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Recertification Overview

Recertification Overview

Recertification is an essential governance and security process that ensures user access rights are regularly reviewed and validated. This ongoing practice helps maintain compliance with corporate policies and regulatory requirements, enhances security by identifying unnecessary or outdated access, and supports operational integrity by preventing inappropriate access combinations.

The EmpowerID platform provides tools designed to simplify and automate the recertification process. By handling complex recertification tasks, EmpowerID enables administrators and auditors to manage access rights effectively, ensuring user permissions accurately reflect their current roles and responsibilities.

Understanding Recertification

Recertification is not merely a periodic audit but a continuous practice aligned with the principle of least privilege. It involves regularly verifying that users possess only the access necessary for their job functions. EmpowerID supports this practice by allowing administrators to define and automate reviews based on clearly established organizational policies.

Key Benefits of Recertification

Recertification enables organizations to:

  • Maintain compliance with regulatory standards and internal policies.

  • Enhance security by identifying and removing unauthorized or redundant access.

  • Support operational integrity by preventing potentially harmful access combinations.

  • Increase efficiency by automating routine access reviews, freeing administrative resources.

Core Components of EmpowerID Recertification

EmpowerID's recertification solution comprises several key components:

Recertification Policies

Recertification policies determine the scope and specifics of access reviews. Administrators create these policies to clearly define the resources and user access subject to regular reviews, ensuring compliance with business and regulatory requirements.

Recertification Audits

Audits implement recertification policies by initiating scheduled or on-demand reviews. The audit process includes configurable business request generation options, allowing administrators to choose between automatic generation or manual approval processes based on organizational governance requirements and system performance considerations. Each audit generates review tasks (Business Request Items) that are assigned to designated approvers for validation once the generation process is complete.

Fulfillment and Rejection Workflows

When auditors make decisions regarding access, EmpowerID triggers corresponding workflows. Approved access is confirmed, while rejected access initiates workflows to revoke or disable permissions. Custom workflows can be configured to match specific organizational needs.

Continuous Group Membership Recertifications

EmpowerID continuously monitors group memberships and generates recertification tasks when memberships exceed specified validity periods. This feature helps maintain accurate and secure group access, which is especially useful in dynamic environments.

Notification and Reporting

Effective communication is crucial during recertification. EmpowerID supports various notification methods:

  • Individual task notifications via the Business Request Notification Engine.

  • Consolidated summaries through Notification Report Subscriptions (Daily Digest).

  • Customizable audit email notifications are triggered manually or automatically by administrators.

Best Practices for Effective Recertification

To optimize recertification:

  • Clearly define the recertification scope to avoid unnecessary reviews.

  • Schedule audits strategically to balance workload and system performance.

  • Configure business request generation settings appropriately for your organization's size and performance requirements, using automatic generation for routine audits and manual approval for large-scale or sensitive reviews.

  • Regularly review approval workflows and update permissions according to organizational changes.

  • Consolidate notifications to reduce email overload and improve user responsiveness.

  • Implement continuous recertification for critical groups or resources to ensure ongoing compliance and security.

By utilizing EmpowerID's recertification capabilities, organizations can effectively manage user access, maintain compliance, improve security, and support operational integrity.