Automation or bot (scheduled jobs, RPA)
The team that owns the process names one person who owns the bot account and its credential.
Who should own an automation or bot (scheduled jobs, RPA), and which ISO/IEC 27001, SOC 2 and PCI DSS clauses apply?
The clauses the checker cites on an automation or bot (scheduled jobs, RPA): ISO/IEC 27001 A.5.16, ISO/IEC 27001 A.5.17, SOC 2 CC6.1, PCI DSS 7.2.5 and PCI DSS 8.6.3. Every clause it cites, across the seven regimes, is in the table below.
How the checker reads it
- It is an application or system account: PCI DSS reads it under 7.2.5, 7.2.5.1 and 8.6.1 to 8.6.3, never under the user-account periods.
- It needs a named person as owner; a blank owner, a team or a mailbox is finding 3, and an owner who has left by the staff list is finding 2.
- The type comes from your type column; when that is blank the checker reads the account name and labels the type assumed from the name, and any finding resting on it is read as a question by the reviewer.
Findings that can apply
9 of 14- 2. Owner has left, or owner not recognised: Who owns this account now, and should it still exist?
- 3. No owner named, or a team named with no accountable person: Which one person is accountable for this account and can say what it is for?
- 4. Dormant for more than the threshold: Is this account still needed, and if so by whom?
- 5. Privileged, and orphaned or dormant: Who holds these rights today, and do they still need them?
- 6. Password or key not changed within the period, or never: When was this credential last changed, and who knows it?
- 7. Service or system account that allows interactive login: Who signs in to this account interactively, and can interactive login be turned off?
- 8. Credential stored in code, a config file or a script: Can this credential move into a vault, and who has read the file it sits in?
- 10. Not reviewed within the interval: Who reviews this account, and when is the next review due?
- 12. Created with no approval recorded: Where is the request and the approval for this account?
Clauses
7 cited| Regime | Clause |
|---|---|
| ISO/IEC 27001 | ISO/IEC 27001 A.5.16 Identity management |
| ISO/IEC 27001 | ISO/IEC 27001 A.5.17 Authentication information |
| SOC 2 | SOC 2 CC6.1 Logical access security over protected information assets |
| PCI DSS | PCI DSS 7.2.5 Application and system accounts least privilege |
| PCI DSS | PCI DSS 8.6.3 System account passwords protected against misuse |
| NIST SP 800-53 | NIST SP 800-53 IA-9 Service Identification and Authentication |
| CIS Controls | CIS Controls 5.5 Establish and Maintain an Inventory of Service Accounts |
The first clause, set out
ISO/IEC 27001 A.5.16Identity managementIdentities are to be managed throughout their whole life cycle. Purpose (stated in ISO/IEC 27002:2022): enables unique identification of people and systems accessing organizational assets and appropriate assignment of access rights. As an Annex A reference control, it is compared with the controls determined in risk treatment (6.1.3 c) and recorded in the Statement of Applicability as included or excluded, with the justification and implementation status (6.1.3 d); implementation guidance is ISO/IEC 27002:2022 5.16.
A line that reads as this type
the type column left blank, invented valuesrpa-invoice-bot | | directory | | yes