An approval chain is the ordered set of sign-offs required before a sensitive action can proceed. Each step may involve a different role, system, or control, such as a manager review, identity check, or transaction limit verification. The goal is to make high-risk actions harder to complete with a single compromised account or rushed decision.
In cyber security, approval chains matter because many attacks target the decision process rather than the software itself. Social engineering, phishing, and business email compromise often try to persuade one authorized person to bypass normal review. Strong defenses use multi-party approval, segregation of duties, step-up authentication, and immutable logging so one request cannot move funds, change credentials, or alter security settings on its own. A well-designed approval chain turns trust into a controlled process instead of an informal habit.