Access Review

governance

Periodic evaluation of user access rights to ensure appropriate access and remove unnecessary permissions.

What is Access Review?

Access reviews combat privilege creep—the gradual accumulation of access rights that users no longer need. By requiring managers or resource owners to periodically attest to the appropriateness of access, organizations maintain the principle of least privilege. Unattested access can be automatically removed, ensuring that inactive access does not persist indefinitely.

In Microsoft 365

Azure AD Access Reviews enables recurring reviews for group memberships, application access, and role assignments. Reviewers can be managers, group owners, or self-attestation (for lower-risk scenarios). Auto-apply removes unattested access after the review period.

Examples

  • 1Quarterly review of privileged role assignments
  • 2Monthly review of guest user access
  • 3Annual review of application permissions

Related TrueConfig Controls

These controls help implement and verify access review in your Microsoft 365 environment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Access Review?
Periodic evaluation of user access rights to ensure appropriate access and remove unnecessary permissions.
How does Access Review work in Microsoft 365?
Azure AD Access Reviews enables recurring reviews for group memberships, application access, and role assignments. Reviewers can be managers, group owners, or self-attestation (for lower-risk scenarios). Auto-apply removes unattested access after the review period.
What are examples of Access Review?
Examples of Access Review include: Quarterly review of privileged role assignments, Monthly review of guest user access, Annual review of application permissions.
Which TrueConfig controls relate to Access Review?
TrueConfig controls related to Access Review include: GOV-03, EXT-04. These controls help implement and verify access review in your environment.

Related Terms