43: What is the Identity Runtime?

Post-authentication security is a key capability for the modern IAM platform

Takeaway Points:

• The identity runtime is the live execution environment for identity

• Identities (be there human, non-human or agentic) perform actions and access services, APIs and data

• To do this they need an identifier, attributes, permissions (which we can classify as identity data)

• During usage they will authenticate, be authorized and monitored

• Each of those stages has numerous sub-stages such as credential life cycle management, just in time access request, behaviour monitoring and so on

• This is becoming increasingly important as identity risk is occurring during usage, where as traditional controls have focused on profile storage and authentication

• Core components of the identity runtime include:

  • credentials

  • session management

  • policy design

  • policy decisions

  • policy enforcement

  • behaviour monitoring