10 steps to prevent identity threats using privileged access
Cyber criminals steal credentials used by SaaS administrators and privileged user accounts in order to gain access to the sensitive systems. Preventing identity threats using privileged access involves implementing a set of security measures to safeguard privileged accounts and mitigate the risk of unauthorized access.
What are the potential identity threats?
Credential theft attackers may steal usernames, passwords, or any other form of authentication through techniques such as phishing, keylogging, or brute-force attacks. These credentials can be used to impersonate legitimate users and gain unauthorized access to the system.
Identity spoofing here one impersonates another individual or entity to gain unauthorized access to carry out malicious activities. This includes spoofing email addresses, IP addresses, or identifying information to deceive users or bypass security controls.
Insider threats it talks about the individuals within an organization who misuse their authorized access to steal data, sabotage systems or carry out malicious activities. Here one abuses their privilege for personal gain or in order to harm the organization.
Data Breaches This occurs when attackers gain unauthorized access to the sensitive system or information of the organization. This can further result to exposure of personal, financial, or other confidential data, leading to financial loss, reputational damage and legal consequences.
Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attackers here the attacker intercepts the communication between two parties to eavesdrop on the exchange of important and confidential information.
Ransomware and extortion such attackers compromise data and demand payment for its release. In cases the attacker may threaten to expose the sensitive information if the ransom is not paid.
What is Privileged access?
Privileged access is the elevated permission or rights granted to certain accounts, users or processers within the IT system. This enables users to perform specific actions or access resources that are not available for regular users.
Privileged access is only granted to specific users who require access to the sensitive data or privileged systems. This is granted usually to the accounts responsible for managing, configuring, or maintaining critical systems.
What are the 10 steps to prevent identity threats?
Implement least privilege principle Only the users who require privileged access should be granted the access to certain sensitive system and information to perform their job requirements. Access to the sensitive system and information should be minimized to allow users to perform their tasks more effectively without the potential risk of attack.
Regularly review privileged access A thorough periodical review should be done to keep in check the privileged accounts and access rights are still necessary and appropriate. There should be removal of accounts that no longer require access or are no longer a part of the organization.
Enforce strong authentication Multi-factor authentication (MFA) should be enforced for all privileged accounts to add an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide additional authentication factor.
Monitor and Audit privileged activities Implementing monitoring mechanisms and robust logging in order to track privileged access and the activities performed by such accounts. There should be a regularity of reviewing done in order to keep in check the suspicious or unauthorized activities that may indicate security breach.
Segment and isolate privileged systems Segment privileged systems and networks from regular user environments to limit the impact of potential breaches. In order to restrict access to privileged resources suage of network should be usage of network segmentation, firewalls, and access controls to restrict access to privileged resources.
Encrypt privileged credentials Privileged credentials should be stored in order to prevent unauthorized access or theft. There should be the usage of security credential management solutions to securely store and manage privileged credentials.
Implement just-in-time privileged access Here the users are granted just-in-time (JIT) access to privileged access only when required for specific tasks. Once the task is completed the access right is revoked in order to restrict the exposure of privileged accounts.
Regularly update and patch systems Privileged systems and software should be kept up to date with the latest security patches and in order to address the known vulnerabilities. Regular scan for security vulnerabilities should be done in order to reduce the risk of exposure.
Educate and train employees Security awareness training programs should be conducted for employees, most importantly for the ones who has access to privileged systems. The training program should help educate them about the importance of security practices and how to track and tackle potential security threats.
Establish incident response procedures Incident response procedures should be developed and maintained in order to effectively respond to security incidents involving privileged access. A clear protocol should be established to detect, respond and mitigate security breaches involving privileged accounts.
Conclusion
It is essential for organizations to implement strong privileged access controls such as strong authentications, encryption, access controls, security awareness training and incident response procedures. By implementing these organizations can strengthen their privileged access controls, reduce the risk of identity threats and enhance the overall security posture of the IT environment.