Configuring access control
Summarize
Summary of Configuring access control
This guide details how to configure entity-based access control (EBA) in ServiceNow Privacy Management, allowing organizations to restrict user access to processing activity records based on their position within an organizational hierarchy. Implementing EBA enhances data privacy, supports regulatory compliance, and ensures that privacy teams and users only access relevant records tied to their assigned entities.
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Key Features
- Entity-Based Access Activation: Install the Entity-based Access plugin and enable the related property to activate entity-level access control features.
- Organizational Hierarchy Setup: Define parent-child relationships between entities (e.g., global, regional, country levels) to establish a clear structure for access control.
- Record Mapping: Map existing processing activity records to their appropriate entities in the hierarchy to ensure precise access restrictions.
- Entity Configuration: Assign access permissions to individual users or groups based on their entity roles, specifying whether access extends to downstream entities.
- Bulk Access Updates: Transition from role-based to entity-based access across records using a bulk update utility that validates and applies restrictions efficiently.
- Entity-Based Record Access Rules: Enable continuous enforcement of access restrictions on new or modified records, with automatic updates reflecting changes in organizational structure or processing activities.
Key Outcomes
- Granular and Hierarchical Access Control: Access restrictions align with organizational structure, improving data security and privacy governance.
- Efficient Management: Bulk update utility and automated record access rules reduce manual efforts and ensure consistent enforcement of access controls.
- Regulatory Compliance Support: Restricting access to entities’ relevant data helps meet privacy regulations by limiting unnecessary data exposure.
- Dynamic Adaptation: The system automatically adjusts access controls when entities or processing activities change, maintaining up-to-date security postures.
Configurie Entity-based access control in Privacy Management, including property activation, hierarchy setup, record mapping, user assignment, bulk updates, and activating entity-based record access rules.
The following steps outline how to configure access control in Privacy Management using Entity-based access (EBA). This process enables organizations to restrict user access to processing activity records and related data according to their position in the organizational hierarchy. By following these steps, administrators can ensure that privacy teams and users only access records relevant to their assigned entities, supporting both security and regulatory compliance.
- Install Entity-based access plugin and enable the entity-based access control property. This
activates entity-based access features and allows you to configure access restrictions by legal
entity.
For information, see Configure Entity-based access.
- Establish the organizational structure (parent-child relationships), where a global entity
contains regional entities, and those in turn contain country-level entities.
For information, see Add hierarchical relationships between entities.
- If processing activities already exist, map each record to the appropriate entity in the organizational hierarchy, ensuring it is correctly linked as a downstream entity under the relevant legal entity, jurisdiction, or other defined structure. This guarantees that access restrictions are enforced accurately, as each record is tied to the correct part of the organization.
- In the Entity Configuration module, do the following:
- Provide access to teams and users based on your organizational structure. You can grant access to individual users, such as entity owners or privacy analysts, or to groups.
- Specify whether access applies only to the selected entity or also to downstream entities. This step ensures that only the appropriate teams or users can access records for their part of the organization.
For information, see Create an entity configuration.
- Run a bulk access update to switch from role-based access to entity-based access for all
applicable records. Bulk Access Update enforces entity-based access restrictions across relevant
records in Privacy Management.When performing a bulk update:
- Select the entity configuration and associated entities.
- Choose the tables where restrictions apply (for example, Processing Activity or Privacy Assessment).
- Preview the affected records to validate changes.
- Enable the update to apply restrictions.
For information on how to run batch updates, see Set access restrictions using an entity based record access update utility.
- Use entity-based record access rules to enable continuous monitoring. These rules
automatically apply restrictions to new or modified records, ensuring access settings stay
enforced without manual updates. When the structure of the entities change, the system updates
access controls automatically.
For information on how to configure entity-based record access rules, see Set Entity based record access rules.