Most organisations today operate in a hybrid, multi-application environment. This also means that sensitive information and users who access this information are spread across applications. When this is the case, a crucial aspect of cybersecurity is managing access to those various applications. To tackle this challenge effectively, many organisations have turned to implement cross-application access certifications.

Quistor and Pathlock collaborate together to provide comprehensive security and compliance solutions, understanding these challenges and offering robust solutions to address them. This partnership leverages Quistor’s expertise in managing complex IT environments and Pathlock’s advanced access governance capabilities to offer clients a seamless and secure operational experience.

In this post, we will delve into what cross-application certifications are and why they are an essential part of any organisation’s security and compliance efforts.

It’s a fact that most organisations use tens or even hundreds of applications to complete their business processes. The challenge is that every application vendor has developed their security schema to meet the needs of their applications, limiting the visibility of potential risks across applications.

This is why cross-application access certifications serve several critical purposes that contribute to an organisation’s security, compliance, and operational efficiency. Having cross-app visibility enables security and compliance teams to gain a complete view of every single access a user possesses across applications down to the entitlement level.

This shifts the perspective from being application-centric to more user-centric. The result is greater insight into user roles, role usage, role conflicts, and cross-app access risks that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

Cross-application access certifications are fundamental to application Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) systems. They provide a structured and systematic approach to ensuring that employees, contractors, and other users have the appropriate levels of access to the various applications and systems they need to perform their job roles effectively.

Security is paramount in today’s interconnected world. Access certifications play a pivotal role in bolstering an organisation’s security posture by:

• Preventing Unauthorised Access: Regular reviews ensure that only authorised personnel can access sensitive data and systems, reducing the risk of unauthorised access and potential data breaches.
• Detecting Anomalies: Access certifications can help detect suspicious changes or access patterns that may indicate security threats by comparing current access rights with baseline access levels.
• Mitigating Insider Threats: Access certifications enable organisations to monitor and manage the access of employees and contractors, helping to minimise insider threats and potential data leaks due to separation of duties violations.

Numerous regulatory frameworks, such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX, require organisations to strictly control user access to sensitive data. Access certifications provide an audit trail and documentation that demonstrates compliance with these regulations.

Traditionally, organisations have to collect evidence and audit access on an application-by-application basis, dramatically increasing workloads and the potential for human error. Failing to meet compliance requirements can result in hefty fines and legal consequences. Cross-application certifications, while providing a comprehensive view of risk, also simplify audits by enabling multi-application certifications and deeper insights into user access.

Access certifications not only enhance security and compliance but also contribute to operational efficiency. Here’s how:

• Streamlined Onboarding and Offboarding: When employees join or leave an organisation, access certifications ensure that access rights are updated promptly, reducing the risk of former employees retaining access to sensitive information.
• Reduced IT Overhead: Automating access certification processes can significantly reduce the burden on IT departments, allowing them to focus on more strategic tasks.
• Clear Accountability: Access certifications assign clear ownership of access rights to specific individuals or roles, promoting accountability within the organisation.

Data breaches and security incidents can be costly, both in terms of financial losses and damage to an organisation’s reputation. Access certifications help mitigate these risks, potentially saving significant costs associated with security incidents, legal battles, and compliance fines.

Cross-application Certifications, a module that is part of Pathlock’s Application Access Governance product, offers a comprehensive solution to the complex challenge of access management. The module automates the process of reviewing application access, which is often a long, labour-intensive process prone to human error. It manages the entire review process, enables reviewers to make informed decisions on whether to confirm or revoke access, and provides the audit trail to prove recertifications have taken place.

With customisable, automated workflows, you can eliminate spreadsheets, buried emails, and chasing down absent-minded reviewers, significantly reducing the time, effort, and cost of running recertification campaigns. Additionally, its cross-application capability makes it easy for reviewers to get a full view of access usage while allowing campaign managers to run multi-application campaigns simultaneously.

Pathlock is a leader in identity and access risk governance and controls automation. Trusted by over 1,400 customers globally, their comprehensive suite of products protect the leading ERP systems, enterprise business applications, and the critical transactions they power. Their application governance solutions help companies enforce GRC controls and take action to prevent loss with complete audit coverage for IT, business, and audit teams. With Pathlock, enterprises can manage all aspects of application governance in a single platform, including user provisioning and temporary elevation, ongoing user access reviews, control testing, transaction monitoring, and audit preparation.