In IT, the principle of least privilege (PoLP) refers to the concept that any process, program or user must provide only the bare minimum privileges (access or permissions) needed to perform a function. For instance, if a user account has been created for accessing database records, it need not have admin rights. Also, a programmer responsible for updating lines of legacy code can do so without access to the company’s financial records.
PoLP is a cybersecurity best practice and critical for protecting privileged access to a business’s high-value assets and data (including customer/employee records). Since this principle extends beyond human access, it applies to systems, applications and connected devices that require certain permissions or privileges to perform a task.
What least privilege is used for?
Did you know that two of the most infamous data breaches on record, namely the ones at Home Depot and Target, occurred because of a compromise of their network credentials? In both cases, hackers used privileged accounts to access critical business data and private records of customers. Taking a cue from the breaches in the past, you need to understand that your information security professionals and network managers must deploy security strategies for users and applications to perform critical functions within the network.
To ensure efficient enforcement of the principle of least privilege, you must devise a strategy to manage and secure your privileged credentials centrally and deploy flexible controls to balance your operational and end-user needs and compliance and cybersecurity requirements.
Securing your business
The Vectra 2020 Attacker Behavior Industry Report highlights that privileged access is a key aspect hackers leverage for lateral movement in cyberattacks. They use these privileges to access the most critical assets a business relies on.
PoLP is an efficient cybersecurity strategy that can restrict unauthorized access to data from different levels within your IT environment, including applications, end users, systems, networks, databases, processes, etc. You can grant your users permission to execute, read or write only those resources or files they need to perform their job. You can restrict access rights for devices, processes, systems and applications to privileges required to carry out authorized activities.
Managing access levels
Sometimes, privileges are assigned based on role-based attributes such as the business unit, time of day, seniority, and other special circumstances. Some examples of role-based privileges include:
Least privileged user accounts — These are standard user accounts with limited privileges. Under normal circumstances, most of your users should be operating under these accounts 90 to 100 percent of the time.
Superuser accounts — These are essentially admin accounts used by specialized IT users and often come with unlimited privileges. In addition to the read/write/execute privileges, these accounts have the permission to execute systemic changes in your IT network.
Guest user accounts — These accounts are created on a situational basis and often have the least number of privileges — lower than those of the standard user accounts.
Managing third-party vendor risk
An interesting thing to note about the Target data breach is that it started with the hackers gaining access to nearly 70 million customer accounts through an HVAC contractor who had access to Target’s network and the permission to upload executables.What this implies is that you must not ignore third-party vendor risk management. Apart from your internal users, you must also implement the principle of least privilege for your third-party vendors, as they can be a major security risk for your business. Limiting third-party vendor access to your critical data can be an efficient strategy for minimizing the associated risk.
In part two, we rounded up a list of the benefits of leveraging the principle of least privilege for your business.
With our comprehensive suite of cybersecurity solutions, including PoLP best practices, threat detection and response, risk management, and compliance services, you can rest easy knowing that your assets are in good hands. We take a proactive approach, stay ahead of the latest threats, and provide ongoing monitoring and support to secure your systems and data.
If you’re interested, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for a no-obligation consultation at www.CyberSecurityMadeEasy.com
