Use Case
Maintaining strict adherence to access management protocols is essential in many organizations, especially those in regulated industries or with strict security policies. The administration of user groups or entitlements within identity and access management (IAM) systems is one particular compliance need that has surfaced.
In the context of an organization’s IT ecosystem, an entitlement usually refers to a specific authorization or collection of permissions that allow a user to access certain resources or activities. These could involve having access to particular features of those systems, data, applications, or systems themselves. In contrast, a user group is a set of users who have comparable access rights, which makes permission management easier.
The compliance requirement dictates that whenever a new entitlement or group is added to the IAM tool, Identity Security Cloud in this case, an email notification must be sent to the security officer. This process serves several important purposes:
Enhanced Security Oversight
Organizations can make sure that access permissions are regularly checked by informing the security officer of any new groups or entitlements. Preventing unwanted access and possible data breaches requires this supervision. The new entitlements’ specifics can be examined by the security officer to see if they comply with the organization’s security guidelines.
Trail of Audit
These notifications must be sent out in order to generate an audit trail, which is necessary for legal and regulatory requirements. Organizations must show that they have efficient procedures in place to manage access permissions in the case of an audit. The email notifications provide a record of the modifications that were made and properly communicated.
Risk Management
If new rights or groups are not properly controlled, risks may be introduced. The new permissions may create security hazards, especially if they give access to sensitive data or vital systems, which the security officer can evaluate. Timely corrective action is made possible by early discovery of potential difficulties.
Collaboration and Accountability
Teams in charge of security and access management are encouraged to work together by this requirement. Organizations provide responsibility for access rights monitoring and evaluation by making sure the security officer is informed of any changes. This cooperation may result in security procedures and policies that are more successful.
Regulatory Compliance
Strict access control measures are required by legislation that governs many industries. Organizations can show their dedication to regulatory compliance by meeting this condition, thereby avoiding potential legal and financial repercussions.
Workflow Overview
This workflow automates the process of monitoring new entitlements in Identity Security Cloud by emailing the security officer the details of newly aggregated entitlements.
TestPCheck20240926.json (3.8 KB)
Workflow Steps
Scheduled Trigger: The workflow is initiated by a scheduled trigger, which activates the process at a specific time each day.
HTTP Action Invocation: Once triggered, the workflow invokes an HTTP action. This action sends a request to a Search API, which retrieves information about any new entitlements that have been created since the last check.
API Response Validation: The workflow then checks the HTTP response status of the API call. If the response is a status code of 200 (indicating that the request was successful), the workflow proceeds to the next step.
Counting Entitlements: Upon receiving a successful response, the workflow counts the total number of new entitlements returned by the API. This information is essential for tracking access permissions within the organization.
Email Notification: The workflow includes a loop step that sends an email notification to the security officer. This email contains details about the new entitlements, including their names and the sources from which they were aggregated. This ensures that the security officer is kept informed about changes to access permissions.
Completion of Workflow: Once all new entitlements have been processed and the email notifications sent, the workflow concludes. This marks the end of the automated monitoring process for that day.
Limitation
When a new source is onboarded, it may require adding more than 100 entitlements (permissions or access rights). If this happens, the workflow will not be able to accommodate all the entitlements because it will stop running after reaching its iteration limit of 100. This limitation could create issues if the number of entitlements exceeds what the loop can handle. Essentially, the workflow would need to be adjusted to manage larger batches of entitlements effectively.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this workflow enables a crucial element of efficient access management: the ability for enterprises to notify the security officer via email each time new groups or entitlements are introduced to ISC. It supports regulatory compliance, improves security control, offers an audit trail, aids in risk management, and promotes teamwork. Organizations can better safeguard their sensitive data and keep their IT environment safe by putting such procedures into place.