In the world of Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), it's easy to point fingers when things go wrong. Managers often blame their teams for inefficiencies, but let's be honest—the root cause usually lies elsewhere. Let’s dive into why your Identity Governance processes might be failing and how to fix them effectively.
The Real Culprits Behind IGA Failures
One of the biggest culprits behind Identity Governance failures is outdated processes. Imagine starting your day overwhelmed by hundreds of tasks, leaving little time for strategic work. These legacy processes often fall short, failing to provide necessary data for auditors and covering only part of the required systems, leaving it to your team to fill in the gaps.
Picture the frustration of juggling multiple technologies with their own quirks and manual steps, creating a patchwork of incomplete coverage, with the universal “excel spreadsheet of doom” trying to overcome the individual flaws in each system. Tasks like updating access controls and reviewing user permissions become tedious, forcing one person to handle too many steps, increasing error risks, and delaying critical actions.
These kinds of processes can’t keep up with modern security demands, leading to constant firefighting. You and your team can’t do their real job of protecting your company from bad actors.
Another issue is the lack of proper training. Even the best team can’t perform well without proper training. If your team isn’t up-to-date on your current IGA process and best practices, their efficiency takes a hit. Investing in ongoing training ensures your team stays ahead of the curve and can handle the ever-evolving landscape of Identity Governance, but it’s incredibly easy to shortcut this with “oh everyone already knows how to do this” or “we don’t have time to spend an hour in training”. In security, training and repetition is key, but the constant struggle to manage IGA blocking and tackling desensitizes everyone.
Inefficient workflows, redundant steps, and unclear responsibilities can also make even the best tools and most skilled team members struggle. Reviewing and streamlining your processes can enhance efficiency and reduce errors, making everyone’s life easier. Is the work assigned to those who can do a good job, or whoever had capacity a few years ago and now they are stuck with it?
Poor communication can lead to misaligned objectives and overlooked risks. Ever feel like different departments are speaking entirely different languages? Fostering a culture of open communication and collaboration ensures everyone stays on the same page, making your Identity Governance and Administration processes smoother and more effective.
Lastly, insufficient resources can severely hamper your IGA efforts. Your team can’t perform miracles if they’re understaffed or overworked.
Ever Heard This Before? Common Blames and Their Underlying Causes
Missed Deadlines for User Access Reviews
It was mentioned in the last meeting: "User access reviews are taking too long, what’s wrong?"
What’s Really Going On: Manual user access reviews are time consuming. By automating these, you can streamline the process, reduce your team’s workload, and ensure timely completion. Access review solutions and automated access reviews are essential for improving efficiency.
Inaccurate or Incomplete Data
During the last team huddle: "We keep making mistakes, we need to be more detail oriented."
What’s Really Going On: Manual data entry and reconciliation are prone to errors. Integrated Identity Governance software that automatically updates data across systems can minimize these risks. User identity management is crucial for maintaining data accuracy.
Failure to Detect and Respond to Risks
An external audit report indicated: " has a material weakness in access governance policies."
What’s Really Going On: If your company is expecting the IT and audit teams to magically complete mountains of manual tasks, mistakes are inevitable. At that point it’s only a matter of time for your auditors to find them. The reason these policies exist is because they work! Worse, those same mistakes your auditors find are holes in your security for attackers to find.
Inefficiency in Onboarding and Offboarding
You heard through the grapevine: "The IT team takes too long to onboard new employees or revoke access for departing employees."
What’s Really Going On: IT can get overwhelmed with too many tickets. Manual onboarding and offboarding are time-consuming and error-prone. User account provisioning and account provisioning software can streamline these processes.
Non-Compliance with Regulatory Requirements
You overheard a higher-up: "We had a material weakness in our first XYZ audit- people know this is important right?"
What’s Really Going On: Staying compliant with evolving or new regulations is tough. Who on your team has the time to become an expert? Consultants only know as much as you can teach them. User access compliance tools can help maintain adherence to regulations.
Lack of Accountability and Visibility
Your manager highlighted: "Why don’t we have a handle on who has access to what resources?"
What’s Really Going On: Without a centralized system, tracking access permissions is challenging. Adopting a centralized IGA platform provides a clear view of who has access to what, ensuring accountability and visibility. Access control audit tools can help maintain this visibility.
IGA Processes Continuous Improvement
Improving your IGA processes starts with investing in your team and processes. Understand what work is being done, and what’s the actual cost of that work. Then, invest in technology to empower your team to do the work better. Ongoing training is also crucial. Regular updates ensure they understand where you are today, and will help you stay ahead of emerging threats and regulatory requirements. Implement tools and protocols to ensure information flows seamlessly across departments, and hold regular meetings to keep everyone aligned and informed about IGA activities. Make sure you can speak openly about issues, friction and gaps. If you see something, say something.
Finally, Allocating adequate resources to your team is essential. This includes sufficient staffing, appropriate tools, and a budget for necessary investments in technology and training. Recognize that under-resourcing can severely hamper your IGA efforts, and ensure your team has what they need to succeed.
How Clarity Can Help
At Clarity Security, we understand the challenges you face with your IGA processes. Our platform is designed to address these issues head-on with advanced IGA tools that offer robust automation and seamless integration capabilities. We provide training resources to ensure your team is proficient in using our platform and staying current with best practices.
Clarity has also invested heavily in ensuring that we can support the complexity of your IT environment, including on-premises AD, nested groups, home grown applications and more.
Blaming your team for IGA failures is not just unfair, it’s counterproductive. Instead of pointing fingers, focus on the real issues: giving your team the right tools, streamlining processes, and fostering open communication. At Clarity Security, we’re here to support you and your team every step of the way.
Want to see how our solution can help? Schedule a demo with us today!
