Topic starter
12/06/2026 1:05 am
TL;DR: IT segregation of duties reduces fraud, privilege abuse, and error propagation by separating account creation, approval, monitoring, and response across different people, according to Zluri. The deeper issue is that many identity programmes still rely on checks and balances after access has already concentrated too far.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Zluri: “How IT Segregation of Duties Helps Strengthen IT Security”.
Key questions
Q: What breaks when separation of duties is not enforced in IAM governance workflows?
A: When separation of duties is weak, the same person can request, approve, and retain conflicting access, which undermines control integrity.
Q: Why does overlapping access increase fraud and misuse risk?
A: Overlapping access makes it easier for one person to complete a harmful action without a second independent check.
Q: What are the signs that Segregation of Duties is failing in an organisation?
A: Common signs include one user holding both initiation and approval rights, repeated exceptions to workflow rules, weak audit trails, and access that does not match job responsibilities.
Practitioner guidance
- Define incompatible duty sets List the identity and privileged tasks that must never sit with one role, including account creation, approval, monitoring, and response.
- Block self-approval and self-provisioning Configure workflows so the same user cannot create access and approve it, even when temporary operational pressure makes that path attractive.
- Separate monitoring from response Ensure the team that reviews security events is not the same team that executes remediation, except under documented emergency exception handling.
Bottom line: Segregation of duties is an identity control because it prevents one person from accumulating end-to-end authority over sensitive IT processes.
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This topic was modified 4 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group
12/06/2026 10:46 am
SoD is an identity governance control because it limits who can assemble risk, not just who can inspect it. The article shows that fraud, unauthorized access, and error propagation all become easier when a single person can span multiple IT functions. That is the identity problem underneath the compliance language. Practitioners should treat duty separation as a design property of access itself, not a reporting requirement after the fact.
A question worth separating out:
Q: When should teams use segregation of duties instead of relying on audits?
A: Teams should use segregation of duties whenever a process can be completed end to end by one identity with sensitive access. Audits can detect violations, but they cannot prevent a single actor from creating, approving, and performing the same action. Use segregation where you need prevention, and audits where you need evidence and follow-up.
👉 Read our full editorial: Segregation of duties is an identity control, not just an audit rule
This post was modified 4 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group