What is the Difference Between Identity Governance and SaaS Security Posture Management?

Identity Governance and Secure Source Password Management (SSPM) are two related but distinct concepts within the field of information security.

What is Identity Governance?

Identity Governance refers to the process of managing access to resources within an organization. This involves defining identities and managing authentication, authorization, and accountability for all users and systems. The goal of identity governance is to ensure that only the right people have access to the right information and resources at the right time, while ensuring compliance with internal policies and external regulations.

Identity governance is the policy-based orchestration between identity management and access control which acts as a security function. This makes sure that identities are properly and securely connected to applications, networks, data and other IT resources when needed.

What is Secure Source Password Management?

Secure Source Password Management (SSPM) refers to the practice of securely storing, managing, and controlling access to sensitive information such as passwords, encryption keys, and other secrets used in software applications. SSPM solutions provide a centralized repository for storing and managing these sensitive assets while making it easier for organizations to monitor and control access to them. SSPM solutions also typically include features such as encryption, password vaulting, and access control to ensure the security and confidentiality of these sensitive assets.

How are identity governance and SSPM similar?

Effective identity governance requires organizations to have the ability to manage and control access to sensitive information. SSPM solutions provide a centralized system for organizing these assets, which can then be used to enforce access policies and ensure that only authorized users have access to them. In this way, SSPM can help to support the goals of identity governance by ensuring that sensitive information is protected and accessed only by authorized users.

Conversely, effective SSPM requires that organizations have a robust identity governance framework in place because password and key management is only effective if the users who have access to them are properly provisioned. Identity governance provides the framework for managing and controlling access to resources within an organization, including the access controls that apply to sensitive assets managed through SSPM.

Summary

Identity governance and SSPM are both important areas in security management, but identity governance focuses on the protection of data and reducing outside risk through identity management and access controls, while SSPM focuses on protecting the SaaS applications themselves and the information within them. Both of their implementations are crucial components for increasing security posture and for decreasing the risk for breaches and malpractice.