User Account Provisioning and Permission Management (Domain 4)
Every user account is a potential gateway to your organization’s data, systems, and operations. If those accounts aren’t properly controlled—if they’re too powerful, too persistent, or simply forgotten—they can become one of your greatest security risks. That’s why user account provisioning and permission management are foundational to cybersecurity. In this episode, we explore how to securely onboard and de-provision users, and how to assign permissions in a way that minimizes risk and supports accountability.
Let’s begin with provisioning and de-provisioning. Provisioning is the process of creating and configuring user accounts, assigning access rights, and ensuring that new users are ready to work—safely and securely. It typically happens during onboarding, when a new employee, contractor, or partner joins the organization.
Effective provisioning begins with identity verification and role assignment. Each user should be given an account that reflects their job function, department, and level of trust. This includes assigning the correct access to applications, file shares, email systems, collaboration tools, and any specific systems tied to their role. The goal is to provide what the user needs—no more, no less.
Provisioning should be standardized, repeatable, and documented. Many organizations use identity and access management systems to automate account creation, role-based access control, and group membership. This helps ensure consistency and reduces the chance of human error—such as assigning a new intern the same privileges as a senior administrator.
Let’s walk through a practical example. A hospital hires a new nurse. As part of onboarding, the identity and access management system creates a user account in Active Directory, assigns the nurse to the nursing staff group, and grants access to the electronic health records platform. The account is set to expire after the contract period, and multi-factor authentication is required at first login. This process takes minutes and follows a pre-defined policy designed to protect patient information.
De-provisioning is just as important—and often more urgent. When a user leaves the organization or changes roles, their access must be reviewed and removed promptly. Dormant accounts, especially those with elevated privileges, are a major target for attackers. If not handled properly, they can become backdoors into the network.
Best practices for de-provisioning include immediately disabling accounts when users leave, revoking credentials, reclaiming equipment, and reviewing shared accounts or group memberships. Ideally, de-provisioning is automated and triggered by HR events or termination workflows. If a user is terminated unexpectedly or under suspicious circumstances, access should be revoked before the user even walks out the door.
Let’s consider another scenario. A software developer leaves a company to take a new job. Their account remains active for weeks after departure because no one removed it. Later, the former employee uses their credentials to access the company’s code repository and downloads sensitive source code. The breach goes undetected until months later. This could have been prevented by timely de-provisioning.
Now let’s turn to permission assignments and their implications. Not all users need the same level of access, and assigning overly broad permissions can be dangerous. This is where the principle of least privilege comes into play. Least privilege means giving users only the access they need to perform their job—and nothing more.
For example, a marketing assistant may need access to shared folders, a design application, and the company’s social media management tool—but they do not need access to accounting systems, domain controllers, or customer databases. Assigning broad or administrative permissions “just in case” creates unnecessary risk.
Overly permissive accounts increase the impact of mistakes, compromise, and insider threats. If a low-level user account is compromised and has admin rights, the attacker gains full access. If that same account only has limited access, the damage is contained.
To manage permissions effectively, use role-based access control wherever possible. This means defining access based on job roles rather than individuals. For example, all members of the finance team may be placed into a finance security group with access to specific files and systems. If someone changes roles or leaves the team, you update their group membership rather than editing every individual permission.
Auditing is also essential. Regularly review who has access to what—and why. This includes checking shared folders, cloud permissions, database access, and group memberships. Remove access that is no longer needed, and investigate permissions that don’t align with job roles.
Let’s look at a real-world example. An insurance company performs a quarterly access review and discovers that several employees in the customer support department still have access to underwriting tools. These permissions were granted when the employees covered a staffing shortage—but they were never removed. The access is revoked, and the company updates its process to ensure temporary access is tracked and reviewed automatically.
Permission management also applies to service accounts and administrative credentials. These accounts should be tightly controlled, stored in password vaults, and monitored for usage. Multi-factor authentication should be enforced wherever possible—especially for accounts with elevated privileges.
Another risk is privilege creep. This happens when users accumulate permissions over time without old access being removed. Someone might start in customer service, move to marketing, and then to finance—but still have access to all three environments. Privilege creep can go unnoticed until a breach or audit exposes it. That’s why regular role reviews and access recertification are key to reducing risk.
To summarize, provisioning and permission management are not just administrative tasks—they’re core security functions. Secure provisioning ensures that users get the access they need when they join. De-provisioning ensures that access is removed when they leave or change roles. Proper permission assignment limits exposure, prevents privilege escalation, and supports accountability. These practices are essential for enforcing least privilege, minimizing insider threats, and supporting compliance.
For the Security Plus exam, expect to answer questions about provisioning workflows, de-provisioning best practices, and how permissions should be assigned based on roles. You may encounter scenarios that ask you to identify the risks of broad permissions or explain how to enforce least privilege in a given environment. Review terms like access revocation, group membership, role-based access control, privilege creep, and onboarding automation—they are all relevant and likely to appear.
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