User Management Best Practices Worth Knowing

User account management involves overseeing users’ access to IT resources like applications, networks, and more. Safeguarding IT systems against cybersecurity threats requires user management best practices.  An effective user management solution provides oversight of users in a system. This is done by identifying users and granting requisite privileges for the fulfillment of their roles.

The key elements of a user account management process include the following:

• Onboarding Users: Creating and configuring accounts.
• Authentication Management: Providing initial login information, configuring multi-factor authentication (MFA), and handling password resets.
• Continuous Reviews: Conducting audits to modify permissions.
• Deplatforming Users: Deleting accounts, and deprovisioning.

Why is User Account Management Important?

As an organization grows, user management becomes necessary. Some vital upsides that user management brings are:

• Maintaining Network Privacy and Security: User management best practices are essential for safeguarding a network. Failing to adopt user management best practices can render systems vulnerable. The exposure of sensitive data leaves room for exploitation and security compromise.
• Adhering to User-Based License Compliance: A good user management solution enables organizations to comply with user-based licenses. By monitoring users and their usage, reporting is simplified in the case of an audit.
• Economical Planning: User management helps organizations to identify potential software expenditures. With this insight, companies can ascertain when users no longer require a particular software. Such software is marked for recycling or lease to other users in need.
• Better Employee Experience: User management best practices allow IT administrators to seamlessly control access to resources. This provides more time for administrators to focus on significant projects.

3 Methods of User Account Management

Organizations have three approaches to choose from when dealing with user management:

• Localized user management: It involves administrators handling accounts manually within each system. Each user has a distinct account for each system. This method is repetitive, which makes it time-consuming.
• Centralized user management: This is achieved by using a platform to manage accounts across various systems. The platform acts as a central directory. Each user utilizes a single account across multiple systems through the central directory. The approach is efficient and time-saving. However, it is suited for on-premises solutions and does not support cloud-based systems.
• Automated user management: This approach automates the processes involved in user management through a centralized platform. When a new user is onboarded, privileges are automatically generated across various systems. This automation is based on predefined rules. 

Organizations commonly make use of either of these approaches to automate user management:

1. Active Directory: Active Directory (AD) stands as Microsoft's exclusive directory service. When deployed on Microsoft Windows Servers, administrators can automate account creation and access to resources. In AD, users, groups, applications, and devices are stored as objects. Each is categorized according to its name and attributes. Using AD can become complicated and stir-up security compromises as your organization expands.
2. User Management as a Service (UMaaS): A dedicated user management as a service can be used to achieve better automation. The software handles the two crucial aspects of user management with minimal effort.

These are: 

1. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): This addresses users' access based on their roles. It leverages Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to automatically assign similar access to users bearing a similar role title. After assigning, an authorization software can facilitate users’ access. 
2. Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC): With ABAC, the software establishes access based on resources and attributes assigned to users. Access to resources and actions is automatically specified. ABAC processes are easily implemented with a feature flag management software. Once integrated into your organization’s system, attribute roll-outs to specific users can be smoothly automated.

9 Best Practices for User Account Management

When implemented, user management best practices guarantee the integrity of your organization’s data. Here are some user management best practices that an organization can adopt:

• Individualized Access: Each user should possess an account with a password known exclusively to them. Sharing accounts or passwords creates challenges in tracing user activities. Randomized passwords should be used if the admin creates an account for a user. 
• Timely Account Management: Accounts should be created only when the user is active and requires access. Users must be deprovisioned upon termination. This prevents malicious activities from such users.
• Principle of Least Privilege (POLP): This principle posits that a user should possess only the essential privileges required to fulfill his function. For instance, a programmer does not need access to financial records.
• Embrace Multi-factor Authentication (MFA): The mishandling of passwords often serves as the root cause of attacks. Passwords are susceptible because many users tend to choose weak passwords. Password vulnerability can be mitigated by utilizing an authentication software to implement MFA. MFA adds an extra verification layer on top of a password.
• Utilize Both Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Attribute-Based Access Control Policies (ABAC): Exclusively using RBAC presents the challenge of manually provisioning supplementary tools to users. Conversely, relying solely on ABAC can get intricate when provisioning numerous attributes to users. Utilizing both RBAC and ABAC is a strategic way of implementing user management best practices. This combination fully automates the provisioning and deprovisioning processes for users. 
• Regularly Review Access to Resources: Conducting regular audits is a good strategy for upholding POLP. As your organization grows and integrates new tools, resources can be misdistributed to users. By routinely auditing usage logs, admin can deprovision unnecessary access.
• Centralize Log Collection: Most user management software automatically generates logs. These logs serve as valuable resources and can assist your organization during audits. It is good practice to centralize the collection of these logs for easy reference.
• Embrace User Management Solutions That Align With Existing Tools: Employing appropriate tools can simplify user management for your organization. It is important you incorporate solutions that complement your existing system. Nblocks user management software consists of pre-built components that complement various frameworks.
• Prioritize Education: Many cyberattacks result from user errors. Focusing on organization-wide education is a user management best practice that enhances security. All Employees must comprehend procedures for maintaining data security. Policies must be well-documented and easily accessible to everyone. Updates to the user management software must also be communicated to all employees.

A dedicated user management software comes with increased security and compliance. It also offers advanced analytics and monitoring for detecting cyber threats

10 Things to Consider When Choosing Software for User Account Management

There’s a plethora of user management softwares in the market. Here are a few important things you should look out for when selecting one:

• Delivered via the cloud: A user management software should be cloud-based. This  ensures connection of users to both on-premises and cloud resources.
• Multiprotocol: Contemporary networks use diverse access protocols, including LDAP, SAML, SSH, and others. A user management software should be interoperable with various protocols.
• Enhanced Security: Over time, an organization's digital identities evolve into valuable assets. This makes its user management software a target for attacks. The software must be armed with potent security measures to prevent unauthorized access.
• Automated User Provisioning: The software must equip IT administrators with tools to easily oversee credentials throughout the organization. The process of granting or revoking user privileges must be streamlined. 
• User Listing: The software should have a table containing all users’ data.
• User Property Management: The user management  software should provide clear descriptions for each user within applications. Admin should also have the capability of providing additional properties to users.
• Session Control: The software should permit the establishment of criteria for session timeout. This eliminates the risk from users remaining indefinitely logged in.
• Password Reset: The system should enable users to change or recover passwords without the need for IT intervention.
• Supporting Secure Authentication: A User management plays a vital role in login security. It should offer functionalities for mandating multi-factor authentication.
• Regulatory Compliance Support: The software should have a suite of integrated tools for compliance reporting. This ensures the legal verification of user authorization, authentication, and permission levels. 

Wrap Up

The due diligence required for seamless user management makes automating the process inevitable. To implement user management best practices, your organization should prioritize automation and maintenance of simplicity.

Nblocks user management solution is equipped with tools for automating the provisioning and deprovisioning of users. With its out-of-the box authentication, authorization and feature-flag softwares, access management can be integrated into your system within minutes.

Sign Up now to leverage these tools and improve the user management processes of your organization.