# ISO/IEC 27701 A.3.23 — Secure authentication

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/a_gen_iso27701_a323_4c19da0dac-isoiec-27701-a323-secure-authentication
- Section: [Solutions](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions) › [ISO/IEC 27701 (Privacy Information Management)](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/c_gen_iso27701) › [Security considerations](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/folders/f_gen_cgeniso27701_securityconsiderations)
- Last updated: 2026-05-30
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

ISO/IEC 27701 · Control A.3.23 · Priority: critical · Component: Security considerations

### What this control covers

Implement secure authentication technologies and procedures per access restrictions. Implementation: Use MFA, strong credential management and authentication policies. Justification: Strong authentication reduces unauthorized access.

### Why it matters

Identity is the new perimeter — most breaches start with a stolen credential or over-privileged account, so this control is one of the single highest-leverage items you can implement.

### How to implement

#### AWS

Use **IAM Identity Center** (formerly AWS SSO) as the single source of truth for human access; back it with your corporate IdP via SAML/SCIM. Avoid IAM users for people — they don't get MFA-by-default, rotation, or session lifetimes. For workloads, use **IAM Roles** (assumed by EC2/Lambda/EKS service accounts via IRSA) and never long-lived access keys. Run [IAM Access Analyzer](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access-analyzer.html) weekly to surface unused access and external-account exposure.

#### Azure

Centralize identity on **Microsoft Entra ID** (formerly Azure AD). Require **Conditional Access** policies: MFA for all admin roles, block legacy auth, location/device gating. Use **Privileged Identity Management (PIM)** to make admin roles just-in-time and time-bound. For Azure resources, prefer **Managed Identities** over service principals with secrets.

#### GCP

Use **Cloud Identity** (or Workspace) as the IdP and **IAM** for resource access. Grant roles at the lowest scope (project > folder > org) using **Workload Identity Federation** for CI/CD and **service accounts** for workloads — never download service-account keys when avoidable. Enable **Policy Intelligence** recommenders to right-size privileges and detect dormant identities.

#### Google Workspace

Enforce **2-Step Verification** (preferably hardware keys for admins) for the entire org, set session length to ≤ 12 hours, and disable less-secure-app access. Use **Context-Aware Access** levels to restrict admin sign-in by IP/device posture. Provision and de-provision users via **SCIM** from your HRIS so leavers lose access on day one.

#### GitHub

Require **SSO + SCIM** from your IdP on the organisation; enforce **2FA** org-wide and use **fine-grained PATs** (or, better, GitHub Apps) instead of classic tokens. Restrict **outside collaborators**, require signed commits on protected branches, and use **OIDC** from Actions to short-lived AWS/GCP/Azure credentials rather than stored secrets.

#### Zoho Mail

Make **two-factor authentication** mandatory for all users (TOTP, OneAuth, or YubiKey) in _Admin Console → Security_. Configure **SAML SSO** against your IdP and disable password-based logins for admins. Use **role-based privileges** (Admin / Spam Moderator / Mail Account Admin) and review the _Login history_ report monthly for anomalies.

### Evidence to collect

-   `identity_scan` — See the iCompaas Evidence library for the canonical source for this evidence type.
-   `policy_document` — A signed, version-controlled policy stating leadership intent and the named owner.

Signed policies, procedures, and registers document the safeguard. IAM analytics confirm RBAC, MFA, and access reviews. Focus: Secure authentication.

### Quick checklist

-   Implement — Secure Authentication
-   Log — Secure Authentication
-   Restrict — Secure Authentication

### Related articles on this site

-   [Ensure multi-factor authentication (MFA) is enabled for all IAM users that have a console password](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000080681-ensure-multi-factor-authentication-mfa-is-enabled-for-all-iam-users-that-have-a-console-password)
-   [Ensure multi-factor authentication (MFA) is enabled for all IAM users that have a console password](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000086108-ensure-multi-factor-authentication-mfa-is-enabled-for-all-iam-users-that-have-a-console-password)
-   [1.10 Ensure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is Enabled for All IAM Users with a Console Password (Automated)](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000233108-1-10-ensure-multi-factor-authentication-mfa-is-enabled-for-all-iam-users-with-a-console-password-a)
-   [1.9 Ensure multi-factor authentication (MFA) is enabled for all IAM users that have a console password (Automated)](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000234178-1-9-ensure-multi-factor-authentication-mfa-is-enabled-for-all-iam-users-that-have-a-console-passwor)