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IT Management
This guide provides an access review checklist for IT teams to audit and secure system access. Learn how to reduce risk and protect RMM environments.
Level
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Access control is a critical component of IT security. For MSPs and IT teams, poorly managed access can expose sensitive systems, especially Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) platforms, which provide deep control over client environments.
An access review checklist helps teams:
This guide provides a structured checklist for reviewing and securing access across IT systems, with a strong focus on RMM Security and protecting RMM environments.
An access review is a formal process of evaluating who has access to systems, what level of access they have, and whether that access is still appropriate.
Access reviews also support a zero trust access approach by requiring organizations to continually validate whether users, accounts, and systems should retain their existing permissions.
RMM platforms have elevated privileges across endpoints. If compromised, they can:
Before applying a checklist, align with these principles:
Users should only have access necessary for their role.
Permissions should be assigned based on roles, not individuals.
Critical tasks should require multiple roles to reduce risk.
Zero trust access is based on the principle that access should not be automatically trusted simply because a user, device, or account is already inside an organization's environment.
Instead, organizations should verify identity and authorization and apply appropriate access controls before granting access to sensitive resources. Access reviews complement this approach by helping IT teams identify permissions that are no longer justified.
For RMM environments, this is particularly important because administrative accounts can have extensive control over endpoints.
Access should be reviewed regularly, not just once.
Use this checklist to perform structured and repeatable access reviews.
Start with full visibility.
Create a complete list of systems that require access control. This inventory should include both the systems users directly sign in to and infrastructure that could provide a pathway to sensitive resources.
Review all user accounts across systems.
Remove or disable unnecessary accounts immediately.
Evaluate what each user can do.
Adjust permissions to match actual needs.
Ensure strong authentication is enforced.
Reduced risk of credential-based attacks.
External vendors often have system access.
Limit or revoke unnecessary third-party access.
Service accounts are often overlooked.
Overprivileged service accounts can be exploited.
Review system activity for anomalies.
Early detection of potential security threats.
Remote administration introduces another category of privileged access that should be included in access reviews. Unattended access can allow authorized IT personnel to connect to managed endpoints without someone at the endpoint manually accepting each session.
Remove remote access permissions that are no longer required and regularly verify who can remotely connect to critical endpoints.
Ensure policies are documented and enforced.
Consistency in how access is granted and removed.
Access reviews should also consider whether sensitive endpoint data has appropriate protection against unauthorized changes.
For Windows environments, controlled folder access can provide an additional security control by helping prevent unauthorized or untrusted applications from modifying protected folders. This is different from user access management, but it can complement broader endpoint security controls.
IT teams should document which security controls are required on managed endpoints and periodically verify that they remain properly configured.
Keep records of your review.
Improves accountability and supports compliance.
Access reviews should be ongoing.
To operationalize the checklist, follow a structured workflow.
Determine which systems and users will be reviewed.
Export user lists, roles, and permissions from systems.
Compare current access against role requirements.
Flag:
Ensure updates are applied correctly.
Share findings with stakeholders.
Limit RMM access to authorized personnel only.
Administrative privileges should be granted based on actual responsibilities rather than convenience. Review these privileges whenever an employee changes roles or responsibilities.
Require MFA for all RMM and administrative access.
MFA adds another layer of protection if a user's password is exposed or compromised.
Assign individual credentials to every user.
Individual accounts improve accountability because activity can be associated with a specific administrator or technician.
Review both attended and unattended access permissions as part of your RMM security process. Only authorized users should be able to initiate remote sessions, and access should be removed promptly when it is no longer required.
Track access and activity in real time.
Monitoring can help identify unusual authentication attempts, unexpected administrative activity, and other events that warrant investigation.
Connect RMM with SIEM or monitoring platforms for visibility where appropriate.
Traditional access models can leave users with permissions long after those permissions are actually required. A zero trust approach instead emphasizes continuous verification and limiting access according to current needs.
Regular access reviews support zero trust access by giving IT teams a repeatable process for validating users, roles, administrative privileges, third-party accounts, service accounts, and remote-access permissions.
For MSPs, this can be particularly important because RMM platforms may provide access across multiple customer environments. Reducing unnecessary privileges limits the potential scope of a compromised account.
Access reviews alone do not create a complete zero trust architecture, but they provide an important governance process for maintaining appropriate permissions over time.
An access review helps verify that users have appropriate permissions and identifies access that is unnecessary, outdated, or potentially risky. It also gives IT teams an opportunity to remove inactive accounts and excessive privileges.
Quarterly reviews can provide a baseline for many systems, while critical or highly privileged systems may require more frequent reviews. The appropriate frequency should reflect the organization's risk profile, compliance obligations, and rate of access changes.
RMM platforms can provide administrators with extensive control over multiple endpoints and systems. An account with excessive or compromised RMM privileges can therefore create risk across more than one managed device.
Least privilege is a security principle where users receive only the permissions required to perform their responsibilities. Access should be adjusted when those responsibilities change.
Zero trust is an approach in which access is not automatically trusted based solely on a user's location or previous authorization. Identity, authorization, device context, and other relevant factors can be evaluated before granting access to protected resources.
Yes. Remote access permissions should be reviewed alongside other privileged permissions. IT teams should verify who can establish unattended remote sessions, which endpoints they can access, and whether those permissions are still necessary.
Not in the same sense as RBAC or identity access controls. Controlled folder access is a Windows security capability designed to help protect specified folders from unauthorized changes by untrusted applications. It can complement endpoint security, but it does not replace identity and permission management.
At Level, we understand the modern challenges faced by IT professionals. That's why we've crafted a robust, browser-based Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) platform that's as flexible as it is secure. Whether your team operates on Windows, Mac, or Linux, Level equips you with the tools to manage, monitor, and control your company's devices seamlessly from anywhere.
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