Identity and Access Management for Multiple Accounts, Logins, and Roles

Read full article here: https://www.britive.com/resource/blog/navigating-multiple-identities-logins-roles/?utm_source=nhimg.org

As enterprises increasingly adopt multi-cloud environments, managing identities, logins, and roles across multiple cloud service providers (CSPs) has become a major operational and security challenge. Each CSP comes with its own access controls, permission models, and native management tools. Add on-premises systems, mergers and acquisitions, and complex microservice architectures, and cloud teams face a highly fragmented landscape. Without proper controls, organizations risk over-permissioned accounts, mismanaged credentials, and unmonitored access — all of which increase the likelihood of breaches and operational disruptions.

In a recent Britive webinar, Jason Moore and John Morton highlighted how cloud and security teams can navigate these challenges. The discussion focused on the daily realities of managing cloud identities and how organizations can achieve both security and operational efficiency.

The Core Challenges in Multi-Cloud Identity Management:

1. Complexity Across Multiple CSPs - Cloud teams often juggle different identity frameworks, APIs, and security standards across CSPs such as AWS, Azure, and GCP. With mergers and acquisitions, the complexity grows further, resulting in inconsistent permissioning and fragmented governance.

2. Friction and Security Risks - When identity management processes are cumbersome, teams may take shortcuts, such as storing sensitive production keys locally or sharing credentials across environments. According to Britive’s 2023 State of Privilege and Identity Report, over 40,000 permissions exist across major CSPs, with 50% classified as high-risk — yet less than 1% are truly necessary. Such misalignment creates significant attack surfaces and operational friction.

3. Privilege Sprawl and Overexposure -  Excessive standing privileges or improperly segmented roles can amplify the impact of a breach. Users with unnecessary access increase the blast radius, potentially exposing multiple critical applications through a single compromised account.

Strategies to Reduce Risk and Improve Operational Efficiency

• Segmentation and Blast Radius Reduction - Segmenting applications and access into separate accounts ensures that any security incident remains contained. This strategy minimizes potential damage and protects critical assets from cascading failures.

• Collaboration Between Cloud and Security Teams - Effective identity management requires alignment between cloud engineers and security teams. Miscommunication can lead to overlooked risks or inefficient access processes. Centralized tools can bridge this gap, providing unified visibility and control across CSPs.

• Centralized Cloud PAM Solutions - Tools like Britive’s Cloud PAM platform consolidate identity and access management across multiple CSPs. They enable dynamic, least-privilege access, streamline workflows, enforce Zero Standing Privileges (ZSP), and provide comprehensive auditing — ensuring that sensitive data and production systems remain secure while reducing operational friction.

Critical Questions for Security Teams

• What access bottlenecks do cloud teams experience daily?

• Are teams handling sensitive data securely and consistently?

• Which identity and access tools align best with current workflows?

Conclusion

Managing multiple identities, logins, and roles in modern cloud environments is complex but critical. Organizations must balance operational agility with strict access controls, reduce permission sprawl, and maintain centralized governance. By fostering collaboration between cloud and security teams and adopting modern PAM tools, businesses can protect sensitive assets, reduce friction, and maintain compliance across multi-cloud landscapes.