Identity cleanup is the process of removing accounts, roles, and permissions that are no longer needed. It keeps access limited to people and services with a current business purpose, reducing the chance that unused credentials can be misused.
During a restructuring or project shutdown, cleanup includes reviewing employee and contractor accounts, service identities, group memberships, and third-party access. Defenders should disable or remove obsolete access, transfer necessary ownership, and verify the changes across repositories, cloud services, and build systems. This helps prevent dormant accounts or excessive permissions from becoming paths into systems after a team or project has ended.