Access Review

An access review is a process used by organizations to regularly examine and validate who has access to various systems, data, and applications. The main goal is to ensure that access rights align with the current roles and responsibilities of users. This practice is a crucial part of maintaining strong cybersecurity and complying with various regulatory standards, as it helps identify unnecessary or unauthorized access that could lead to potential security vulnerabilities.

Access reviews typically involve reviewing user accounts, permissions, and roles to confirm that they are up-to-date and necessary. This process may be automated or manual, depending on the scale and complexity of the organization’s IT environment. Conducting regular access reviews can prevent privilege creep, where employees accumulate more access rights than needed over time, thus reducing the risk of insider threats and data breaches. Additionally, access reviews help in compliance with regulations like GDPR, SOX, and HIPAA, which require organizations to prove that they are actively managing user access to sensitive information.