Secure Break Glass Access: Guidelines for EBA Outsourcing

Break glass access is raw, urgent, and absolute. It is the last key you keep hidden for when all other doors fail. Done well, it is the difference between saving a system and losing control. Done badly, it is a breach waiting to happen.

What Break Glass Access Means
Break glass access procedures let authorized users bypass normal controls in emergencies. These emergencies might be a system outage, a security lockout, or a critical fix that can’t wait. The process must be rare, fast, and safe. It must also leave a trail so every action is seen and reviewed.

Why EBA Outsourcing Changes the Rules
Externalized break glass access (EBA) outsourcing moves this high-trust process out of internal hands and into a managed, audited service. The goal is to remove guesswork and risk. If local teams own the keys, mistakes or abuse can hide in the noise. Outsourcing brings independent verification, clear logging, and hardened escalation paths.

Core Guidelines for Secure Break Glass Access in EBA

1. Strict Identity Checks – Only verified, pre-approved identities can trigger break glass procedures. No exceptions.
2. Time-Bound Access – Temporary elevation should expire automatically within minutes or hours. Persistence is a threat.
3. Granular Scope – Access only to specific systems required for the incident, never broad or global rights.
4. Immutable Logs – Record every step. Include who requested access, who approved it, what was done, and when access ended.
5. Multi-Party Approval – Separate requesters from approvers. Require at least two authorized people to agree before access is granted.
6. Post-Incident Review – Evaluate if the break glass event was necessary, handled correctly, and if safeguards need updating.
7. Continuous Testing – Dry-run break glass scenarios to validate readiness and close security gaps.

Avoiding Common Failures
Many break glass setups fail because they are never tested, rely on stale credentials, or have vague approval standards. Others fall apart under pressure when the process is buried in unread documents. EBA outsourcing solves this by codifying rules, enforcing them automatically, and storing every decision point.

The Audit Factor
Clean audits depend on transparent, defensible break glass flows. When you rely on outsourced EBA, third-party review becomes part of the lifecycle. This can mean smoother compliance, faster sign-offs, and easier proof for regulators.

Strong break glass access is not just about speed. It is about speed with control, visibility, and accountability.

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