Identity management is the process of controlling who can sign in, what they can access, and when accounts should be created, changed, or removed. It covers authentication, authorization, and the full account lifecycle across users, service accounts, and privileged roles.
In cyber security, identity management matters because identity is often the real control plane. If passwords are stolen, MFA is weak, privileges are excessive, or old accounts remain active, attackers can move through systems without exploiting a technical flaw. Strong identity management reduces that risk with least-privilege access, timely deprovisioning, role reviews, conditional access, and audit logs. Defenders use it to limit blast radius, spot suspicious logins, and revoke access quickly when compromise is suspected.