A common requirement for access requests is adding a file to support the request. It may not be obvious, but Okta Identity Governance has the means to attach a file to a request.
Let’s explore this and show an example.
How to Attach a File in the Access Requests Portal
A file can be attached to a request from within the Access Request portal. At the bottom of the body of the message there’s a field for entering text, and on the left of that is a paperclip icon for attaching a file.
This will prompt for an upload
Once the file is found and selected, it is attached and any comments can be added.
The comment and file now appear in the request messages.
How to Attach a File In Slack
The Slack integration can also be used. The chat mechanism can be used to attach a file as you would for any chat by replying to the thread for a request.
This will be attached to the request messages.
An End-to-End Example
The following is an example of file attachment in use. To make it more intuitive, I have added a message to the request messages to prompt the user to attach the document (and remind the reviewer that there must be an attachment). This is using Okta Workflows based on the mechanism described in https://iamse.blog/2023/07/20/oig-access-requests-posting-additional-information-into-a-request/.
The flow starts with a user requesting access. This could be via the Access Requests portal or chat tool like Slack.
After they submit, an Okta Workflow runs in the background to adds a prompt to the request messages.
The user clicks on the paperclip icon and adds the file.
And it is added to the request messages.
The reviewer, such as manager, is notified of the new access request and that they need to review.
In this case they go to Slack to review. They see the new request and click the n replies link to see the messages in the thread (right panel in Slack).
The thread view on the right shows both the message we put in for them to check for the attached document and the message with the attached document from the requester. The manager can now review the access request and approve or deny the request.
Note that is doesn’t matter whether the file is attached in the Access Requests Portal or attached to the chat thread, it will be visible in both interfaces.
If they had used the Access Requests Portal, they would also see the message and attachment.
This information, including the attached document, will be stored away with the request.
Thus, attaching a document to an Access Request is a simple function that can be performed from within the Access Requests Portal or via the chat functions.
