Connector governance is the set of policies, permissions, and review controls that define what a software integration may access and what actions it can perform. In practice, it decides whether a connector can only read data, or whether it can also create tickets, change records, reset passwords, or trigger workflows across connected systems.
It matters because integrations often become high-trust pathways inside an environment. If a connector is over-scoped, compromised, or misconfigured, an attacker may move from a chat app, ticketing tool, or automation platform into mail, identity, or cloud services. Strong governance limits blast radius with least privilege, explicit approvals, token rotation, logging, and periodic access review. Defenders also use it to separate read-only assistants from write-capable automations and to require human handoff for sensitive actions. Good connector governance turns integration sprawl into controlled access instead of hidden privilege.