What function does AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) serve?

AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is essential for managing access to AWS services and resources securely. Its primary function is to control who can access what within your AWS environment, allowing you to create and manage AWS users, groups, roles, and permissions. With IAM, you can define specific permissions for each user or service, ensuring that only authorized individuals or applications can perform tasks on designated resources.

This access control mechanism is vital for maintaining the security of your AWS infrastructure. By implementing IAM, companies can enforce least privilege access, where users receive only the permissions necessary for their overall tasks, reducing the risk of unintended actions or security breaches.

The other options relate to different functions: data processing pertains to analyzing and transforming data; a file storage system refers to services like Amazon S3 for storing data; and a content delivery network (CDN) focuses on distributing content across various locations to enhance delivery speed. None of these functions align with the core purpose of IAM, which is explicitly about access control and security management.