My Skill Lab
CybersecurityIntermediate

Identity and Access Management

SSO, MFA, OAuth/OIDC, least privilege and zero-trust identity.

Taught by Kiran Basnet · Security Engineer

What you'll learn

  • Explain how authentication, authorisation and accounting fit together in a zero-trust identity architecture
  • Query directory services and map users, groups and identity providers across on-premises and cloud
  • Roll out MFA and passkeys, choosing phishing-resistant factors over SMS codes and push approvals
  • Configure SSO with SAML 2.0 and OpenID Connect and validate ID tokens correctly in code
  • Implement the OAuth 2.0 authorisation code flow with PKCE and scope access tokens to least privilege
  • Design RBAC and ABAC policies, privileged access controls and a repeatable access-review process

About this course

Identity is now the real security perimeter: many breaches start with a stolen password, an over-privileged account or a leaver who still has access. This intermediate identity and access management (IAM) course is for developers, IT administrators, security analysts and cloud engineers who want to design and run access control properly. You will learn how directory services such as Active Directory and Microsoft Entra ID work, how single sign-on (SSO) with SAML 2.0 and OpenID Connect fits together, how OAuth 2.0 with PKCE delegates access safely, and how to roll out phishing-resistant MFA with passkeys. You will then model authorisation with RBAC and ABAC, apply least privilege, lock down privileged access with PAM and just-in-time elevation, and automate joiner-mover-leaver processes with SCIM and regular access reviews, all mapped to zero-trust principles. You should be comfortable with basic networking, the command line and reading simple Python.

Course content

7 lessons
  1. 1Identity Is the New PerimeterWhy identity replaced the network edge, the AAA model, and what zero trust really asks of you.Preview
  2. 2Directory Services and Identity ProvidersHow Active Directory, LDAP and cloud identity providers store users, groups and trust relationships.
  3. 3Authentication and Phishing-Resistant MFAPasswords done right, MFA factors compared, and why passkeys and FIDO2 beat SMS codes.
  4. 4Single Sign-On with SAML 2.0 and OpenID ConnectHow SSO federates trust between an identity provider and applications, and how to validate the tokens.
  5. 5OAuth 2.0, PKCE and Delegated AccessHow OAuth 2.0 grants limited access without sharing passwords, and which flows are safe today.
  6. 6Authorisation Models: RBAC, ABAC and Least PrivilegeModel who can do what with roles, attributes and relationships, and express it as policy as code.
  7. 7Privileged Access, Lifecycle and Access ReviewsProtect admin accounts, automate joiner-mover-leaver with SCIM, and run access reviews auditors trust.