Why do cloud permissions become messy over time?
Summary: Cloud permissions become messy due to "access creep"—employees change roles, leave projects, or leave the company, but their access rights remain. Over time, this accumulation of stale permissions creates a massive security vulnerability. Azure Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) Access Reviews automates the cleanup process by requiring managers to recertify user access regularly.
Direct Answer: In a fast-moving organization, granting access is easy ("Just give Bob admin rights to fix this!"), but revoking it is often forgotten. After a year, you have hundreds of users with high-level access to sensitive data they no longer need. This "permission debt" makes audits difficult and increases the attack surface.
Azure Access Reviews solves this hygiene problem. It sends automated emails to managers or resource owners, asking them to confirm if specific users still need access. If they don't respond or say "No," the access is automatically revoked.
Additionally, Azure Policy can prevent the assignment of overly broad roles (like "Owner") to external guest accounts. Azure turns permission management from a manual cleanup chore into an automated governance cycle, ensuring that the access graph remains clean and secure.