Types of IAM identities: what they are and how to manage them securely

Identity and Access Management (IAM) ensures that the different types of “identities” (people, machines, software components) interacting with an organization’s digital systems and resources access them correctly and in a timely manner.
Nowadays, virtually every sector is highly digitalized, which makes them vulnerable to serious cyberattacks such as data theft. In all of them, access to digital resources —websites, administration systems, transactions, data storage, workflows, etc.— occurs from multiple sources and through various identities.

To ensure these accesses are legitimate and do not put the organization at risk, it is essential to have IAM systems that manage these identities: defining them, authorizing them, implementing effective authentication mechanisms, controlling and auditing their access, and generating reports to improve security, detect risks, and make informed business decisions.

The problem is that many organizations try to cover these functions with separate IAM solutions from different vendors: one for authentication, another for auditing, another for privilege management, and so on. This creates complexity, increases costs, raises risks, and reduces overall visibility. The most effective solution is a converged platform that integrates all IAM functions into a single control point, easy to manage and with a complete view of security. This is exactly how SOFFID IAM ensures security and efficiency in identity and access management.

Difference Between Physical, Digital, and Federated Identities

The concept of physical identity is often associated with digital identity. However, it is not always possible to identify them together —for example, in the case of a software agent— nor is it always desirable for privacy reasons. A physical identity (whether a person, machine, or entity) can, and usually does, have multiple associated digital identities.

Over time, Internet identity has grown more complex. Initially, it was limited to a centralized identity: the classic “username and password.” This model allows a user to access their profile with preferences and history if they identify correctly. However, with this type of identity, the user needs to log in separately with each service provider and manage multiple passwords; additionally, platforms store all user profiles and data, so if a security breach occurs in one of the accesses, the entire database is at risk.

To make managing these digital identities easier and improve their security by limiting and simplifying access for both users and providers, Identity 2.0 emerged. These are federated identities, which synchronize user identification data across different platforms, enabling profile sharing across organizations, company departments, and so on. This facilitates access to multi-cloud or hybrid services and significantly improves efficiency and user experience. The problem is that federated identities still risk user privacy, as they expose their data to different platforms. For federation to be both secure and efficient, IAM systems are needed to grant each identity only the credentials it requires, control access, and implement effective authentication systems.

Types of Identities in an IAM System

Although the types of identities interacting with a digital network vary, in general, for simplicity, when we refer to identities in IAM systems, we mean “digital identities.”

A digital identity is a set of unique “identifiers” or attributes that represent a person, machine, software component, asset, or resource within a computer system, with a defined scope (globally, locally within a specific domain, or as part of a community, directory, application, etc.). These identities are used to verify and authorize access to certain organizational resources, communicate with other humans or machines, or carry out transactions, among other purposes.

In IAM identities, these unique identifiers are established according to the role each identity plays, corporate policies and legal requirements, and the types of access —that is, what each identity needs to access.

Human Identities

Human identities represent people interacting with an organization’s resources, either internally or externally. Internal identities (employees, administrators, technical staff) have access controlled by their role and level of responsibility, while external identities (customers, suppliers, partners, contractors) go through a secure onboarding process with permissions limited by context.

Soffid IAM automates the management of these human identities throughout their entire lifecycle. It allows roles to be defined, privileges assigned, dynamic policies applied, and a safe and simple experience ensured through Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Non-Human Identities

In Soffid IAM, non-human identities include both workloads —computational tasks or processes and IT resources (storage, memory, etc.)— and physical devices, such as computers, mobile phones, or smart equipment. These workload identities include application services, APIs, bots, and more.

Soffid IAM enables the secure and automated management of these identities, integrating with CI/CD systems, cloud platforms, and hybrid environments. Thanks to its Privileged Access Management (PAM) module, it is possible to maintain complete control over service accounts, access to sensitive resources, and associated credentials, ensuring full traceability and applying centralized credential rotation policies.

In addition, Soffid supports the integration of IoT devices or endpoints via open standards and certificate- or token-based authentication, ensuring that even non-human identities meet the highest levels of protection and control.

Privileged Identities

Identities with access to critical accounts and assets are considered “privileged identities.” SOFFID IAM includes a Privileged Account Management module (SOFFID PAM), a solution that provides advanced security, full control over privileged identities and their accesses, continuous auditing, and guaranteed regulatory compliance.

Temporary or Dynamic Identities

IAM identities can be dynamic, meaning they are not permanently part of the organization’s ecosystem. Identity management must account for temporary identities, whose relationship is limited by a specific period (e.g., collaboration projects or temporary contracts), ends, or changes —in which case their attributes and permissions must adapt to the new situation.

SOFFID IAM includes a risk management solution (SOFFID IRC) that performs automated audits and real-time controls. This not only detects, prevents, and mitigates unauthorized access but also carries out automated recertification campaigns to remove unnecessary privileges. The IRC module is based on the principles of segregation of duties (permissions are defined in detail, at a granular level) and least privilege (Zero Trust; by default, no user or system is trusted), which facilitates and reduces risks in managing temporary IAM identities.

How IAM Identities Are Managed

An IAM system ensures that a digital identity does not access organizational systems or resources inappropriately (confidentiality), cannot modify this information without consent (integrity), and only has access when duly authorized (availability).

To guarantee these basic security principles, mechanisms for identification (assigning a unique identifier and creating an exclusive digital identity), authorization (granting access permissions), authentication (validating identities), and auditing (access control, credential review) must be established.

SOFFID IAM is a platform based on the convergence of IAM solutions with adaptive authentication. Other solutions, in addition to those already mentioned, include SOFFID AM, which securely manages all IAM identities regardless of their origin or role, with contextual authentication and adaptive policies, providing control and security for all types of identities in any environment; and SOFFID PM, the password manager that reduces user friction and strengthens security with SSO (Single Sign-On) and MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication).

A key solution for IAM identities is SOFFID IGA, which automates the provisioning of identities and the modification and deletion of accounts. This comprehensive control over identities also allows management to be aligned with the regulatory framework and the organization’s internal policies, ensuring compliance.

Like the rest of SOFFID IAM’s solutions, SOFFID IGA adapts to your technological infrastructure, integrating seamlessly with other systems and applications. Multiple scalable solutions from a single management source reduce costs, improve operations, and enable business growth.

Take your identity management to the next level. Request your free SOFFID IAM trial today and discover how we optimize your organization’s security and efficiency —fully tailored to your specific needs.