- What is the importance of IAM? …
- What is an identity directory service? …
- Do you prefer working alone or in a team? …
- What is the method of getting the IP address of a computer? …
- What is the method of providing access to a user into a server with Active Directory?
Identity & Access Management: TAG Cyber interview
Explain Access Keys for IAM Users
We can create access keys for AWS account root users or IAM users. The access keys are long-term credentials used for AWS CLI or AWS API programmatic requests. There are two parts that make up an access key—Access Key ID and Secret Access Key.
The access key ID and the secret access key work together—an absence of one of them will result in failure for an IAM user. They work together as username and password to authenticate the login.
Despite the double factor of access keys, Amazon encourages the use of IAM roles over access keys. The roles are confidential and only accessible privately by the IAM user or the account root user.
The users can easily view, create, and modify the access keys. Therefore, Amazon permits the use of two access keys simultaneously.
IAM Manager
IAM managers have a role that is similar to IAM directors. Managers usually have several team members who they are directly responsible for overseeing. Consequently, IAM managers need a strong technical background to understand the projects that their employees are responsible for. Companies also usually make managers responsible for making decisions about how access-related security practices are implemented.
High-Level Duties: Major duties include directly managing employees and making complex decisions with serious implications for an organization.Education required: An undergraduate degree is required for most jobs. Candidates with a strong background in management are preferred.Who can apply: Candidates with a background in both management and IAM can apply.Certification: IAM managers may consider pursuing the Certified Identity and Access Manager (CIAM) and/or Certified Identity Management Professional (CIMP) designations.
How do you educate other employees on the importance of IAM?
Though IAM is a specific role, it often requires involvement from many employees in an organization. Hiring managers might like to know how you can educate and influence others to understand company policies and comply. Consider sharing a specific example of how you educated employees, like by creating documentation or hosting information sessions, and what the outcome was.
Example: “In my last role, I hosted hour-long training sessions during new hires onboarding periods to review our policies immediately. With any updates to company policies, I drafted and sent company-wide emails and hosted information sessions for managers so that they could answer any questions for individual employees.”
Explain the Features of IAM
Following are the prominent features of IAM in AWS services:
- Multifactor authentication: IAM improves the security of AWS by adding multiple authentication steps for our accounts.
- Cost factor: Unlike other AWS services, IAM is free of cost. The charges are only added when we use AWS services with IAM users.
- Shared account access: Users can share resources with the help of AWS’s shared access features.
- Centralized account control: Our AWS account has centralized control so that we can create new users and groups. We can also use cancel services or resources using centralized control.
- Permissions for users: IAM has administrative rights, so users can use it to grant access permissions.
