An access review should tell you who can do what, why they need it, and who is accountable for the decision. Keep the review small enough to complete and repeat.
Start with ownership
List the people, service identities, and teams that have access to the environment. Assign an owner who can explain the business purpose of each identity. Flag accounts whose purpose or owner is unclear.
Check the permissions
Compare access with the work that needs to be done. Review broad administrative privileges and permissions that no longer match a person’s responsibilities. Document approved exceptions and when they will be reviewed again.
Review authentication
Check the controls around privileged access, including multifactor authentication. For workloads, prefer temporary credentials where the platform supports them. Review how credentials are issued, rotated, and retired.
Close the loop
Record each decision with an owner and a due date. After changes are made, confirm that necessary work still succeeds and that the unwanted access has been removed. Repeat the review when people or systems change.
A starting checklist.
- Identity inventory and accountable owners
- Business justification for privileged roles
- Unused access and approved exceptions
- MFA and workload credential controls
- Removal decisions and follow-up dates
This guide provides general planning questions. Adapt them to your environment and agreed assessment requirements.