Access Management - User Access Reviews

User Access Reviews (UARs) are one of the most important identity governance controls in any cybersecurity program. They help prevent privilege creep, detect stale or risky accounts, and reduce the effectiveness of any cyberattack. They are also one of the most common controls that have issues in design and execution.

Here’s the 5-step process I recommend to every security team—whether you’re preparing for an external assessment, strengthening your Zero Trust model, or cleaning up recurring IAM issues:

Define the Review Scope Clearly

·       Identify all in-scope systems (critical business apps, infrastructure, cloud services, admin consoles, servers, databases, etc.)

·       Determine which roles, permissions, and privilege levels matter (start with everything above read only

·       Engage application owners early to validate scope and critical access points

Pull Accurate, Complete User Listings

·       Extract a complete population of users + associated roles

·       Ensure the data represents a true point-in-time snapshot

·       Reconcile against HR systems workflows for terminations, leaves, transfers

·       Always retain the query, timestamp, and source of extracted listings. This protects the integrity and traceability of the review.

Validate Access Against Job Responsibilities

·       Confirm each user still needs the access based on least privilege

·       Identify excess, unused, or high-risk entitlements

·       Flag admin rights, privileged roles, or segregation-of-duties conflicts

·       Application/system owners should perform the review with input from the users’ manager

Document Reviewer Decisions & Evidence

·       Approve or remove access with clear reason codes

·       Capture screenshots, logs, or workflow approvals as evidence

·       Track exceptions, escalations, and privileged accounts in a centralized log

Follow up on any vague responses to ensure you know when any revocation requests should have been done. If a user’s access has been inappropriate for a while, you will need to do a risk assessment and transaction-level lookback analysis to ensure nothing was done with the account.

Remediate Quickly and Close the Loop

·       Remove unnecessary or risky access immediately

·       Validate and document removal (before/after screenshots or logs)

·       Record evidence of completion in your IAM or ticketing system

Final Thoughts

Periodic User Access Reviews don’t have to be a painful, manual exercise.

With the right workflow, automation, and clear accountability, UARs become one of the strongest controls in your cybersecurity program—supporting Zero Trust, reducing insider threats, and tightening identity governance across the enterprise.