What is the Access Windows page?
Access Windows is a feature that grants administrators the ability to grant just-in-time access to users and vendors who need to use the Dispel platform - all managed within the web dashboard. Without an access window, user access to your network will be restricted.
There are two workflows to achieve an approved access window:
Access Requests: Users can submit an access request to the necessary facility for a specified amount of time, and an admin can approve or deny these requests.
Proactive Access Approval: Alternatively, an Admin can choose to create a pre-approved Access Window for a user so that there is no need for a request / approval cycle.
If you are looking to create an access window for an entire group rather than an individual user, check out our new feature: Group Access Windows!
Feature Walkthrough
When you log into the Dispel dashboard, click "Access Windows" in the left navigation menu.
A number will be displayed next to the Access Windows tab as requests come in from users, indicating a pending request. Let's walk through the process of approving or denying a request.
Approving or Denying an Access Window Request
Here, we see that plant.operator@dispel.io has put in an access request that needs action taken on it, indicated with the "Pending" pill.
💡 Need a view of all pending requests?
Click on the "Pending" pill to filter for all pending access requests. Similarly, you can filter for all approved or denied access windows by clicking on their respective pills.
After clicking on the request, we are taken to the page where we can see more details - namely, the reason for the request and the stack that they would be accessing.
We are able to leave a note for the user if we'd like, and now we'll approve the request.
We are then taken to a screen with a summary of the access request.
Editing Access Requests
To shorten or lengthen an access window, select the access window for the user or group from the Access Windows page. Here, you will find an "Edit" button that allows you to configure the length of the access window. Additionally, you will be required to leave a comment for your change to provide an audit trail.
Additionally, you can temporarily revoke or enable access for a particular user without completely revoking their access window. To do so, select the "Members" sub-tab within your selected access window. Here, you can toggle an access window on and off in case of emergency.
Filtering Access Requests
Another feature of Access Windows is the increased visibility into who was granted access to which facility, who granted them that access, what they had access to, and when they had access to it.
The "By Date" tab allows admins to view past, present, and future access that was granted or is yet to be granted. If an incident happened on December 12th, 2022 and needed investigation, you could simply select that date on the calendar from the dropdown and see who had access that day.
Additionally, you are able to click on the pills for Status (such as pending, active, passed, etc) and Facility to easily filter by each.
Exporting
Another useful feature of the Access Windows feature is the ability to export all access requests in the selected date range into a CSV (comma-separated values) file. This can be utilized with filters, so you can export a CSV of access requests for one specific facility, or all requests of a certain status.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to your point of contact, or support@dispel.io