Every day, people access the information and systems they need to do their jobs, from emails and shared files to cloud platforms and business applications. As your organisation grows and access needs change, it’s important to ask: does everyone still have access to only what they need?
Access Changes as Your Organisation Changes
Businesses are constantly changing. Employees join, move roles or leave, while new systems, suppliers and ways of working are introduced.
As things change, access that was once appropriate may no longer be necessary. If access isn’t reviewed alongside these changes, unnecessary permissions can remain in place.
The Right People, With the Right Access
Good access management isn’t about making people’s jobs more difficult. It’s about making sure people have the access they need, without exposing information or systems unnecessarily.
The important question is: are you confident that access across your organisation still reflects who needs it today?
Managing access effectively is an important part of a structured approach to information security, and one that needs to evolve alongside your organisation.
Administrator Access Deserves Particular Attention
Administrator accounts can provide greater access to important systems and information, making it particularly important to understand who has this access and why they need it.
At Cyber Strategies, access management can form part of a wider ISMS approach, helping organisations maintain clearer oversight of access as their people and requirements change. Our approach also includes an Administrator Privilege Tracker to support visibility of elevated access.
By bringing access into your wider information security approach, an ISMS can help ensure it isn’t treated as a one-off IT task, but as an ongoing part of protecting your organisation.
Don’t Forget Third-Party Access
Employees aren’t the only people who may have access to your systems. External IT providers, contractors and other third parties may also require access to support your business.
As these relationships change, it’s important that access doesn’t simply remain in place unnoticed. The question is simple: who has access, why do they have it, and do they still need it?
Where Does Cyber Essentials Fit?
Access control is also one of the five technical control areas within Cyber Essentials, alongside firewalls, secure configuration, malware protection and patch management. Cyber Strategies' Cyber Essentials guidance describes the standard as being about understanding the systems in use and ensuring configurations have been properly implemented.
This makes access an area where your technical security measures and wider information security management naturally meet.
Cyber Essentials can provide an important technical foundation, while the broader challenge is making sure information security continues to be managed as your organisation changes.
Making Access Part of Everyday Information Security
So far in our series, we've looked at:
What your organisation needs to protect.
What could put it at risk.
Why clear information security policies matter.
And now:
Who should be allowed to access it.
These aren't separate conversations.
An Information Security Management System (ISMS) helps bring different aspects of information security into a structured approach, so important areas aren't simply considered once and forgotten about.
Cyber Strategies' information security offering includes ISMS, Information Privacy and HR policies and documents, including recruitment, induction and leaver considerations.
Take Control of Your Information Security
Access is one piece of a much bigger information security picture. Cyber Strategies can help organisations bring together the policies, processes and security measures needed to create a more structured approach through an Information Security Management System.
Next week: Your People Are Part of Your Cyber Security
Technology can provide important protection, but your employees also have a role to play.
Next week, we'll look specifically at security awareness, employee responsibilities and why your people are an important part of protecting your organisation.
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