As an organization grows, it faces both internal and external pressures to manage user access. Access management is a process that involves defining user roles and responsibilities, assigning permissions based on those roles, implementing controls around how people use those permissions, and monitoring compliance with the security policy.
Know your roles and permissions
There are many ways to manage access, but the most effective way is to know your roles and permissions.
- Know what roles are in use. As a general rule of thumb, you should try to keep your active users at around 10% of all total users on your network. If this is not possible for some reason (for example, if you’re implementing new software that requires more access), then there will be no harm done if it goes over 10%. However, it might be wise for IT and other administrators who have control over all user accounts. Like system administrators or help desk personnel to review their permissions periodically. So that they don’t accidentally grant access to unauthorized people via an automated process or policy configuration error.
- Get a complete list of roles and permissions from each user account holder by running these commands from an elevated command prompt.
Leverage Federated SSO
Federated SSO is a method of authentication that leverages an external identity provider or directory service.
A user can access the same resources as another user by using their personal credentials. But they are also able to log in with their corporate credentials. This allows users to access shared resources without needing to know each other’s usernames or passwords.
Federated SSO works by creating two separate identities: one for each user and one for your company (or organization). When you want someone who has been granted access through their personal account to gain access through their company account, all you have to do is provide them with the appropriate password (which will be stored in memory) so that it matches up with its counterpart on the back end system where all this magic happens!
Gain visibility into your IAM environment
The first step in gaining visibility into your IAM (Identity and Access Management) environment is to understand what it is, and how you can monitor it.
- An identity is a person or thing that has an account on the system (e.g., user or device).
- An access policy defines who has permission to use what resources within your organization’s IT infrastructure, such as a network or cloud service. All users need access rights for their own job functions. However, a few will also be able to perform tasks beyond those jobs’ capabilities (e.g., provisioning new devices). Access policies help ensure that people don’t have access without proper documentation demonstrating why they need it—and by whom!
- A role represents an individual’s capability in performing certain actions within an application or service (e.g., creating documents). Roles define permissions associated with specific activities. This means when someone logs in as “Accounts Administrator,” they’ll have different levels of control over different types of data than if they were logged into “User Accountant.”
Enable and enforce MFA
MFA (Multi- Factor Authentication) is a key control in the access management process. It helps protect against breaches, attacks and unauthorized access.
MFA is easy to implement. But you need to have the right tools and processes in place before you can get started:
- Have an infrastructure that supports multiple technologies (e.g., LDAP or Active Directory) for user authentication. This will allow your users to be authenticated across platforms on which they need access rights
- Ensure that there are sufficient controls in place so that only authorized employees can sign into applications or websites using their credentials
Define and deploy access controls
- Define and deploy access control requirements.
- Deploy access control mechanisms, including physical and logical controls, to support the defined requirements.
- Manage the design and operation of your access control mechanism(s).
- Monitor the effectiveness of your access control mechanisms for compliance with regulations, policies and procedures in place at all times (e.g., PCI DSS).
Implement policies and procedures
Policies and procedures are a critical part of an organization’s overall access management strategy. They define the rules that govern how users can access data. Also, they ensure that those rules are followed consistently.
- Make sure they are up to date: It is important to keep your policies and procedures up-to-date with recent changes in technology or regulations. You may have created some new policies or procedures when you implemented the solution. But it is also possible that other stakeholders have been working on their own versions of these documents without getting them reviewed by all parties involved in the process. If there are conflicting versions floating around out there, don’t panic. Just make sure everyone gets together and comes up with one single version of what needs changing before moving forward with any changes being made elsewhere within your organization (or even externally). This ensures that everyone understands exactly what’s happening at each stage along the way before moving forward with any type of work related activity such as changing passwords or adding more privileges—which could lead us down a rabbit hole we don’t want our organization to go down!
Manage identities throughout the lifecycle
Identities should be managed throughout the lifecycle. Identities are not just for authentication purposes. They also serve as a way to track the lifecycle of an individual object, from creation to use and disposal. In addition to tracking identity changes, you can use this information for auditing purposes and preventative maintenance activities like backups or security updates.
Encourage secure behaviours
Encourage secure behaviours. The best way to improve your access management program is through training and awareness. Training users on how to use the appropriate tools and techniques for accessing data can help them avoid mistakes that could lead to security breaches. It also gives them a sense of ownership over their own security. This makes it easier for them not only to understand but also take action when necessary.
Keep up to date on regulatory requirements
One of the next steps to managing access to your system is keeping up-to-date with regulatory requirements and best practices. For example, if you’re running a financial institution and want to ensure that sensitive information is protected from being accessed by unauthorized users. It’s important for you to know what rules govern how this information can be used or shared. This can help you make sure that your employees aren’t violating any laws or regulations when accessing sensitive data on their computers. It also gives them an idea of what might happen if they do accidentally violate those rules (like losing their job).
Another way these types of policies affect IT departments is through liability insurance coverage. Some companies have policies requiring them to purchase additional coverage beyond what they already have in place because they’re dealing with so much money every day. Others may require new policies altogether due primarily due concerns over liability issues related specifically around employee behaviour outside work hours but also during office hours too (which means sometimes even during lunch break).
Test, measure, refine, and repeat
Testing and measuring are two of the most important things you can do to ensure that your access management process is working as intended. There is a lot of talk about testing in tech companies, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. How do you test for success? How much time should be allocated for each phase of the process? What kind of data can be used for this type of analysis?
Access management is an evolving process that requires continuous monitoring and improvement
Access management is a process, not a discrete event. It requires continuous monitoring and improvement. As you plan your access management strategy, keep in mind that it will be an evolving process:
- Access to information can change over time as technology evolves and new methods of accessing data become available.
- The way people use your organization’s systems will also evolve over time. New technologies are developed that allow users to accomplish tasks more easily than before. While older systems may become obsolete or inefficient at doing their jobs well in the first place. Thus fall out of favour with users (or even get discontinued).
Conclusion
We’ve covered a lot of ground in this article. Hopefully you now have a better idea of the best practices of access management. At the end of the day, many organizations struggle with access management because they don’t understand its importance or get enough value from their efforts. It’s important to remember that this is a long-term process—don’t expect quick results! You can take as long as necessary to get it right. But also keep in mind that these processes will only be effective if they are continually improved upon over time.
