A user access review (UAR) is a recurring security and compliance review process for verifying that users possess the appropriate access authorities to applications, systems, and data. UARs are a key focus for Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) implementations. They are also mandated for compliance with many regulatory standards including GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and SOX.
This blog discusses the different user access reviews that can be performed, the differences between manual and automated UARs, and best practices for performing user access reviews.
Different types of user access reviews are performed for different purposes. As shown in Figure 1, common user access review types include:
User access reviews are generally performed by two different groups:
UARs and associated user provisioning changes can be performed manually, or they can be automated inside an Identity and Access Management (IAM) solution such as Seasoft Identity. UARs use documentation from Identity Management systems (logs, alerts, notifications, etc.) to detect and correct user access anomalies and excessive authorities that can lead to security and auditing risks.
User access reviews can also create compliance documentation including audit logs, user & permission reports, access matrices, and customized reports.
Figure 1: Common User Access Review Types
Manual user access reviews are prone to errors and omissions. Manual reviews can be a tedious and time-consuming process, requiring days of work to correlate, correct, verify, and document user access over multiple systems.
Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions such as Seasoft Ide automate the user access review process. IAM solutions are integrated with enterprise and SaaS applications, allowing them to query, update, validate, and document user access capabilities.
The first critical user access review best practice is to perform automated user access reviews using an IAM solution adhering to Identity Governance and Administrative standards.
To enhance security and achieve compliance, use IAM solutions that incorporate these best practices and capabilities for user access reviews. These practices pre-validate and confirm correct user access provisioning and drive the processes for periodic, event-driven, and continuous reviews.
Contact Seasoft Identity for more information on using innovative tools like Seasoft Identity to modernize your user access reviews. Seasoft Identity's Identity Access Management experts can perform an organization-specific assessment to help modernize your IAM user access provisioning and your identity governance compliance and reporting.
A user access review (UAR) is a recurring process for verifying that users have the appropriate access to applications, systems, and data. UARs help organizations identify and correct excessive, outdated, unauthorized, or inappropriate access while providing documentation for security and compliance requirements.
User access reviews help organizations reduce unauthorized access, identify excessive permissions, maintain appropriate access as roles change, and demonstrate compliance. They also provide an audit trail showing who reviewed access, what changes were made, and when those changes occurred.
The frequency of user access reviews depends on an organization’s security policies, regulatory requirements, risk level, and the systems being reviewed. Periodic reviews may be performed quarterly, semiannually, or annually, while event-driven and continuous reviews can occur whenever access changes or a security event requires additional validation.
The most common types of user access reviews are periodic reviews, event-driven reviews, continuous reviews, manager access reviews, and resource owner reviews. Each type serves a different purpose, from scheduled compliance validation to reviewing access after a role change or security event.
A periodic user access review is a scheduled review in which designated reviewers validate users’ current access to applications, systems, and data. Periodic reviews are commonly used to support security policies, identity governance processes, and compliance requirements.
An event-driven user access review is performed after an event that could affect a user’s access. Common triggers include role changes, employee termination, mergers and acquisitions, security incidents, and suspected unauthorized access.
A continuous user access review uses ongoing monitoring to identify changes or anomalies in user access as they occur. Continuous reviews can help detect access drift, excessive permissions, orphaned accounts, and policy violations before they become larger security or compliance issues.
User access reviews can be performed by managers, application or resource owners, security and IT teams, or other designated reviewers. Managers typically review access for their direct reports, while resource owners review access to the applications, systems, or data they are responsible for.
A user access review is the broader process of evaluating whether users have appropriate access. Access certification is the formal confirmation by an authorized reviewer that specific access should be retained, changed, or revoked. In practice, access certification is often a key step within a user access review process.
Access provisioning is the process of granting users access to applications, systems, or data. A user access review verifies that the access users already have remains appropriate. The two processes work together: a review can identify access that needs to be added, changed, or removed, while automated provisioning can implement those changes.
Manual user access reviews typically require people to collect access information from multiple systems, compare permissions, make decisions, and document the results. Automated user access reviews use an IAM or identity governance solution to collect access data, route reviews, identify anomalies, apply approved changes, and maintain audit records.
An IAM solution can connect to applications and directories to collect current access information, identify access anomalies, route reviews to the appropriate managers or resource owners, automate approved access changes, and maintain audit logs and compliance reports. Automation reduces the manual effort required to review access across multiple systems.
A user access review should include the user’s identity, applications and systems they can access, permissions or roles assigned to them, the reviewer responsible for validating that access, the review decision, any remediation performed, and an audit trail documenting the process.
Key user access review best practices include using role-based access control, automating provisioning and deprovisioning, reviewing access by both user and application, continuously monitoring for access changes and anomalies, maintaining comprehensive audit logs, and automating compliance reporting and evidence collection.
User access reviews support compliance by helping organizations demonstrate that access to systems and data is appropriate, reviewed, and documented. Review records, access reports, audit logs, and evidence of remediation can help organizations demonstrate adherence to applicable security and regulatory requirements.
Access drift occurs when a user’s access gradually becomes inconsistent with their current role, responsibilities, or access policies. It can happen when users change roles, accumulate permissions over time, or retain access that is no longer required. Continuous monitoring and regular user access reviews can help identify and correct access drift.
Automating user access reviews can reduce manual effort, improve review accuracy, accelerate remediation, provide more consistent access decisions, and create audit-ready documentation. Automation also makes it easier to monitor access continuously rather than relying solely on periodic reviews.
Seasoft Identity helps organizations automate user access reviews by connecting with enterprise and SaaS applications to provide visibility into user access, support access validation and changes, monitor for access anomalies, and maintain audit and compliance reporting. Seasoft Identity can support periodic, event-driven, and continuous approaches to access governance.