IAM Explained: Why Identity and Access Management Is Core to Cloud Security

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is the system that controls who can perform which actions on which cloud resources, and misconfigured permissions remain the leading cause of cloud security breaches. Every IAM decision reduces to four elements: a principal (the identity), an action, a resource, and an effect of either Allow or Deny. By default, all access is denied unless explicitly permitted, and any explicit Deny overrides all Allow statements. Security experts recommend using short-lived IAM roles instead of long-lived static access keys, which are frequently leaked through code repositories and configuration files. Common critical mistakes include using wildcard permissions, skipping multi-factor authentication on human accounts, and relying on the root account for routine tasks.