IAM Compliance - Tips for Staying Ahead of Regulations in 2025

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a security and business discipline that helps the right human users or machines gain access to the assets they require to execute their roles at the right times, for the right reasons. IAM enables organizations to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their systems, applications, and data. IAM plays a foundational role in helping organizations address evolving threat vectors and maintain compliance with the cybersecurity frameworks and laws they must follow, especially in tightly regulated markets such as finance, health care, and government institutions.

What is IAM Compliance?

IAM compliance refers to the process of using IAM tools to gain insight into all identity-related activities in an organization’s IT infrastructure to help understand what happened, when, and why; then establishing a clear audit process for using this knowledge to demonstrate that the organization is keeping sensitive data safe and satisfying regulatory IAM compliance requirements.

Organizations manage compliance requirements for IAM most effectively when they can gain end-to-end oversight of access rights and controls and maintain a constant audit-ready posture. In this post, we’ll provide an overview of the most important frameworks and regulations for which organizations must maintain audit compliance readiness. You’ll learn how IAM and IGA tools provide a governance layer focused on identity lifecycle management and access certification to help IAM professionals improve role-based access controls (RBAC) and support compliance with them. You’ll get tactical insights into how to stay ahead of dynamic regulations and standards and where to get help to ensure the proper resources are in place to protect and maintain trust in your organization and avoid fines and operational disruption.

Key Regulations Impacting IAM Compliance

Specific geographic regions and tightly regulated industries have developed an always-evolving variety of compliance frameworks and laws that organizations must follow. Here are some of the most important ones:

GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive data protection law implemented by the European Union (EU) that has been in effect since 2018. The primary goal of GDPR is to give individuals greater control over their personal data and to standardize data privacy laws across EU member states. Organizations use IAM for GDPR compliance by leveraging its ability to ensure the security and protection of personal data against unlawful or unwanted processing, accidental loss, or damage.

GDPR affects all industries that handle personal data of EU residents, but certain sectors are more significantly impacted due to the volume and sensitivity of the data they process. These include technology and internet services (e.g., Google, Facebook), healthcare, financial services, and retail and e-commerce.

To help an organization ensure and demonstrate compliance, IAM tools must be able to deliver a rapid overview of the actual state of identities and their access across the organization, highlighting access risks and providing audit reports. The IAM solution must also maintain continuous 360-degree visibility of access rights for all identities, including third-party contractors, across all the organization’s IT environments and provide auditable access control that enables confirmation and certification of GDPR compliance. Click here for a more detailed description of the access governance process for GDPR compliance.

DORA

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is a European Union regulation designed to strengthen the digital resilience of financial entities within the EU. It establishes a comprehensive framework for managing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) risks, ensuring that financial institutions can withstand, respond to, and recover from ICT-related disruptions, such as cyberattacks or system failures.

CISOs, compliance officers, risk managers, and other senior decision-makers working in financial entities and third-party suppliers of ICT services must familiarize themselves with the key obligations, practices, and procedures required to comply with DORA’s regulatory framework. These include ensuring they can methodically identify gaps, implement solutions, and drive continuous improvement. Learn more about how to navigate the evolving landscape of digital operational resilience within the EU’s financial sector here.

CMMC 2.0

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification version 2.0 (CMMC 2.0) is a US Department of Defense (DoD) framework designed to ensure that companies in the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) meet specific cybersecurity standards when handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Federal Contract Information (FCI).

For an organization to retain eligibility for being awarded DoD contracts, it must demonstrate compliance with the CMMC 2.0 requirements that ensure the protection of CUI and FCI. To meet the challenges of complying with these requirements, organizations must adopt a streamlined approach to gaining unified oversight across their entire IT environment while strengthening overall cybersecurity posture. Click here to get more insight into how to achieve readiness and maintain a competitive edge in the Defense Industrial Base.

NYCRR 500

23 NYCRR Part 500 (NYCRR 500) is a regulation issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) in 2017 that establishes cybersecurity requirements for financial services companies operating under NYDFS jurisdiction. The goal of NYCRR 500 is to require banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions to implement and maintain robust cybersecurity programs to protect consumers and financial systems from cybersecurity threats.

IAM tools provide features that enable organizations to implement identity governance processes, implement robust access controls, and enforce the Zero Trust principles that drive NYCRR 500 compliance. For more details on developing proactive strategies for DORA and NYCRR 500 compliance, read Cybersecurity and Identity Governance in Financial Institutions.

NIS2 Directive

The NIS2 Directive is an EU legislative framework designed to enhance the cybersecurity and resilience of critical infrastructure and services within EU member states. NIS2 requires organizations to implement comprehensive cybersecurity measures, including access controls, risk management, and incident response mechanisms.

While the principal focus of NIS2 is cybersecurity, it indirectly drives organizations to implement robust IAM practices. To comply with NIS2 and bolster its security posture, organizations operating in the EU must be able to demonstrate that they have policies, procedures, and technologies in place to govern access, control identities, and report on any violations. To learn more about how to navigate this process, read NIS2 Directive Explained: Your Guide to Compliance and Security.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is a US federal law enacted to improve corporate financial transparency and protect investors from fraudulent financial reporting. SOX applies to all publicly traded companies in the US and any international companies listed on US stock exchanges.

Ensuring controlled, monitored, and auditable access to financial systems and data help organizations with the IAM lifecycle and SOX compliance. IAM tools enforce role-based access control (RBAC) mechanisms that ensure users only have access to the systems and data necessary for their job functions. IAM tools also detect Segregation of Duties (SoD) violations, such as a single user being able to both initiate and approve financial transactions. This function is critical for preventing fraud and ensuring internal control integrity.

NIST CSF 2.0

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 (NIST CSF 2.0) is a voluntary framework designed to help organizations manage and reduce cybersecurity risk across all industry sectors. It provides updated guidance on emerging threats, such as cloud security and identity management to reflect the more sophisticated cybersecurity landscape. NIST CSF 2.0 helps organizations protect themselves more effectively against cybercriminals and build a resilient defense to keep up with evolving threats.

PCI DSS

Established in 2004 by major credit card companies, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is an information security standard designed to protect cardholder data and reduce payment card fraud. In the context of IAM, PCI DSS is designed to protect the personally identifiable information and account data of cardholders with strong cryptography during transmission over open, public networks. The standard also calls for implementing strong access control measures that restrict access to system components and cardholder data by business need to know and identify users and authenticate access to system components.

HIPAA

Enacted in 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a US federal law designed to enhance the privacy and security of individuals’ health information. It applies to healthcare providers, health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and their business associates that handle protected health information (PHI).

IAM tools help ensure HIPAA compliance by using identity governance processes to protect individuals’ medical records and other personal health information.

ISO 27001

ISO 27001 is a standard for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It provides organizations with a systematic approach to managing sensitive information, ensuring its confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

IAM tools provide solutions for detecting identity security risks and implementing appropriate controls to mitigate them and establish a future-ready approach through ongoing evaluation and improvement of the ISMS to adapt to changing security threats.

IAM Compliance Support At-a-Glance

Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) provides foundational capabilities—like RBAC, user lifecycle management, access reviews, audit logs, and least privilege enforcement—that help organizations align with and demonstrate compliance across these standards.

Figure 1: How IGA supports compliance with major regulatory standards.

Practical Tips for Staying Ahead of Regulations

Implement IAM Best Practices

Implementing best practices helps organizations avoid pitfalls when working to ensure compliance with standards. To learn more, get the Omada IdentityPROCESS+ Guide: The Best Practice Framework for Successful Identity Governance. This comprehensive guide covers the most crucial processes for a successful deployment, ensuring organizations can leverage proven best practices.

Deploy Future-Ready Solutions

Implement a dynamic, flexible solution that alleviates many of the concerns and regulatory challenges that IAM compliance requires.

Perform Regular Auditing and Compliance Assessments

Regular auditing and assessments ensure consistent, predictable IAM compliance for organizations.

Ensure Organizational Buy-in

It is critical to gain executive support to allocate resources and encourage IAM compliance adoption across teams. Use proven methods of ensuring organizational alignment to make a business case for adopting new IAM tools to achieve regulatory compliance. These should include demonstrating return on investment and how IAM compliance integrates with and supports the wider organizational security infrastructure.

Risks and Penalties for Non-compliance

Non-compliance with binding standards can lead to fines, reputational damage, and operational disruption in an organization. In certain frameworks, it can also result in personal liability for top executives or even legal action from disgruntled customers and/or government bodies.

Conclusion

Virtually all organizations with a digital presence must provide identity security and maintain audit compliance readiness to the satisfaction of industry sector- or geography-specific frameworks and regulations. IAM and IGA tools provide critical support for compliance with these standards. Using established best practices to stay ahead of dynamic regulations and standards ensure the correct solutions are in place to protect identities, maintain trust in your organization, and avoid significant sanctions.