Access Risk Analysis (ARA) is a process used in information security and compliance management to identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with user access to systems, data, and business processes. It ensures that access rights granted to users do not create security vulnerabilities, policy violations, or compliance breaches.

Definition:

Access Risk Analysis (ARA) is the systematic evaluation of who has access to what, why they have that access, and what risks arise from those access rights.
It’s often part of broader frameworks like Identity and Access Management (IAM), Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), or SAP Access Control.

Purpose of ARA:

1. Prevent Fraud and Errors: Detect and avoid segregation of duties (SoD) conflicts (e.g., a user can both create and approve payments).

2. Ensure Compliance: Support regulatory requirements such as SOX, GDPR, HIPAA, or ISO 27001.

3. Enhance Security: Reduce unauthorized access or privilege abuse.

4. Optimize Access Management: Streamline roles and authorizations based on real needs (least privilege principle).

Key Steps in Access Risk Analysis:

1. Define Risk Rules:

   • Create or adopt a set of risk rules (e.g., "User can create and approve a vendor" = SoD violation).

   • Rules can be business-specific or based on industry standards.

2. Identify Access and Roles:

   • Gather data on user roles, permissions, and system access.

   • Map users to the roles and transactions they can perform.

3. Analyze Risks:

   • Compare user access against the risk rule set.

   • Detect violations such as:

     • Segregation of Duties (SoD) conflicts

     • Critical transaction access

     • Excessive or unused access

4. Evaluate Impact and Likelihood:

   • Assess the severity and probability of each identified risk.

5. Mitigate or Remediate Risks:

   • Adjust roles or remove unnecessary access.

   • Implement compensating controls if access can’t be removed (e.g., additional review steps).

6. Monitor and Report:

   • Continuously track changes in access rights.

   • Generate compliance and audit reports.

Access Risk Analysis in SAP:

In SAP environments, ARA is a component of SAP GRC Access Control.

• The SAP Access Risk Analysis tool identifies SoD conflicts and critical access at user or role levels.

• It integrates with other GRC modules like Access Request Management (ARM), Emergency Access Management (EAM), and Business Role Management (BRM).

Example:

A user has both the ability to create vendors and process payments.
ARA flags this as a high-risk SoD violation, since it could allow fraudulent activity.

Benefits of Effective ARA:

• Reduces audit findings and compliance penalties

• Strengthens internal controls

• Enhances transparency in access governance

• Supports faster, safer onboarding/offboarding processes