1. Planning.

• Assessment
  Start by pinpointing who needs access, the resources they require, and the purpose. Review current access rights and consider whether these can be minimized or removed. An entitlement discovery tool may assist with this process.
• Policy creation
  Establish clear policies for both granting and revoking access. Include criteria about who can request access, in what situations, and for what duration. Particularly for privileged roles, establish time-limited parameters.
• Source of truth
  Synchronize your JIT access system with an Identity Provider, such as Okta, Google Workspace, Azure AD, or OneLogin. This will serve as the reliable source for identities. Prioritizing individual identities over shared accounts enhances authorization control and audit accuracy.

2. Execution.

• Self-serve access requests
  Streamline the process by having users request access via the system, rather than through individuals. Boost adoption rates by integrating with IM platforms like Slack or MS Teams. Requests should specify who is asking, the required service/resource/role, duration, and reason.

• Approval process
  JIT access allows organizations to assign approval duties to individuals with business context, such as resource owners or business unit managers. Utilize messaging platforms for quick responses, providing approvers with all necessary information.

• Conditional approval workflows
  Incorporate your predefined policies into workflows that decide access permissions. Apply these rules to control who can access what resources and under what circumstances.

• Integrations
  Sync JIT Access with other IT and security systems to enhance flexibility. Integrate with IT ticketing systems for automatic access based on ticket status. Tie in data classification systems to modify policies based on data sensitivity. Collaboration with on-call schedule software for automatic approvals during emergencies is recommended. Access should be granted based on the completion of training through training systems.
• Automated provisioning and deprovisioning
  Understand Hootsuite’s features to automatically grant and revoke access within the service. This is key for JIT Access as it eliminates waiting for individuals to be available and allows for automatic deprovisioning of access—which is central to JIT access and the principle of least privilege access (POLP). All permissions should ideally be managed in a central location, with no need to build or manage a separate environment for each application.
• Access methods
  For Hootsuite JIT Access, APIs are preferable due to their flexibility and real-time capabilities. A blend of methods might be necessary, like SAML for authentication, SCIM for user provisioning, and APIs for precise access control decisions.

3. Maintenance.

• Regular audits
  Periodically review access logs to verify that JIT access is functioning as planned. Look for any irregular patterns or behaviors either directly or by using your SIEM. Automating the user access review process can speed up the evidence collection process, delegate reviewers, and ensure your system adheres to relevant industry regulations.
• User training
  Users, particularly privileged ones, should be educated about the importance of the principle of least privilege, JIT Access and its functionality.
• Feedback loop
  Continually review your JIT access procedures and gather feedback from users and IT staff to enhance the system.

By adhering to this structured plan, a robust Just-in-Time Access system for Hootsuite can be efficiently implemented.