People
Joining and leaving, by the list of Ilia Zavialov
Two days in an employee's life matter for security: the first and the last. Both are run from a written list, because on those days memory is busy with other things.
English version for the United States.
01
Day one: issue exactly as much as is needed
The role defines the list of access, not the other way round. The practice of «give everything and sort it out later» ends with nobody ever sorting it out.
On the same day a line appears in the access list and the approver is recorded. Without that line the access formally does not exist, and later there will be nothing to close.
02
The last day: close it in an hour, not in a month
A departure is an event with a date known in advance. So the list of actions is prepared in advance and carried out on that day rather than when somebody remembers.
What is forgotten most often is not the mail but the secondary things: shared folders, the advertising account, the payment portal, domain access, rights in messengers. That is exactly where the way in remains.
03
A handover that does not break work
Closing access without transferring data creates the temptation to leave the account alive «just in case». So files and correspondence move first, and only then the way in is closed.
If the data cannot be transferred technically, the account does not stay alive: it is moved to a state without sign-in and the contents are exported.
04
When the parting was not friendly
The order is the same, the deadlines are shorter and the checking is more thorough. Recovery contacts in critical services are checked separately: those are what get changed to keep a way in.
Active sessions are checked separately too. In some services a changed password does not end an already open session, and the person stays inside.
Rules of this section
- The list is prepared before the dateFor joining and for leaving alike.
- A line in the access listCreated on day one, closed on the last.
- Data first, then the way inExport and hand over before closing the account.
- Recovery contactsChecked separately from the password.
- Active sessionsEnded by force; changing the password is not enough.
- A mark against each itemWith the date and the person who did it.
| What | Why it matters | When |
|---|---|---|
| Mail and sessions | The rest is recovered through the mail | On the day of departure |
| Password manager | Otherwise all passwords remain | On the day of departure |
| Shared folders and drives | Most often forgotten | On the day of departure |
| Advertising and payment portals | Money is spent without you | On the day of departure |
| Rights in messengers | Correspondence in the company name | On the day of departure |
| Domain and hosting access | The most expensive possible loss | On the day of departure |
Questions and answers
How long does closing access take?
Up to an hour with a prepared list. Without one the process stretches over weeks, because each item is remembered separately.
Do access rights need closing if somebody left on good terms?
Yes. The risk here is not the person's intentions but that after departure nobody protects or monitors their account.