What is the Identity Graph?

The Identity Graph is a visualization tool inside Identity Security Cloud. It maps out how identities (both human and machine), roles, access profiles, and entitlements are all connected.

It’s not just there to look nice—it actually helps with important security tasks like:

Blast Radius Visualization: Quickly see what a compromised identity can access across systems.

Access Hierarchy: Understand how permissions are connected, especially when they are nested.

Risk Identification: Spot high-risk access using visual indicators like heatmaps.

Audit Readiness: Easily generate visual or data reports for compliance.

Understanding the Visual Language: To use the Identity Graph properly, you need to understand what everything represents.

1. Nodes (The “What”)

Nodes are the main elements in the graph:

• Identities: These can be users, AI agents, or machine accounts.

• Roles (Green): A collection of access permissions.

• Access Profiles (Pink): Bundled entitlements.

• Assigned Entitlements (Blue): Permissions directly or indirectly given to a user.

• Nested Entitlements (Grey): Permissions inherited through other access paths.

2. Rings (The “Status”)

Rings around nodes give extra information:

• Red Rings: Show a high percentage of privileged or sensitive access.

• Purple Rings: Indicate the node is locked in place.

• Blue Rings: Appear when you interact with a node.

3. Lines (The “How”)

Lines connect nodes and explain how access is granted.

• If you see multiple paths, it means the same access is coming from different sources.

• This is important because it highlights redundant access, which should be cleaned up to maintain least privilege.

Navigating and Interacting

The Identity Graph is fully interactive and easy to explore:

•        Explorer & Search: Save and switch between up to 100 access objects.

•        Filtering & Grouping:

→     Filter based on attributes.

→     Group users by department or country to identify patterns.

•        Layouts:

→     Dynamic (centered view).

→     Top-Down (hierarchical view).

→     Left-Right view.

Snapshots: Capturing Your Investigation

One of the most useful features is the Snapshot.

If you are working on an audit or investigating a security issue, you can save your current graph view:

Private Snapshots: Only visible to you.

Shared Snapshots: Accessible to your team.

You can also export data if needed:

• Full graph as a JSON file

• Filtered data as a CSV file

• Pro Tips for Power Users

• Keep your graph under 5,000 objects for better performance

• Check access granted in the last 30 days to catch unusual activity

• Use Table View if the graph becomes too cluttered

• Final Thoughts

SailPoint Identity Graph isn’t just about visualizing data—it’s about understanding it. It helps you clearly see access relationships, identify risks faster, and make smarter decisions to improve overall security.