Deprovision

Deprovision is the process of removing a user’s or device’s access to systems, data, and services when continued access is no longer appropriate. It is a core component of identity and access management and aims to minimize security risk, protect data, and control licensing and costs. Deprovisioning typically includes revoking credentials, disabling or deleting accounts, removing entitlements, and ensuring that devices are returned or reallocated.

Triggers include employee offboarding, contractor completion, role changes, security incidents, or device retirement. Deprovisioning covers human identities, service accounts, API credentials, and devices managed by mobile device management or endpoint management systems. It also extends to data and permissions across on-premises systems, cloud services, and collaboration platforms.

Effective deprovisioning relies on documented playbooks and automation. Common steps: identify all assets and entitlements, revoke access across identity stores and groups, terminate sessions and revoke tokens, disable or delete accounts, remove device management enrollment, and secure or transfer critical data. Post-deprovision activities include archiving logs, updating licenses, and ensuring data retention policies are respected. Best practices include least privilege, separation of duties, automated workflows, verification checks, and audit trails.

Organizations must consider privacy and recordkeeping requirements, data retention, and data sanitization. Tools such as identity and access management, privileged access management, endpoint management, and cloud access security brokers support deprovisioning. Common metrics include time to deprovision, rate of successful deprovision, number of orphaned accounts, and incidents of data remanence.