<img src="https://ws.zoominfo.com/pixel/6169bf9791429100154fc0a2" width="1" height="1" style="display: none;">

Struggling to implement least privilege in your organization? Join StrongDM featuring Forrester for this upcoming webinar. Register now!

Spring Clean Your Access Management

StrongDM manages and audits access to infrastructure.
  • Role-based, attribute-based, & just-in-time access to infrastructure
  • Connect any person or service to any infrastructure, anywhere
  • Logging like you've never seen

It’s that time of year—rain is falling, flowers are blooming. Spring is in the air. As your thoughts turn toward spring cleaning your home (did someone say pressure-washer?), it’s also a good time to spring clean your access management.

The following tools and resources will help you declutter your accounts, improve existing processes, and establish new habits to keep your access clean and tidy all year long.

Organize Your Access Inventory

Over time, infrastructure access can become a labyrinth full of twists and turns and forgotten corners. It’s time to clear away the cobwebs. Begin with a detailed inspection of your current inventory. Have you removed access from all terminated employees? What about former vendors and contractors? 

Consider current employees as well. Do team members who have changed roles need the same access to critical systems? Have you revoked temporary access that is no longer required? When was the last time you aligned roles to access needs?

Additionally, if you’re using a PAM tool, now is a great time for an audit.

Here are some resources to get you organized:

Revitalize Your Processes

After you’ve confirmed that access to systems looks good, it’s time to 

review your existing processes.

Examine your methods for onboarding and offboarding. Consider what’s working well and what could use an upgrade. Gather input from all relevant departments to determine which systems and processes would benefit from simplified access.

Here are some resources to help you clean up your techniques:

Brush Up on the Basics

Innovation is just as important as elbow grease when it comes to spring cleaning. Now is a great time to uncover what’s new in the space and brush up on the basics.

Take some time to review the latest best practices, tools, and information available. You may be surprised by what you discover.

Want to make spring cleaning your access a little lighter next year? StrongDM can help your team establish healthy access habits. Check out Getting Started: Role & Access Discovery to begin spring cleaning your access today.


About the Author

, Contributing Writer and Illustrator, has a passion for helping people bring their ideas to life through web and book illustration, writing, and animation. In recent years, her work has focused on researching the context and differentiation of technical products and relaying that understanding through appealing and vibrant language and images. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley. To contact Maile, visit her on LinkedIn.

StrongDM logo
💙 this post?
Then get all that StrongDM goodness, right in your inbox.

You May Also Like

The Annual Access Audit Survival Guide
The Annual Access Audit Survival Guide
So, you’ve decided to conduct an annual access audit. Now comes the obvious question: where do I start? Just like you wouldn’t embark on a mountain climbing excursion without a clear understanding of the terrain and gear you need, the starting point for an annual access audit requires an understanding of the process, people, and tools you’ll need to get started. Let’s go!
Annual Access Audit: What Is It and How to Conduct It?
Annual Access Audit: What Is It and How to Conduct It?
The great outdoors and your infrastructure have more in common than you might think. Both environments have diverse ecosystems and unique terrain, but they can also feel wild and untamed. In the spirit of adventuring and access, we wrote this blog to help you learn why you should conduct an annual access audit every year.
Vault Sprawl: How To Manage Multiple Secret Vaults
Addressing Vault Sprawl: How To Manage Multiple Secret Vaults
Secret vaults ensure that sensitive and privileged credentials are well protected, rotated, and only used–or checked out–when necessary. This makes them a critical and foundational tool for credential protection in modern infrastructures.
Top 3 Least Privilege Risks (And How to Address Them)
3 Reasons Why Least Privilege Has Failed
The inability to audit, track, and understand how permissions are being used (or if they’re used at all) has been non-existent. Until now. The findings are clear: organizations need visibility into privileged access and its usage to fully understand and address their total attack surface.
AWS Management Console resources
Connect to Even More Resources with StrongDM’s AWS Management Console
We’ve just launched our AWS Management Console, adding yet another supported authentication method to improve control and auditability–so you can protect your business and improve employee productivity.