Identity and Access Management (IAM) serves as a primary control boundary, ensuring that only authenticated and authorized users can access corporate systems, data assets, and operational environments.
IAM governance architectures rely on two core principles:
Access Privilege Boundary = Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) + Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

  • Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP): Mandates that users are granted only the minimum system access privileges required to execute their specific job duties. This limitation minimizes the risk of internal fraud and limits the damage if a user’s access credentials are compromised by an external threat actor.
  • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Groups system permissions into standardized corporate roles (e.g., Accounts Payable Clerk, System Administrator) rather than assigning permissions to individuals. This approach simplifies user onboarding, access reviews, and offboarding workflows.

Organizations must run regular user access reviews to identify and remove access creep—a condition where employees accumulate unnecessary system permissions over time as they move across different business units.
 
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