Why Should the Programmer Not Push Their Own Change Into Production?
No one person should be able to create, approve, deploy, and hide an unauthorized system change.
Developers
Developers create and modify programs, so unrestricted production access creates risk that code changes bypass normal approval.
Production operations
Operators run and monitor production processing and should not normally have unrestricted authority to rewrite the programs they operate.
Security administrators
Security personnel administer privileged access and should not use that access to perform incompatible operational functions without oversight.
Small organizations
When staffing prevents perfect segregation, compensating controls can include independent review, logging, approvals, and management monitoring.
The takeaway
Separate development, production operations, access administration, approval, and monitoring as much as practical, then use compensating controls where full separation is impossible.
Related Summit guides
FAQ
Should developers have unrestricted production access?
Generally no.
Can small companies use compensating controls?
Yes.
Does logging help when segregation is limited?
Yes.