ServiceNow Security Best Practices 2025: Strengthening Your Enterprise IT
As technology advances, enterprises are expecting to rely heavily on ServiceNow platforms to streamline their IT operations, automate workflows, and improve service management.
On the contrary, businesses are also aware that cyber threats and technologies are directly proportional. This is also a reason to adopt the ServiceNow platform to secure their businesses. Failure to implement can lead to compromises with data breaches, compliance violations, and operational disruptions.
This article is about the ServiceNow best practices that you should adopt in 2025. You will learn how to secure your ServiceNow instance using the following strategies to ensure your data is secure, compliant, and has optimal performance.
Understanding ServiceNow’s Shared Responsibility Model
ServiceNow security follows a shared partnership model between customer and provider, both with specific responsibilities.
Where Now provides its users with spacious capabilities to configure their ServiceNow Instance platform. So that customers must have the option to tailor their policies and security requirements according to their business model.
It follows a shared responsibility model among its users and platform to ensure security in ServiceNow. Where ServiceNow is responsible for managing platform updates, security, and compliance certifications.
Customers will manage security controls, user access, configuration, and integrations.
Certifications and Accreditations
ServiceNow maintains multiple industry-standard certifications, including
- ISO 27001 (Information Security Management System)
- ISO 27017 (Cloud Security)
- ISO 27018 (Data Protection)
- ISO 27701 (Privacy Information Management)
Why ServiceNow Security Matters
ServiceNow is a platform where it commits and ensures that its user data becomes safe. And to make it possible without any glitches, Now offers comprehensive tools to secure its users’ instances, and they can confidently protect their data privacy.
The security of ServiceNow also matters because it offers a centralized platform where users can manage and respond to security incidents efficiently.
Moreover, it allows organizations to proactively identify vulnerabilities, automate remediation processes, and improve overall security posture by centralizing data, streamlining workflows, and enabling faster response times to cyber threats across the entire IT ecosystem.
What Happens If You Ignore ServiceNow Security?
Ignoring ServiceNow Security can lead to disastrous results. For instances:
- Unauthorized access to sensitive data.
- Compliance failures with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2.
- Operational disruptions due to system vulnerabilities.
- Security breaches cause financial and reputational damage.
- By implementing best security practices, organizations can enhance data protection, reduce risks, and maintain business continuity.
At last, we can conclude that ServiceNow provides a list of important tools for protecting sensitive data and mitigating risks within an organization.
Best Practices for ServiceNow Security
You can follow the best practices to ensure your ServiceNow security.
1. Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
RBAC is the process of limiting access to information and functions to only those users who require it for their roles. Over-permission is more likely to lead to data disclosure and internal risks.
Best Practices for RBAC:
- User access should be based on the least privilege principle.
- Perform routine reviews of users’ roles and permissions.
- Limit the access of users to sensitive data and settings.
2. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
MFA is a security feature that ServiceNow offers to verify users’ identities using more than just a password.
How to Implement MFA in ServiceNow:
- Enable MFA for all administrators and other high-risk users.
- Authenticators are authentication apps like Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator. These can be used to verify identity.
- Adaptive authentication for access control based on risk is also supported.
3. Perform Routine Security Audits and Compliance Reviews
Security audits are routine checks that help to discover potential weaknesses and mistakes that can be made in the system.
Key Security Audit Steps:
- Utilize ServiceNow Security Center for automated security scans.
- Examine whether the application complies with relevant laws (GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001).
- Investigate security events by analyzing event logs.
4. Enforce Data Encryption and Secure Integrations
Unencrypted data provides a potential security risk. confidentiality and integrity are supported by encryption.
Encryption Best Practices:
- Encrypt the data transfer using TLS (Transport Layer Security).
- Use ServiceNow Edge Encryption to encrypt sensitive data.
- You can implement security for the APIs of the third-party integrations.
5. Enable Real-Time Monitoring & Threat Analysis
With proactive monitoring, threats can be detected and mitigated before they take full form.
Security Monitoring Strategies:
- Threat detection and response through ServiceNow Security Incident Response.
- Anomaly detection in real-time through AI-driven analytics.
- Automate alerts, as well as workflow for security response.
6. Update Patch Services Regularly for ServiceNow Instances
Outdated software can easily fall prey to security threats. Therefore, reducing risks means keeping your ServiceNow instance updated.
Patch Management Best Practices:
- Use security patches as soon as they are released.
- Regularly schedule system updates to keep downtime to a minimum.
- Automate the testing of updates to diminish potential disruptions.
7. Follow the Shared Responsibility Model
Security is a shared responsibility between ServiceNow as well as the customer. It is important to understand what your responsibilities are in securing your instance.
Main Shared Responsibility Model:
ServiceNow provides a secured infrastructure, compliance frameworks, and security tools.
However, at the customer aspect, it configures security settings, manages access controls, and ensures compliance.
Common ServiceNow Security Mistakes to Avoid
Despite putting security measures in place, some common blunders can counteract ServiceNow security:
- Over-permissioning users, granting excessive access rights.
- Ignoring patches for security, allowing vulnerabilities into the instance.
- No real-time monitoring, hence delays in threat detection.
- Weak password scenarios make it easy for hackers to compromise accounts.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is not negotiable for security on ServiceNow; this is a must to safeguard your enterprise IT environment.
The installation of RBAC, MFA, encryption, continuous monitoring, and regular audits will definitely improve organizations security while keeping them compliant with industry regulations.
Thus, a proactive security mechanism ensures business continuity, data integrity, and a secured digital ecosystem for your enterprise.
Faiz Ansari is a skilled ServiceNow Developer at Virtuxient Technologies PVT LTD, specializing in ServiceNow Administration, Project Portfolio Management, and App Engine Studio. With a strong foundation in computer science, he holds a B.Tech degree and is passionate about building scalable and efficient solutions within the ServiceNow ecosystem, helping businesses streamline workflows and enhance productivity. He also has a keen interest in technical writing, simplifying complex concepts through clear documentation.
