In transitioning to an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model, what should an organization's security officer implement to secure deployed applications and data?

In transitioning to an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model, implementing user identity management and access controls is essential for securing deployed applications and data. IaaS providers offer flexibility and scalability, but this also means that organizations have to take on more responsibility for security, especially regarding their applications and data hosted in the cloud.

User identity management ensures that only authorized personnel have access to specific resources and applications. This includes setting up roles, permissions, and policies that dictate who can access what within the cloud environment. By managing identities effectively, organizations can mitigate risks associated with unauthorized access and potential data breaches. Access controls complement this by enforcing the principle of least privilege, ensuring that users have the minimum access rights needed to perform their jobs, further protecting sensitive data and applications.

While data encryption, firewall rules, and physical security measures are all important components of a broader security strategy, they do not address the specific challenges posed by an IaaS model as directly as user identity management and access controls do. Encrypting data and setting firewall rules are beneficial, but without robust identity management, unauthorized users might still gain access to sensitive data. Similarly, physical security measures pertain more to on-premises environments than cloud-based solutions. Thus, the focus on