Page 74 - Cyber Defense eMagazine August 2024

NextGen Identity Management

How to Harness Government Standards and Tech Innovations

By Dr. Sarbari Gupta, Founder and CEO, Electrosoft Services, Inc.

Federal agencies face a pivotal cybersecurity challenge: prevent unauthorized entities from accessing
systems and facilities, while granting authorized federal employees and contractors access
commensurate with verified need. Two factors complicate this objective: (1) relentless efforts by ever-
more-sophisticated cybercriminals and (2) myriad agency systems, many antiquated with ill-defined
interfaces that rely on outdated defense mechanisms.
Digital modernization and migration to the cloud comprise important responses. Additionally,
technological advancements, combined with federal identity, credential, and access management (ICAM)
standards and guidelines, offer federal agencies robust identity management tools.

ICAM Meets Zero Trust
Traditional federal authentication and access control mechanisms relied on perimeter-based trust. Here,
users authenticate their identity at the network entry point. Thereafter, the roles assigned to that identity
govern further access.
Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-22-09, Moving the U.S. Government Toward Zero
Trust Cybersecurity Principles, inaugurated a shift to a zero trust architecture (ZTA). Here, trust is not

Cyber Defense eMagazine – August 2024 Edition 74
Copyright © 2024, Cyber Defense Magazine. All rights reserved worldwide.