IAM — Identity and Access Management
Definition: The system that controls who is who and what they can touch. The first thing auditors ask for and the first thing attackers attack — get it wrong once and the cleanup is measured in quarters.
Example
A six-week IAM cleanup removed 1,400 stale permissions — and closed the audit finding that was blocking the enterprise deal.
When you'll hear it
IAM shows up most often in engineering planning, architecture reviews, and sprint retrospectives. When someone uses it, they're usually referring to identity and access management — and they expect the room to already know what that means.
FAQs
What does IAM stand for?
IAM stands for Identity and Access Management.
What does IAM mean in technology and engineering?
The system that controls who is who and what they can touch. The first thing auditors ask for and the first thing attackers attack — get it wrong once and the cleanup is measured in quarters.
Where will I hear IAM used at work?
IAM comes up most often in engineering planning, architecture reviews, and sprint retrospectives. It's used as shorthand for identity and access management, so people assume you already know the term.