Network Defense Essentials (NDE) 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The identity and access management (IAM) framework encompasses various critical components to ensure that individuals have the appropriate access to resources while maintaining security. Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a user. Authorization follows authentication and determines what resources a user is allowed to access and what actions they can perform. User management involves managing user identities, roles, and their associated permissions throughout their lifecycle within an organization.

While access controls are indeed a crucial element of IAM, they are more of a mechanism that enforces the decisions made during the authorization process. This enforcement can manifest through various technical implementations like role-based access control (RBAC) or attribute-based access control (ABAC). Thus, although access controls are integral to ensuring security and compliance, they are not a standalone component of the IAM framework, as they serve as the operational aspect that utilizes authentication and authorization decisions.

In contrast, authentication, authorization, and user management are considered foundational pillars of the IAM framework, essential for functioning effectively.