Instance Security Assessments

What It Is

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An instance security assessment is a configuration deep-dive that evaluates roles, ACLs, system properties, integration endpoints, and more against ServiceNow best practices. The goal is to ensure that customer-managed settings support confidentiality, integrity, and availability without hindering day-to-day work.

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Why It Matters Under the Shared Responsibility Model

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ServiceNow secures the platform. Customers are responsible for secure configuration, authentication and authorization, data management, and vulnerability management inside the instance. Misconfigured roles, long-lived admin accounts, or relaxed properties fall squarely on the customer side of that ledger.

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Why Challenges Appear

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• Limited visibility – thousands of properties and ACLs hide toxic combinations

• Continuous change – dev teams move fast, governance lags behind

• Integration sprawl – rapid development and deployment of integrations without security oversight can introduce risk

• Audit deadlines – frameworks such as ISO 27001 and SOX expect documented control evidence

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How EntruLabs Conducts a Test

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1. Baseline capture – automated collection of roles, properties, and integration settings

2. Gap analysis – compare against ServiceNow Security Center guidance and EntruLabs benchmarks

3. Manual validation – manual validations of specific types of misconfigurations when included in scope

4. Prioritized roadmap – quick wins and strategic fixes mapped to compliance controls

5. Hardening or monitoring add-on – fractional security engineers can implement changes or tune alerts so gaps stay closed

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Outcome

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• Hard evidence that customer configuration duties are met

• Tighter least-privilege model with measurable risk reduction

• Clear next steps that platform owners can action without delay

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