Auditing Break Glass Access Procedures

Someone had triggered break glass access.

Break glass accounts exist for emergencies—when normal permissions fail, but critical systems must be accessed at once. They are a safety net. They are also a risk. Every time one is used, it bypasses standard controls. That makes auditing break glass access procedures essential for security, compliance, and trust.

A strong break glass procedure starts with clear ownership. Every account must have a named custodian. Their responsibility is to know when—and only when—emergency access is allowed. Document these rules in detail. Never leave “common sense” as the gatekeeper.

Logging is the second pillar. Record every event in real time, with immutable logs. Capture the identity of the person, the system accessed, the commands executed, and the reason given. Store this data in a secure location, separate from operational systems, and keep it for the full compliance retention window.

Review every incident. Do it quickly. A daily or weekly scan is not enough—break glass events should trigger immediate notifications to leadership and security teams. Treat each case as a full security investigation. Did the situation meet the documented thresholds? Could standard escalation paths have worked instead? These reviews turn raw logs into actionable insights that strengthen the policy.

Test the process. Run drills. Break glass procedures that live only in a handbook will fail under pressure. Make sure the team knows the steps, can execute them without hesitation, and understands the auditing requirements for every action taken.

Finally, limit blast radius. Emergency access should be tightly scoped. Use just-in-time credentials that expire within minutes. Disable accounts between events. The smaller the window of exposure, the lower the risk from insider threat or stolen credentials.

Auditing break glass access is not just compliance hygiene. It is about knowing with certainty that emergency powers are never abused and always justified. The right combination of logging, ownership, reviews, and scope control makes this possible.

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