Cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM) definition

Cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM) is a process used to manage identities, access rights, privileges, and permissions within cloud environments. Its main goal is to mitigate the risk that comes from the unintentional and unchecked granting of excessive permissions to cloud resources.

CIEM is a relative newcomer in the cloud security technology space, and it gained prominence through its inclusion in Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Cloud Security, 2020. CIEM offerings are specialized, identity-centric software as a service (SaaS) solutions focused on managing cloud access risk via administration time controls for the governance of entitlements in hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS).

What are cloud infrastructure entitlements?

Cloud infrastructure entitlements comprise the various permissions granted to entities to access cloud resources. In a multi-cloud environment operating at the scale of thousands of resources, managing and keeping track of an enterprise’s cloud infrastructure entitlements is an incredibly complex task.

Cloud providers operate with a shared responsibility model. With IaaS offerings, the cloud provider makes available services and storage and guarantees the physical security of its data centers. However, the user of the IaaS offering is responsible for security, establishing who (or what) can and cannot access those infrastructure resources.

Why is CIEM important for cloud security?

In an environment with static resources, cloud providers use identity and access management (IAM) rules to govern access. For example, any user with the deployments-manager role could have permission to reboot a certain compute instance (e.g., Amazon EC2). Meanwhile, a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline with the automated-test-runner role might have permission to SSH into that instance to execute a test.

In today’s cloud environments, however, resources are ever-changing. Many resources are ephemeral, provisioned or deprovisioned based on the scaling needs of any given moment. Although cloud providers have solutions in place for granting permissions to ephemeral resources, each cloud provider has a unique way of doing so. This leaves enterprises with the challenge of managing and understanding permissions across multiple clouds.

As today’s enterprises transition more of their systems and business processes to the cloud, the challenge of governing and monitoring access to those resources grows increasingly complex. Cloud resources are no longer static and predictable. In addition, enterprises no longer operate in just one cloud — instead, they are adopting multi-cloud approaches to their infrastructure. Therefore, establishing proper permissions for accessing those resources is no longer straightforward. A solution that manages your cloud infrastructure entitlements does just that.

How does CIEM work?

The standard approach of CIEM solutions is to apply the principle of least privilege, which is the approach of granting a user (or any entity) the minimum amount of permissions necessary to perform their role. By taking this approach, CIEM solutions start from a posture that avoids the dangers of excessive permissions.

CIEM also unifies security terminology and usage across all clouds, which reduces the need for teams to switch context on multiple cloud providers. Lastly, many CIEM solutions use machine learning to analyze access records and configurations to determine an enterprise’s potential access risks. Through this, a CIEM solution can help identify excessive entitlements and mitigate the risk of a security breach.

CIEM tool considerations

When choosing a CIEM tool for your organization, it’s crucial to consider various factors. Here’s a handy list of considerations:

Capability	Requirement
Seamless integration	Test drive the CIEM tool during an evaluation period to ensure it seamlessly integrates with your existing cloud infrastructure and management systems.
User-friendly interface	The user interface should be intuitive and easy to navigate for administrators and users alike.
Granular policy control	Look for a tool that allows you to define and manage access at a granular level, including roles, permissions, and entitlements.
Scalability	Consider whether the tool can grow with your organization's needs without compromising performance.
Compliance logging	Confirm that the CIEM tool offers features for compliance monitoring, reporting, and auditing.
Automation	Ensuring the solution has robust automation capabilities can reduce your admin burden of managing entitlements.
Security	Prioritize a CIEM tool with robust security features, including multi-factor authentication and threat detection.
Cost efficiency	Evaluate the cost of the CIEM tool in relation to the value it provides, considering your organization's budget.
Vendor reputation	Research the vendor's reputation, taking a look at customer reviews, analyst reports, awards, and support services.
Consolidation	Explore whether the vendor provides a comprehensive security portfolio that goes beyond CIEM alone. Having your CIEM solution integrated into a comprehensive security suite can support vendor consolidation and enhance your overall security posture.

By carefully considering these factors, you can choose the CIEM tool that best aligns with your organization’s security and entitlement management needs.

CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security’s approach

The traditional IAM approach in static cloud environments is insufficient when applied to today’s dynamic, multi-cloud environments. In addition, a manual approach applied at the scale of today’s environments — with potentially thousands of resources and even more entities needing access to those resources — is untenable and results in unintentionally excessive permissions, leading to a high risk of a security breach. That’s where a strong CIEM solution comes into play.

CrowdStrike Falcon® Cloud Security offers unrivaled identity-based security, visibility, and least privilege access enforcements across multi-cloud environments. It serves as a single source of truth for identity security and integrated CIEM monitoring. Additionally, with CrowdStrike’s threat intelligence capabilities, you can get access to information about a plethora of adversaries threatening your cloud environments.