Setting up identity and access management (IAM) to control access to your Jira resources

Identity and access management (IAM) refers to the process of controlling access to resources, such as servers, applications, and data, based on the identity of users. In this technical reference guide, we will walk through the process of setting up IAM to control access to your Jira resources.

Prerequisites

Before setting up IAM for your Jira resources, you will need to have the following:

1. A Jira instance that you have access to as an administrator.
2. Access to the Atlassian Cloud IAM service, if you are using Jira in the cloud. If you are using Jira on-premises, you will need to have a local IAM system in place.

Step 1: Create user accounts

The first step in setting up IAM for your Jira resources is to create user accounts for each individual who needs access to your Jira instance. You can do this by following these steps:

1. In the Jira administration console, go to the "User management" section.
2. Click the "Add user" button.
3. Enter the necessary information for the new user, including their name, email address, and password.
4. Click "Create" to create the user account.

Repeat this process for each user who needs access to your Jira instance.

Step 2: Assign permissions to user accounts

Once you have created user accounts for each individual who needs access to your Jira instance, you will need to assign permissions to these accounts. This will determine what actions each user is allowed to perform within Jira.

You can assign permissions to user accounts by following these steps:

1. In the Jira administration console, go to the "User management" section.
2. Click on the name of the user whose permissions you want to modify.
3. In the "Permissions" tab, select the appropriate permissions for the user.
4. Click "Save" to apply the changes.

Step 3: Create groups and assign permissions to groups

In addition to assigning permissions to individual user accounts, you can also create groups and assign permissions to these groups. This can be a more efficient way to manage permissions, as you can assign the same set of permissions to multiple users at once by adding them to the same group.

To create a group and assign permissions to it, follow these steps:

1. In the Jira administration console, go to the "User management" section.
2. Click the "Add group" button.
3. Enter a name for the new group, and click "Create."
4. Select the group in the list of groups, and click the "Edit" button.
5. In the "Permissions" tab, select the appropriate permissions for the group.
6. Click "Save" to apply the changes.

Step 4: Set up two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an additional layer of security that requires users to provide two pieces of evidence (also known as "factors") to verify their identity before they can access a resource. This can help to prevent unauthorized access to your Jira instance.

To set up 2FA for your Jira instance, follow these steps:

1. In the Jira administration console, go to the "Security" section.
2. Click the "Two-step verification" tab.
3. Click the "Configure" button.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up 2FA for your Jira instance.

Step 5: Review and monitor access

It is important to regularly review and monitor access to your Jira resources to ensure that only authorized users have access to the resources they need. You can do this by following these steps:

1. In the Jira administration console, go to the "User management" section.
2. Review the list of user accounts and groups, and verify that each user and group has the appropriate permissions.
3. Monitor the "Audit log" for any suspicious activity or unauthorized access attempts.
4. Regularly update user accounts and group permissions as needed to ensure that access is up to date.

By following these steps, you can set up and maintain a secure identity and access management system for your Jira resources. This will help to ensure that only authorized users have access to the resources they need, and will help to prevent unauthorized access to your Jira instance.