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What is Access Certification?

What is Access Certification?

In the process of Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), an organization may employ an independent auditor to verify that users of its IT infrastructure only have access to the data, resources, and applications necessary for the performance of their specific roles. This verification process is known as Access Certification.

Why Access Certification is Important in IGA

Access Certification is essential for developing an IGA process capable of supporting optimized overall organization-wide cybersecurity. In traditional IGA systems, organizations had to perform inefficient manual reviews of the access privileges of employees, contractors, and other users of its IT infrastructure across many systems and applications. Today, users must access IT resources in both on-premises and cloud-hosted environments. In many instances, manual reviews of user access privileges are no longer just inefficient, they do not support the objectives of IGA. Access Certification in a SaaS-based IGA solution streamlines and simplifies how organizations review different employees’ user access privileges and helps them meet new audit challenges.

Access Certification in SaaS-based Modern IGA Solutions

To carry out Access Certification, an auditor must be able to verify appropriate user access rights and ensure ongoing security and compliance using a simple and efficient process that does not create unnecessary burden on the business, such as an Access Certification campaign.

What is an Access Certification Campaign?

Access Certification campaigns, also known as reviews, attestations, or re-certifications enable auditors to periodically validate information held in the IGA system. Modern IGA solutions offer both out-of-the-box certification campaigns and customizable options that enable administrators to define their own processes.

How an Access Certification Campaign Works in a Modern IGA system

An administrator defines the purpose of the campaign. This definition should include what specific data is to be certified, who should certify it, when the campaign should begin and end, and how often it should run in the IGA system. A modern IGA system provides administrators with an interface enabling them to easily set up the campaign, test it, make any necessary modifications, and launch the survey.

The administrator also assigns campaigns to relevant managers or system owners in the organization, monitors progress, and generates reports for stakeholders. The administrator articulates next steps when responses are submitted or when answers are not given and the notifications and reminders that should be sent as well as indicating who can monitor and manage the campaign.

The administrative technical process flow is:

  1. Determine the certification campaign parameters.
  2. Create the certification campaign
  3. Test and modify the certification campaign as necessary
  4. Run the campaign

Benefits of Access Certification

The Access Certification process helps organizations reduce the risk of costly data breaches and ensures the safety of sensitive data and resources.

By verifying that each employee has the proper authorization required to access what they need to carry out their role, Access Certification plays an essential part in improving organizational security by helping detect insider threats, prevent unauthorized access, and support a mature Zero-Trust Security Model.

Access Certification Solutions

A SaaS-based modern IGA solution like Omada Identity Cloud facilitates Access Certification by enabling the automation of data gathering and streamlining reviews to reduce errors and increase efficiency.  Omada Identity Cloud offers centralized dashboards for enhanced visibility and provides features that simplify ongoing certification efforts across the organization. Omada also enables efficient approval workflows and maintains detailed audit trails to ensure comprehensive documentation.

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