Service Account Management Best PracticesIssue Improper management of service accounts, especially re-using them, can lead to security vulnerabilities, compliance issues, increased administrative overhead, and resource saturation due to prolonged active sessions.SymptomsImproper management of service accounts, especially re-using them, can lead to security vulnerabilities, compliance issues, increased administrative overhead, and resource saturation due to prolonged active sessions.FactsRe-use of service accounts credential may pose the following risks: Increases the complexity of any troubleshooting efforts.It exponential increases the potential impact to integrations and/or origin sharing credentials should credentials expired or be invalidated.ReleaseAll versionsResolutionServiceNow strongly recommends against re-using service accounts due to security, management concerns, and potential resource issues. Instead, follow these best practices for service account management: Create unique service accounts: Avoid re-using service accounts as this prevents proper termination and balancing of instance resourcesRe-use can lead to sessions being kept alive for extended periods, potentially saturating resources Apply the principle of least privilege: Grant only necessary permissionsRemove unnecessary privileges (e.g., remote access, internet access)Use ACLs to define resource access Avoid placing service accounts in privileged groups like local Administrators or Domain Admins Implement regular recertification: High-privilege user accounts: every six monthsService accounts: every three months Utilize ServiceNow's automation capabilities: Automate onboarding and offboarding processesUse data certification features for reviews Maintain clear documentation and use consistent naming conventions Conduct periodic audits and reviews: Use ServiceNow's reporting tools to monitor account activityPerform regular access audits Store service account credentials securely: Use a privileged access management (PAM) solutionImplement regular credential rotation practices Related LinksAdditional Information For more details on implementing these practices and understanding the impact of service account management on instance resources, refer to ServiceNow documentation on User Administration, Access Control, and Instance Resource Management.