Terminology in the IDPro Body of Knowledge
Heather Flanagan, editor - @ 2020 IDPro
| Term | Definition | Source |
| Access Control | Controlling who can have access to data, systems, services, resources, locations. The ‘Who’ can be a user, a device or thing, a service | Introduction to Access Control |
| Access Governance | The assurance that all access has been given based on the correct decision criteria and parameters | Introduction to Access Control |
| Access Management | Use of identity information to provide access control to protected resources such as computer systems, databases, or physical spaces. | Introduction to IAM Architecture |
| Access Policy | Definition of the rules to allow or disallow access to secured objects. | Introduction to Access Control |
| Access Requester | The person, process, system, or thing that seeks to access a protected resource. | Introduction to Access Control |
| Access Supplier | The component granting access to data, systems, services after the access policy requirements (set in the Policy Administration Point) have been met by the Access Requester. | Introduction to Access Control |
| Account Takeover | Account takeover is a form of identity theft and fraud, where a malicious third party successfully gains access to a user’s account credentials. | Designing MFA for Humans |
| Accountability | The obligation of a person to accept the results of one’s actions, be they positive or negative. This person is probably also a species of an owner. | Introduction to Access Control |
| Adaptive Authentication | Adaptive authentication aims to determine and enforce the authentication level required at any time during a user session - when the session is commenced, during the session when access requirements force a re-evaluation, or when the session token expires. The factors to be used in achieving that authentication level are determined dynamically based on the access control policy governing the resources being accessed, and a variety of environmental conditions and risk factors in effect at that time for that user. | Designing MFA for Humans |
| Agile Project Management | A framework that uses a continuous, iterative process to deliver a defined piece of functionality, typically a component of a product or service. Scrum is a popular framework ( https://www.scrumalliance.org/about-scrum/overview ) | Introduction to IAM Project Management |
| Architecture | Framework for the design, deployment, and operation of an information technology infrastructure. It provides a structure whereby an organization can standardize the technology it uses and align its IT infrastructure with digital transformation policy, IT development plans, and business goals. | Introduction to IAM Architecture |
| Architecture Overview | Describes the architecture components required for supporting IAM across the enterprise. | Introduction to IAM Architecture |
| Architecture Patterns | Identifies the essential patterns that categorize the IT infrastructure architecture in an organization and will guide the deployment choices for IAM solutions. | Introduction to IAM Architecture |
| Attributes | Key/value pairs relevant for the digital identity (username, first name, last name, etc.). | An Overview of the Digital Identity Lifecycle |
| Authentication | The ability to prove that a user or application is trustworthy and has the authority to access a protected resource by validating credentials of an access requester (a user, a process, a system, or a thing). | Introduction to Access Control |
| Authorization | Determining a user’s rights to access functionality with a computer application and the level at which that access should be granted. In most cases, an ‘authority’ defines and grants access, but in some cases, access is granted because of inherent rights (like patient access to his/her own medical data) | Introduction to Access Control |
| Bot | Sometimes called an Internet bot, short for ‘robot’ but referring to a software routine that performs automated tasks over the Internet or a web robot referring to an autonomous network application, or simply a ‘bot’ referring to an automated, typically repetitive, task used for a specific purpose. | Non-Human Account Management |
| Ceremonies | Predictable interactions that users can infrequently navigate in a well-watched place | Introduction to Identity – Part 2: Access Control |
| CIA Triad | The fundamental Information security concepts of risk classification of resources from the perspectives of Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. | Non-Human Account Management |
| Consent | Permission for something to happen or agreement to do something. | Introduction to Privacy and Compliance for Consumers |
| Consumer Protection Law | Laws and regulations that are designed to protect the rights of individual consumers and to stop unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent business practices. | Laws Governing Identity Systems |
| Continuous Authentication | Continuous authentication is a mechanism that uses a variety of signals and measurements to determine during a user session if there is any change in the confidence that it is still the same user that authenticated at the beginning of the session, and trigger an authentication action if there is a drop in confidence. | Designing MFA for Humans |
| Contract Law | Laws that relate to making and enforcing agreements between or among separate parties. | Laws Governing Identity Systems |
| Data Controller | Defined in Article 4(7) of the GDPR: “‘controller’ means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data;”. This article uses the term “organisation” as a synonym for “data controller”, since organisations involved in IAM will normally be data controllers. | An Introduction to the GDPR |
| Data Mapping | “a system of cataloguing what data you collect, how it’s used, where it’s stored, and how it travels throughout your organization and beyond.” | Impact of GDPR on Identity and Access Management |
| Data Processor | Defined in Article 4(8) of the GDPR for situations where an organisation processes personal data solely on the instructions of others. A Data Processor must not determine the purposes of processing, for example by processing in its own interests, or, beyond limited technical choices, the means of doing so. Data Processors are regulated by Article 28: in particular they must have a contract with the Data Controller that covers all the subjects listed in Article 28(3). Data Processors are excluded from some, but not all, of the liabilities and duties of Data Controllers. | An Introduction to the GDPR |
| Data Protection by Design | Data protection through technology design. See GDPR Article 25 for more detail | Impact of GDPR on Identity and Access Management |
| Data Protection Officer | An individual who must be appointed in any organization that processes any data defined by the GDPR as sensitive. The DPO is responsible for “Working towards the compliance with all relevant data protection laws, monitoring specific processes, such as data protection impact assessments, increasing employee awareness for data protection and training them accordingly, as well as collaborating with the supervisory authorities.”(See GDPR Articles 35, 37, 38, and 39 for more detail) | Impact of GDPR on Identity and Access Management |
| Data Subject | Defined in Article 4(1) of the GDPR (see “Personal Data” above) as the formal term for the human to whom personal data relates. This article uses the term “individual” as a synonym for “data subject”. | An Introduction to the GDPR |
| Decentralized Identifier (DID) | An identifier that is created and anchored in a decentralized system such as a blockchain or ledger and can represent any entity in the ecosystem – an issuer, a holder, a verifier, and even an identity hub. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| Delegated Authorization Framework | An access control framework that decouples authentication from authorization, allowing the password to stay local and protected | Introduction to Identity – Part 2: Access Control |
| Digital Cards | Represent verifiable credentials that users collect over time and are stored as part of the user agent or the identity hub of the user. It’s somewhat simpler to refer to them as digital cards rather than verifiable credentials when speaking about them. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| Digital Identity | A unique identifier that, together with relevant attributes, is required in the context of a digital transaction to generate value. | An Overview of the Digital Identity Lifecycle |
| Digital Wallet | represents a digital metaphor for a physical wallet and is generally represented by the combination of the user agent and the underlying capabilities of the computing device, such as secure storage and secure enclaves on a mobile phone. The digital wallet contains digital cards. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| dPKI | A decentralized public key infrastructure and is usually implemented via an immutable blockchain or ledger – a place where DIDs can be registered and looked up alongside the associated public keys of the DID and its metadata. dPKI can be described more generally as the verifiable data registry , as the dPKI is just one of many possible implementations for a verifiable data registry. While this paper refers to dPKI, the reader should be aware that a verifiable data registry need not necessarily be “decentralized”. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| Enterprise Architecture | An architecture covering all components of the information technology (IT) environment | Introduction to IAM Architecture |
| External identifier | The means by which a person in control of a digital identity refers to that identity when interacting with a system | Identifiers and Usernames |
| Federated Identity | The means of linking a person’s electronic identity and attributes, stored across multiple distinct identity management systems | Introduction to Identity – Part 2: Access Control |
| Fraud Law | Laws that protect against the intentional misrepresentation of information made by one person to another, with knowledge of its falsity and for the purpose of inducing the other person to act, and upon which the other person relies with resulting injury or damage. | Laws Governing Identity Systems |
| Gantt Chart | A popular schedule format that displays both activity and timeframes in a single chart | Intro to Project Management |
| General Data Protection Act (GDPR) | Formally, Regulation 2016/679 of the European Union, in force May 25, 2018. Available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016R0679 | An Introduction to the GDPR |
| Holder | The entity that holds verifiable credentials. Holders are typically users but can also be organizations or devices. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| Identification | Uniquely establish a user of a system or application. | Introduction to Access Control |
| Identity | Defining attributes for a human user that may vary across domains, e.g., a user’s digital identity will have a different definition in a work environment as opposed to the user’s bank. A device identifier is sometimes referred to as its identity. | Non-Human Account Management |
| Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) | Includes the collection and use of identity information as well as the governance processes that ensure the right person has the right access to the right systems at the right time. | Introduction to IAM Architecture |
| Identity Hub or Repository | The place where users can store their encrypted identity-related information. An identity hub can be anywhere – on the edge, on the cloud, or on your own server. Its purpose is to store personal data. Some implementations may allow other entities to access the identity hub of the user if the user specifically grants such access. You can think of an identity hub as the individual’s personal data store. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| Identity Theft Law | Laws governing crimes in which the perpetrator gains access to sensitive personal information belonging to the victim (such as birth dates, passwords, email addresses, driver's license numbers, social security numbers, financial records, etc.), and then uses this information to impersonate the victim for personal gain, such as to commit fraud, establish credit in the victim’s name, or access the victim’s accounts. | Laws Governing Identity Systems |
| Intra-organizational (Single Sign-On): | A central digital identity, such as an account in a directory, is linked by downstream systems as authoritative for authentication. | An Overview of the Digital Identity Lifecycle |
| Inter-organizational (Federation) | An organization relies on another organization’s digital identity and lifecycle management processes. | An Overview of the Digital Identity Lifecycle |
| Internal identifier | The way an identity management system refers to a digital identity | Identifiers and Usernames |
| Issuer | The entity that issues verifiable credentials about subjects to holders. Issuers are typically a government entity or corporation, but an issuer can also be a person or device. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| Journey-based Creation | The process that guides a customer through a series of interactions prior to establishing a digital identity. For example, capturing the minimum basic information needed from a customer to enable creation of an identity. | An Overview of the Digital Identity Lifecycle |
| Least Privilege | Also known as the Principle of Least Privilege; a resource, such as a user, must only be able to access the resources (e.g., applications, data) that are necessary for it to function. | Introduction to Identity – Part 2: Access Control |
| Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) | An approach whereby a user’s identity is validated to the trust level required according to a security policy for a resource being accessed using more than one factor (something you know (e.g., password), something you have (e.g., smartphone), something you are (e.g., fingerprint). | Introduction to Access Control |
| Non-Person Account | Any account not specifically assigned to a person, such as accounts used for devices, services, and servers. | Non-Human Account Management |
| Personal Data | Defined in Article 4(1) of the GDPR: “‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;”. Note: “natural person” (human) is used to distinguish from companies and other corporate entities that are “legal persons”. | An Introduction to the GDPR |
| Personal Data | Personal data are any information which are related to an identified or identifiable natural person. | Impact of GDPR on Identity and Access Management |
| Policy Access Point (PAP) | The location where the different types of owners define the access policy. | Introduction to Access Control |
| Policy Decision Point (PDP) | The policy engine validating Access requests and provided attributed against the Access Policy (as defined in the Policy Administration Point). | Introduction to Access Control |
| Policy Enforcement Point (PEP) | The authority that will only let an Access Requester connect to the Access Supplier if the Policy Decision Point allows it. | Introduction to Access Control |
| Policy Engine | It is a security component that validates whether an actor is allowed to access a protected resource, following the requirements in an access policy. | Introduction to Access Control |
| Policy Information Point | The authority that refers to the (external) trusted providers of attributes that will be used in the Access Decision. An example is the myacclaim.com service that administers Open Badges of certifications, such as CISSP and MSCP. | Introduction to Access Control |
| Privacy | An abstract concept, with no single, common definition | Introduction to Privacy and Compliance for Consumers |
| Privacy Law | Laws that regulate the collection, use, storage, and transfer of personal data relating to identified or identifiable individuals. | Laws Governing Identity Systems |
| Processing | Defined in Article 4(2) of the GDPR: “‘processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction”. Note that even this long list of activities is not exhaustive: other activities may also fall within the definition of “processing”. Additional rules, in Article 22, apply to “automated individual decision-making, including profiling”. These generally have the effect of strengthening the rights of information and objection described later and may limit the use of automation for some high-impact decisions. | An Introduction to the GDPR |
| Project | A time-limited activity to achieve a defined outcome(s) | Intro to Project Management |
| Project Charter | Documented authority for the project manager to proceed with a project; it will usually include a succinct statement of the project’s purpose | Intro to Project Management |
| Project Plan | A document that describes a project; it will usually include a scope statement, schedule, resource plan, communications plan, and quality plan | Intro to Project Management |
| Protected Resource | A system, a process, a service, an information object, or even a physical location that is subject to access control as defined by the owner of the resource and by other stakeholders, such as a business process owner or Risk manager. | Introduction to Access Control |
| Revised Payment Systems Directive (PSD2) | PSD2 (the Revised Payment Services Directive, Directive (EU) 2015/2366) is an EU Directive, administered by the European Commission (Directorate General Internal Market) to regulate payment services and payment service providers throughout the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). It contains many requirements specifically related to Strong Client Authentication. | Designing MFA for Humans |
| Schedule | A document that defines the activity and resources required to achieve the planned deliverable(s) and outcome(s) | Intro to Project Management |
| Self-sovereign Identity | A term that describes a digital movement that is founded on the principle that an individual should own and control their identity without the intervening administrative authorities. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| Server Account | An account with privileged access rights to a server’s operation typically used for configuration purposes. | Non-Human Account Management |
| Service Account | An account used by a computer application to access other applications or services for a specific purpose. | Non-Human Account Management |
| Social Engineering | Social engineering is a method of manipulating people so they give up confidential information, such as passwords or bank information, or grant access to their computer to secretly install malicious software. | Designing MFA for Humans |
| Special Category Data (SCD) | Categories of data that are regarded as particularly sensitive, so subject to additional regulation. Defined in Article 9(1) of the GDPR as “personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation”; Article 10’s “personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences” requires similar treatment, so is normally considered as another category of SCD. | An Introduction to the GDPR |
| Step-Up Authentication | A method to increase the level of assurance (or confidence) the system has regarding a user’s authentication by issuing one or more additional authentication challenges, usually using factors different from the one(s) used to establish the initial authenticated session. The need for increasing the level of assurance is typically driven by the risk associated with the sensitive resource the user is attempting to access. | Designing MFA for Humans |
| System Account | A generic term for a privileged account that has extensive permissions to system-level functions, typically used to install new applications, perform system updates, or make configuration changes. | Non-Human Account Management |
| Task | Lowest level of defined activity; multiple tasks will typically be grouped into stages of project phases | Intro to Project Management |
| Threat Modeling | Threat modeling is an analysis technique used to help identify threats, attacks, vulnerabilities, and countermeasures that could impact an application or process. | Designing MFA for Humans |
| Tort Law | The body of law that covers situations where one person’s behavior causes injury, suffering, unfair loss, or harm to another person, giving the injured person (or the person suffering damages) a right to bring a civil lawsuit for compensation from the person who caused the injury. Examples include battery, fraud, defamation, negligence, and strict liability. | Laws Governing Identity Systems |
| Trust Federation | a trust framework between multiple entities with the purpose of leveraging identity and access management information in a controlled fashion | Introduction to Identity – Part 2: Access Control |
| Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) | A specific case of Multi-Factor Authentication (see: IDPro’s Consolidated Terminology ) where two factors must be checked to validate a user’s identity. | Designing MFA for Humans |
| Universal Resolver | An identifier resolver that works with any decentralized identifier system through DID drivers. The purpose of a universal resolver is to return a DID document containing DID metadata when given a specific DID value. This capability is very useful because DIDs can be anchored on any number of disparate dPKI implementations. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| Username | a common term used for an external identifier | Identifiers and Usernames |
| Verifiable Credentials | Attestations that an issuer makes about a subject. Verifiable credentials are digitally signed by the issuer. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| Verifiable Presentations | The packaging of verifiable credentials, self-issued attestations, or other such artifacts that are then presented to verifiers for verification. Verifiable presentations are digitally signed by the holder and can encapsulate all the information that a verifier is requesting in a single package. This is also the place where holders can describe the specific terms of use under which the presentation is performed. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| Verifier | The entity that verifies verifiable credentials so that it can provide services to a holder. | A Peek into the Future of Decentralized Identity |
| Zero Trust | From NIST Draft Special Publication 800-207, “Zero trust assumes there is no implicit trust granted to assets or user accounts based solely on their physical or network location (i.e., local area networks versus the internet)” | Introduction to Identity – Part 2: Access Control |