Back to Blog

User access reviews are (not) hard and (don’t have to) take too much time!

By Finosec

December 15, 2022

Get notified on new insights from Finosec now!

Be the first to know about new Finosec blogs to grow your knowledge of the cybersecurity governance industry today!

Do you believe the full title? Or do you believe the parenthetic comments are a better descriptor? Here’s a simple and universal truth of the human condition: we tend to avoid tasks we think will be hard. Or complicated. Or time consuming. Or all three!

An earlier Finosec blog talked about how in an ideal world, financial institutions should complete user access reviews regularly and frequently. In reality, there appears to be a strong correlation between how difficult user access reviews seem and how often they’re done. It’s true: we find ways to avoid tasks we think will be a challenge or will take a long time.

The highly manual legacy process still in use for user access reviews in some financial institutions will almost always make them less frequent, if only because they take a long time to complete. So, when you dramatically reduce the time it takes for a user access review, they should happen more often, right? Yes, but there is more to it.

The key variable you need to address first is how you validate access to high-risk data at your financial institution. When you do the work to resolve this, you can identify possible process efficiencies as you branch outward from there.

This exercise will determine a baseline for how much time it should take you to complete the review. It will also clarify how manual the process actually is. The degree to which you can reduce the complexity of your user access review process will deliver significant benefits to your organization.

For example, if your process review uncovers the fact your team prints pages and pages of documents they intend to review, highlight, and update later, you have a highly manual process on your hands. Process steps like this add significant time to the review and create a higher probability for mistakes and oversights. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Finosec can show you a systematic way to automatically provide thorough user access documentation and reports. Because of the automation and simplification, it frees up your time to complete these reviews more frequently. This, in turn, increases the cybersecurity strength of your institution.

In this video, FINOSEC CEO Zach Duke talks about the challenges posed by user access reviews. He outlines steps you can take to turn the overall process into a simpler endeavor. If you are struggling with this process, take two minutes to hear what Zach has to say.

More from Finosec

The Critical Link Between Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) and Access Management

The Critical Link Between Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) and Access Management

As highlighted in a recent article from the Federal Reserve, managing third-party relationships and the access associated with those relationships is a critical component of Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM). The associated access third party vendors have to banking systems is known as Access Management and is foundational for mitigating risks associated with third-party relationships. Access Management may be easy to overlook because it does not always reside with the same person or team as TPRM; making it difficult to provide critical oversight.

With increased regulatory focus, how should institutions be thinking of Access Management? Here are five steps your institution can take today to strengthen your third-party governance.

The Critical Foundation of Managing Access to Banking Systems

The Critical Foundation of Managing Access to Banking Systems

Managing access to banking systems has become increasingly complex as financial institutions navigate legacy reporting systems, API access, and cloud solutions. These challenges, along with the risks posed by unmanaged systems, emphasize the need for maintaining a...

Talk To An Expert Now
Talk To An Expert Now 770.268.2765