Can You Prove and Control Third-Party Remote Access-Or Are You Open to Regulatory Surprise?
Your information security is only as strong as your weakest link, and that link often sits in your supply chain. The moment a supplier is left with unmonitored access, your audit story risks falling to pieces and months of compliance effort are suddenly at the mercy of a regulator’s question you can’t answer. Under NIS 2, the bar has moved decisively: boards, C-levels, and auditors expect not just policies but live, provable control-with vendor, contractor, and remote support pathways locked down, monitored, expiry-enforced, and audit-ready (ENISA 2024).
When third-party access is left untracked, past compliance quickly becomes a future risk.
Inside ISMS.online:
The Supplier Register dashboard visually maps every supplier’s access rights, approvals, expiry dates, and reviewer lineage in real time. You get up-to-date, filterable access insight across business units, supplier types, and risk tiers-instantly exportable for board or regulator review.
From Spreadsheets to Live, Operational Proof
The era of static lists, ad hoc emails, and “he’ll remember to remove that service account” is over. Regulators don’t want promises-they demand provable audit chains: who was granted access, for what purpose, when it expires, and who has signed off each step. ISMS.online automates supplier onboarding, escalation approvals, expiry cycles, and enforceable offboarding; every account is stamped, tracked, and capable of evidentiary export at a click (ISMS.online Supply Chain Management). No more guessing, no more missed leaver clean-up, no more hope as a strategy.
Proactive Risk Governance-Audit-Ready, Everyday
Modern IAM must track more than just “what system.” You need, for every third party:
- Account type and role
- Intended business use and justification
- Owner/reviewer
- Access duration with expiry timer
- Approval status and remediator
- Complete closure and offboarding record
ISMS.online tracks and auto-logs these elements for every supplier account. This approach aligns fully with ENISA, ISACA, and NIS 2 expectations-transforming supply-chain risk from after-the-fact responder to continuous, controlled, and demonstrated (ISACA 2024; Advisory Reg. 2024/2690).
Just-in-Time, Not Just-in-Case: Temporary Privileges Done Right
Time-boxed, session-based access vastly reduces standing attack surface. With ISMS.online, any temporary or privileged access is explicitly bounded, every action linked to areas of responsibility, and closure triggers enforced (Justification by session replaces blanket approval forever). Youre left with a system that stands up to the show me, dont tell me scrutiny boards increasingly expect (ISMS.online Annex A 5-18 Checklist).
Book a demoAre Your Lifecycle Access Controls Actually Unified-And Gaps Closed In Real Time?
Most breaches don’t start with a firewall misconfiguration-they happen through missed leaver removal, uncoordinated role changes, and shadow admin privilege that quietly escapes oversight. In NIS 2 and ENISA’s post-2024 regime, regulators expect access rights to be not only provisioned but actively reviewed, maintained, and removed with audit clarity across workforce, contingent, and supply-chain actors (ENISA Access Control Guidance).
A single orphaned privilege today is all an attacker or auditor needs to burn your reputation tomorrow.
ISMS.online in Action:
From onboarding to role update to offboarding, every user and supplier journey is mapped in real-time dashboards-flagging overdue reviews, pending assignments, and overdue terminations, integrated with HR and IT tracks for total visibility.
Quarterly Reviews: Non-Negotiable, Escalation-Driven
Quarterly review of access rights is now the starting point for compliance, not a nice-to-have. ISMS.online triggers reminders to responsible lines, flags late reviews, escalates unaddressed risks, and attaches evidence of review with each sign-off (ISMS.online, A5-18 Checklist). Tenure-based or project-driven access is tied directly to onboarding milestones and offboarding triggers, so nothing (and no one) is missed. Auditors and boards expect a living log that proves the lifecycle-yesterday’s spreadsheet truths become instant historical risks.
Ownership, Purpose, and Expiry-A No-Excuses Model
Each privilege and account must be actively owned, clearly justified, and time-bound. With ISMS.online, accounts missing a named owner, reviewer, expiry, or current justification are auto-flagged and routed for remediation. Peer review assignments, overdue alerts, and direct mapping to SoA entries ensure that risk is not just observed but controlled. Each missed step is not a hidden gap but a visible, assignable, and closeable item.
The Right Escalations to the Right People
Noise is the enemy of real-time response. ISMS.online escalates only meaningful exceptions-overdue reviews, orphaned accounts, unreviewed privilege-with targeted notifications. Stakeholders see exactly what matters, when it matters. Dashboards surface outliers, overdue actions, and risk-priority tasks.
Clause-Aware, Direct Exports-Never “Lost in the Maze”
Every action-onboarding, change, offboarding, approval, review-maps directly to NIS 2 articles, ISO 27001:2022 controls, and is tracked in SoA with direct audit-readiness (ISMS.online Features). No more fragmented evidence; no more ambiguity about who’s accountable.
Master NIS 2 without spreadsheet chaos
Centralise risk, incidents, suppliers, and evidence in one clean platform.
Do You Actually Map to ISO 27001-and Where Are the Gaps for NIS 2?
ISO 27001:2022 certification is often seen as a “gold standard,” yet boards and CISOs are learning the hard way that ticking ISO’s boxes is not enough for NIS 2 compliance. Regulatory trust now requires mapping not only practises but living evidence of each operational, technical, and supplier-side control-so auditors and boards can see where ISO coverage ends, and supply-chain resilience under NIS 2 begins (ENISA, NIS2–ISO Crosswalk).
Trust isn’t a certificate; it’s the ability to show the path from policy to closure, and every open gap in between.
ISMS.online Visual:
The Statement of Applicability (SoA) Change Tracker exposes every change-by person, date, clause, line item, and reviewer-with direct exports showing how policy adapts to each risk or regulatory update.
The ISO–NIS 2 Bridge: Controls That Actually Matter
Annex A controls-covering Access (A.5.15), Identity (A.5.16), Authentication (A.5.17), Rights (A.5.18), and Privileged Access (A.8.2)-set out minimum standards. ISMS.online brings these controls to life, enforcing reviews, exceptions, expiry dates, and evidence attachments dynamically. When audit time comes, you walk through real artefacts-not theoretical documents or slides.
Beyond GRC and IAM “Gapware”
Generic tools often build silos, leaving gaps between HR, IT, and supplier management processes. ISMS.online threads every action, review, and escalation-from onboarding to offboarding-binding each to live control mapping and audit logging (ISMS.online Audit Management). No action is invisible, and every closure is provable, mapped, and ready for the next audit, board risk committee, or incident review.
Evidence Dashboards: The End of the “Excel Era”
Living control dashboards edit, log, and bridge risk acceptances and exception processing-demonstrating not only that you wrote a policy, but that you executed it, closed it, and learned from it. ISMS.online positions you to respond in seconds, not days, when the regulator (or board) asks about a specific access event.
Is Your MFA, Privilege Review, and Supplier Control a Baseline-or a Breach Waiting to Happen?
Today’s benchmarks are set by attackers, auditors, and cyber-insurance. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is no longer a “roadmap” item; it is table stakes for anyone with privileged, remote, or third-party access. Unexpired or orphaned credentials, missing context or justification, and deferred privilege reviews are not “exceptions”-they are warning lights for regulators and partners alike (ENISA MFA Practises).
Audit-friendly now means: every exception timestamped, justified, and rapidly closed. Excuses are evidence, too-and so is their absence.
ISMS.online Visual:
Privilege Escalation Dashboard exposes not only credential and deprovisioning drift, but also missing MFA, upwards privilege shifts, and remediation bottlenecks, with fix and cause mapped per user, supplier, or process.
MFA: From Optional to Unavoidable
ISMS.online provides direct evidence of MFA enforcement-flagging non-compliant credentials, logging exceptions, and ensuring each deviation is justified, timestamped, and reviewed. MFA gaps are no longer hidden; they’re illuminated, explained, and corrected-or excluded, not excused.
Privilege Reviews: Always-On, Never Annual
Continuous privilege review is a baseline for both ISO and NIS 2. ISMS.online orchestrates rolling reviews, with time-based expiry, peer and manager sign-offs, and automated revocations where due (ISMS.online, Supply Chain Management). Missed reviews are routed for actionable incident management, and every privileged account is connected to a living justification.
Supplier Accounts: All Evidence in One Place
No supplier account should exist unassigned, uncontracted, or unexpired. ISMS.online ensures accounts are owned, justified, contracted, and offboarded on an audit-recorded timeline (ENISA NIS 2 Implementation), all artefacts structured for auditor and reviewer verification.
Noise-Free, Precision Alerts
Too many notifications mask the signal. ISMS.online targets only the right remediation owner with alarms for overdue, high-risk, or exceptional actions. The rest is quietly logged, ready for review-keeping your compliance story uninterrupted and your team focused.
Be NIS 2-ready from day one
Launch with a proven workspace and templates – just tailor, assign, and go.
Are Your Audit Trails, Workflow Logs, and Snapshots Regulator-Proof?
When your board, regulator, or an external auditor asks for a consolidated log of account approvals, access reviews, exceptions, and closures, can your team provide it in seconds-or do you rush to patch gaps left by invisible emails and untracked hand-offs? ISMS.online delivers a fully filterable, exportable event chain by role, incident, or reviewer, tracking every onboarding, privilege grant, exception, and closure.
In audit, a gap in evidence is itself evidence. You’re either trail-complete-or on record as incomplete.
ISMS.online Visual:
Role- and event-focused workflow logs guarantee that every sign-off, escalation, exception, and closure is mapped to incident, risk, owner, and control-ready for instant export.
Escalation by Precision, Not Volume
Escalation is a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. ISMS.online pinpoints stale or overdue actions and routes them directly to the accountable manager or CISO, while maintaining an end-to-end trail for management review. This turns compliance from a cluttered inbox problem to an always-improving, always-auditable process.
Tamper-Evident, Exportable Audit Chains
Every role change, closure, and incident is documented, attached, and exportable for board, audit, or regulatory use. You can hand over a single pack, with full SoA linkage, role change trail, and closure records-no hunting required.
From Exceptions to Continual Improvement
Exceptions become tracked closure artefacts, with evidence and comments mirrored into rolling management review logs. Over time, these feed into Clause 9 (ISO 27001) and ongoing improvement cycles-turning today’s gap into tomorrow’s resilient control (ISMS.online Audit Management).
Are You Closing Gaps-and Building Board-Level Resilience-Every Day?
Security isn’t built annually-it’s daily, incremental, and visible. The most damaging gaps appear not as major incidents but as exceptions left unresolved for weeks or months. Resilience is forged in the discipline of closing off every joiner, mover, leaver, and supplier review; logging the action; surfacing exceptions; and providing daily snapshots to leaders.
Unclosed exceptions are controlled fires-eventually, someone checks for smoke.
ISMS.online Visual:
Exception Queue Dashboard links every open action by owner, risk tier, event type, and remediation state-with direct display into management review logs and board-level SIEM reporting.
Assurance Across Jurisdictions, Not Just Controls
From global boards to sector-specific risk committees, assurance now means more than control lists-it means dashboards aggregating exceptions, open reviews, and remediation across all operational areas (ISMS.online Features). Your board sees real progress and how exceptions are handled, not just what controls you wrote.
Documenting Closure, Driving Improvement
Every closure, attachment, and follow-up note becomes part of a rolling, exportable management review. Clause 9 of ISO 27001-and modern NIS 2 governance-demands that improvement is not just planned but documented and provable. ISMS.online brings this to the surface, aligning operational work with continuous learning and process hardening.
Compliance isn’t how few gaps you have; it’s how well you close, learn, and prove every closure.
All your NIS 2, all in one place
From Articles 20–23 to audit plans – run and prove compliance, end-to-end.
How Do You Bridge Expectations, Evidence, and Audit with Operational Tables and Traceability Maps?
Auditors and boards don’t remember your policies-they trust your ability to show why each risk was controlled, who acted, which control was invoked, and what evidence was produced. ISMS.online puts traceability at your fingertips, bridging expectation, operationalisation, and proof in clear, actionable tables for every stakeholder.
ISO 27001 Control Bridge Table
| Expectation | How It’s Operationalised in ISMS.online | ISO 27001 / Annex A Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Third-party access approved, time-limited | Supplier Register + approval logs with expiry dates | A.5.20, A.5.21 |
| All access reviewed quarterly | Automated review cycles, reviewer assignment, triggers | A.5.18, A.8.2 |
| Orphaned accounts rapidly deprovisioned | Offboarding triggers, escalation alerts | A.5.11, A.8.2 |
| Exceptions documented with evidence | Exception register, SoA comment trails, attachments | A.5.26 |
| Approvals/change actions are traceable | SoA edit logs, dashboard history, export packs | 7.5.3, A.5.10, A.5.35 |
Traceability Mini-table
| Trigger | Risk Update | Control / SoA Link | Evidence Logged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offboarding started | Vendor account risk flagged | A.5.11 | Offboarding log, timestamp, closure file |
| Quarterly review | Orphaned access flagged, closed | A.5.18 | Review record, reviewer name |
| Supplier priv. request | New privilege, expiry enforced | A.5.20, A.5.21 | Approval log, expiry tracker |
| Exception by audit | Remediation and closure tracked | A.5.26 | Exception register, closure note |
| MFA drift detected | Privilege risk escalated | A.8.2 | MFA event log, incident alert |
Every row here is tied to exportable artefacts in ISMS.online-ready for real audit, not theory.
For CISOs, Privacy Officers, and IT Teams: ISMS.online Bridges Expectation and Reality
You’re judged not on what you say, but on the story your evidence tells-at the board, in an audit, or under regulatory fire. For the CISO, it’s board confidence and the ability to sleep at night. For privacy officers, it’s walking into audit with defensibility, not apology. For IT and security, it’s breaking out of spreadsheet traps to become recognised as the real compliance hero.
ISMS.online is the engine connecting controls, approvals, supplier registers, privilege reviews, and management review logs-all in a single, living system. Deal blockers (Kickstarter)? Addressed. Board-level resilience (CISO)? Delivered. Regulator-facing defensibility (privacy/legal)? Evidenced. Daily grind and recognition (IT)? Now supported.
ISMS.online Visual:
Export-ready, role-specific snapshots-board or audit pack in minutes, not hours. Real-time SoA/Annex A mapping; supplier access reviews; privilege review logs; and exception closure trails, all filterable and ready on demand.
Resilience is built in the discipline of closing gaps daily-not racing at quarter-end to prove what you might have done.
Wherever you sit-executive, legal, IT-the time for imprecision and inaction is over. Compliance, risk, and evidence now live in the same place, always ready. That’s the difference between regulatory fear and board-level assurance.
Begin with ISMS.online:
- CISO: “Move your dashboard centre-stage at the board table.”
- Privacy Officer: “Defensibility on demand-anywhere, any time.”
- IT/Security Practitioner: “Hours regained, friction eliminated, audits passed.”
Ready to lead with live resilience?
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is accountable for supplier and remote access controls under NIS 2 and ISO 27001?
Accountability for supplier and remote access controls now rests with a named, cross-functional business chain-not just IT-under NIS 2 Article 21 and ISO 27001:2022 (Annex A.5.20/A.5.21). You must document exactly who is responsible for approving, monitoring, and revoking each supplier, vendor, or remote access account. This obligation extends from executive sponsors and business owners (who justify and approve every access), through IT/Security (who provision, monitor, and decommission accounts), to HR and Procurement (who connect any staff, contract, or supplier change to a living register of open accounts).
A single overlooked or “temporary” supplier login is now a direct board and regulatory risk-expect both auditors and management to demand clear justification, expiry, and a continuous audit trail for each access. Modern ISMS platforms like ISMS.online help unify registers for supplier contracts, privileged account lists, and review logs, so nothing slips through the cracks.
One loose supplier account is no longer seen as a minor technical slip; it’s an organisational governance failure in the eyes of regulators and auditors.
Role-Based Accountability Map
| Role | Obligations | Audit Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Business Owner | Approves access, assigns justification/expiry | Signed approvals, business case, documented expiry |
| IT/Security | Provisions/decommissions, enforces expiry | Account logs, change requests, removal records |
| HR / Procurement | Triggers review/closure via contracts/HR | Onboarding/offboarding logs, contract expiry evidence |
| Compliance/Audit | Reviews SoA mapping, samples closure | Review logs, SoA cross-reference, audit exports |
How does ISMS.online enforce closed-loop lifecycle access control for all accounts-including suppliers?
ISMS.online delivers access control by treating every joiner, mover, leaver, and supplier account as a managed, reviewable event spanning its entire lifecycle. From account creation, through access rights changes, to revocation at contract or employment end, each action is:
- Assigned a named owner: in real time, with explicit expiry or review checks baked in, not implicit or “set and forget”.
- Connected to HR and procurement events: Onboarding, offboarding, and contract reviews now drive access provisioning and deprovisioning, eliminating orphaned or shadow accounts.
- Driven by live reminders and auto-escalation: Quarterly (or more frequent) reviews prompt the responsible business owner directly-not lost in generic inboxes-with visible trails if any deadline is breached.
- Logged with timestamped evidence: Every approval, exception, and closure is linked to SoA controls and ready for auditor inspection.
The result is a continuous, living chain of evidence. For any account, you can rapidly trace its creation, owner, business rationale, approval, review status, and deactivation. Visual dashboards spotlight overdue or open items by role, supplier, or department.
No access event just fades into the inbox: every approval and closure becomes visible, owned, and audit-ready.
ISMS.online Lifecycle Features
- Named owner and expiry for every account (staff or supplier)
- Automated reviews and reminders, with escalation built in
- Dedicated logs for all onboarding, changes, and offboarding processes
- Dashboard drilldown: see closure evidence by risk, role, or control
Which ISO 27001:2022 controls require active operationalization-and what does NIS 2 demand for evidence?
NIS 2 and modern ISO 27001 audits expect proof that not only are policies current, but that every required control is operational and evidenced:
| Control | What Must Happen in Reality | Satisfactory Audit Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| **A.5.15 Access Policy** | Reviewed, up-to-date, actively signed off | Signed policy, version control, SoA linkage |
| **A.5.16 Identity Mgmt** | All access linked to HR/supplier actions | Account creation/closure logs, onboarding records |
| **A.5.18 Access Rights** | Reviews at least quarterly, with sign-off | Reviewer logs, revocation & exception logs |
| **A.8.2 Privileged Access** | No privilege left unowned or unreviewed | Assignment evidence, closure history |
| **A.8.5 MFA** | MFA enforced, exceptions tracked/remediated | MFA status logs, exception remediation trail |
| **A.5.20/21 Supplier Mgmt** | Supplier access time-limited and contract-tied | Supplier register, contract-expiry links |
Auditors will require:
- Approval chains demonstrating who owns each access and supplier relationship
- Workflow exports showing onboarding, changes, offboarding, and closure mapped to SoA
- Logs of exceptions (e.g. legacy MFA) and evidence of remediation or risk acceptance
ISMS.online collects these into evidence packs-eliminating last-minute manual searches and “headless spreadsheet” risk.
At-a-Glance: Control Trace Table
| Activity | Evidence Required | Annex A Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier account created | Signed approval, expiry set | A.5.20/21 |
| Privilege change | Reviewer sign-off, closure log | A.8.2, A.5.18 |
| Account Removed | Offboarding evidence, SoA link | A.5.16, A.5.18 |
| MFA configured | MFA enforcement & exceptions | A.8.5 |
Where do MFA and privilege management gaps typically occur-and what makes control provable?
Common points of failure-and audit triggers-now include:
- Legacy/MFA gaps: Old systems where MFA or logging isn’t enforced. Auditors will look for exception logs, compensating controls, and proof of remediation-not just a policy waiver.
- Privilege orphaning: Temporary or high-privilege accounts (created for third-party support or after urgent incidents) often outlive their need unless their expiry, review, and closure is enforced and evidenced.
- Overdue reviews: Annual is no longer enough. Quarterly, or event-based review cycles, with escalation and documented outcomes, are now expected-even a single missed review can become a finding.
ISMS.online centralises and automates exception and remediation logs for MFA and privilege drift. Every privilege, supplier, or admin account is visible by owner, expiry, and review status, with action history audit trails.
Privilege without an owner, expiry, and closure proof is a breach in waiting-auditors want real-time evidence or they escalate the risk.
Table: Typical Failures & ISMS.online Remediation
| Gap Detected | Required Response | ISMS.online Proof Output |
|---|---|---|
| Legacy MFA gap | Exception with fix plan | Exception log, remediation timestamp |
| Orphaned privilege | Enforce closure/revocation | Offboarding report, closure approval |
| Supplier overstay | Contract-expiry sync | Register entry, closure evidence |
| Overdue privilege review | Automated escalation | Alert log, reviewer sign-off |
How do you generate traceability from every access trigger to closure-linking risks and controls?
Regulators, auditors, and management increasingly expect real-time traceability, not static artefact bundles. ISMS.online enables end-to-end mapping from every trigger (e.g. employment or contract end, scheduled review, MFA drift) through identified risk and control, to evidence of closure:
| Trigger/Event | Risk Detected | SoA / ISO Ref | Proof Exported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff leaver | Orphaned supplier acct | A.5.18, A.5.21 | Closure doc, expiry log |
| Quarterly review | Missed privilege check | A.8.2, A.5.18 | Reviewer sign-off, timestamps |
| MFA exception | Policy drift | A.8.5 | Exception/review logs |
| Supplier contract end | Untied access | A.5.20, A.5.21 | Register linkage, revocation |
Dashboards allow managers, auditors, or the board to follow any issue from open risk to sign-off, closure, and SoA mapping-often in a single click. What was once an artefact scramble now becomes continuous, living compliance ((https://www.isms.online/iso-27001/checklist/annex-a-5-18-checklist)).
What next steps guarantee resilience, audit readiness, and ongoing board trust?
- Schedule a walkthrough: See how every control, review, and closure is tied directly to both ISO 27001 Annex A and NIS 2 requirements in real-time evidence exports
- Assign named reviewers to every access point, privilege, and supplier account, enforcing quarterly reviews with built-in escalation
- Customise your SoA and policy-mapping so every new contract, onboarding, or exception is auto-linked to its underlying evidence base
- Use dashboards to monitor open access, privilege, or supplier items-remediate before audit, not after
- Shift from annual “tick-box” compliance to a living, transparent loop-where your organisation proves its resilience and board trust every day, not just at audit time
A resilient organisation is ready for the next audit any day-and proves its worth to the board with evidence, not anecdotes.
ISMS.online is trusted by leading organisations across Europe for living compliance. Your supplier, access, and privilege controls are evidenced, closed, and always ready-making trust and resilience business-as-usual.
