity Center directory: This is the default identity source where we can create users by specifying their usernames and passwords and then use these credentials for authentication.

• Active Directory: In case we're already using a directory to manage our users, we can set that as the identity source. The users in that directory will then be able to use their existing credentials to access the AWS account.

• External identity provider: Incase we're using an external identity provider to manage our users, we can configure our Identity Center to use that as the identity source.

When a principal makes a request, IAM Identity Center first authenticates the principal's credentials, ensuring that only authorized users can access the AWS environment. Upon successful authentication, the IAM Identity Center evaluates the request against the policies attached to the IAM entities, including users, groups, and roles. These policies define the permissions granted to each entity, specifying which actions they are allowed or denied on specific AWS resources.

IAM Identity Center carefully examines the request context, considering factors such as the actions requested, the resources involved, and any environmental data provided. Based on this evaluation, IAM Identity Center determines whether the request should be allowed or denied. This robust authentication and authorization process ensures that access to AWS resources is tightly controlled and aligned with organizational security policies. Additionally, IAM Identity Center provides detailed logging and auditing capabilities, allowing organizations to monitor access activity and enforce compliance with regulatory requirements. Overall, IAM Identity Center plays a crucial role in maintaining a secure and well-governed AWS environment by centralizing identity management and access control.

Implementation best practices

Here are some best practices related to the IAM Identity Center:

• Integrate with IdPs: Integrate the IAM Identity Center with our preferred identity provider to leverage existing user directories and authentication mechanisms.

• Define clear roles: Clearly define roles and permissions based on job responsibilities to implement the principle of least privilege.

• Regularly review permissions: Periodically review and update user permissions to align with organizational changes and security requirements.

• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Enhance security by enabling MFA for user authentication, adding an extra layer of protection.

• Use AWS Organizations: Integrate IAM Identity Center with AWS Organizations to manage access across multiple accounts efficiently.