How are identity-based access policies defined in Vault?

In HashiCorp Vault, identity-based access policies are primarily defined through the use of identities and groups. This approach allows for a more granular and flexible management of access controls based on the identities of users and the groups to which they belong. By leveraging identities, Vault can associate specific policies that dictate what actions users can perform and what resources they can access within the Vault environment.

The concept of using identities ensures that policies can be applied consistently across users who share similar characteristics or job functions, enhancing security and simplifying administration. Furthermore, by grouping identities together, administrators can manage permissions more efficiently, as changes can be applied at the group level rather than needing to adjust individual user permissions.

The focus on identities and groups reflects the modern approach to access management, where roles change and evolve, but the underlying identity and its grouping often remain constant. This significantly improves the scalability and manageability of access control within Vault, allowing organizations to implement least privilege principles effectively.

While roles and permissions are certainly elements of access control within Vault, they are not the primary structure for defining identity-based policies, which specifically hinge on identities and group memberships. Similarly, project assignments do not standardly pertain to the core framework of identity management within Vault. Hence, the emphasis on identities