InTegriLogic Blog

All You Need to Know About Least Privilege

 
In IT, the principle of least privilege (PoLP) refers to the concept that any process, program or user must be provided with 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 often considered a critical step for protecting privileged access to a businesses’ high-value assets and data (including customer/employee records). Since this principle extends beyond the scope of human access, it is also applicable 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[i] and Target[ii], occurred due to a compromise of their network credentials? In both the cases, hackers used privileged accounts to access critical business data and private records of customers. Taking cue from the breaches in the past, you need to understand that your informational security professionals and network managers must deploy security strategies for users and applications to perform critical functions within the network.

 
For ensuring efficient enforcement of the principle of least privilege, you need to devise a strategy to manage and secure your privileged credentials centrally and deploy flexible controls to strike a balance between your operational and end-user needs and your compliance and cybersecurity requirements.

 

Securing Your Business

The Vectra 2020 Attacker Behavior Industry Report[iii] highlights that privileged access is a key aspect that hackers leverage for lateral movement in cyberattacks. They use these privileges to gain access to the most critical assets that a business relies on.

 
PoLP is an efficient cybersecurity strategy that can be used to restrict unauthorized access of data from the different levels within your IT environment including applications, end users, systems, networks, databases, processes and so on. You can grant permissions to your users to execute, read or write only those resources or files that they need to perform their job. Additionally, you can restrict access rights for devices, processes, systems and applications to privileges required to carry out authorized activities.

 

Managing Access Levels

In some cases, the assignment of privileges is done 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 that operate with a limited set of 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 that are 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.[iv] What this implies is that you must not ignore third-party vendor risk management. Apart from your internal users, you must also implement 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 towards minimizing the associated risk.

 

Benefits of Principle of Least Privilege

 
We have rounded up a list of benefits of leveraging the principle of least privilege for your business. Read on:

 

Diminishes the Attack Surface

As mentioned earlier, the role of an HVAC contractor was critical to the Target data breach. Given the fact that the third-party vendor had elevated privileges, one can safely say that Target failed to implement PoLP, which consequently created a broad attack surface for the hacker to leverage.

Under PoLP, restricting privileges for your applications, processes and users significantly diminishes the attack surface and limits the ingresses and pathways for exploit.

 

Reduces the Impact of Breaches

By implementing PoLP, you can significantly reduce the impact of a breach that might occur as a result of unauthorized or unwanted use of network privileges. For instance, if a user account that has only limited privileges is compromised, the scope of catastrophic harm is relatively low.

 

Reduces Malware Propagation and Infection

Hackers usually target applications and systems with unrestricted privileges. As one of the most common web applications cyberattacks out there, a SQL injection attacks by inserting malicious instructions within SQL statements. The hacker can then enhance his privileges and acquire unauthorized control over your critical systems. However, by implementing PoLP, you can efficiently stunt and contain such malware attacks to where they first entered your system.

 

Ensures Superior Data Security Capabilities

In addition to eliminating any security flaws on the periphery of your business, you also need to focus on minimizing the risk of proprietary data thefts and insider leaks. That being said, it is imperative to monitor and control the activity of your authorized users to reinforce your cybersecurity stance.

Since PoLP restricts privilege elevations as well as the number of users that are given access to confidential information, it inherently enhances the security of your critical data.

PoLP Best Practices

 
There are certain best practices that you must follow to efficiently implement PoLP in your security policies.

 
Here is a list:

 

• For starters, you must conduct a privilege audit for all your existing programs, processes and user accounts to make sure that they have only the bare minimum permissions required to do their jobs.
• Make sure that you start all your user accounts with privileges set to the lowest possible level. Implement least privilege as the default for all your existing as well as new user accounts, applications and systems.
• You must elevate account privileges as needed and only for a specific time period that is required to do the job. An efficient strategy to provide the required access while also maintaining control is using one-time-use credentials and expiring privileges.
• Keep track of all the activity on your network including access requests, systems changes and individual logins. Having a comprehensive understanding of who is operating on your network and what they are doing is critical to maintaining control over who can access what.
• Maintain a management platform that allows flexibility to securely elevate and downgrade privileged credentials.
• Conduct regular audits to check if there are any old accounts, users or processes that have accumulated privileges over time and analyze whether or not the elevated privileges are still relevant

 
According to PoLP, organizations should operate under the zero-trust framework by not blindly trusting anything within or outside their network and verifying everything before granting permissions for access.

 
Implement PoLP across your IT environment today to strengthen your cybersecurity posture. Don’t know how? Contact us now to help you understand how you can implement and leverage the powerful capabilities of PoLP.

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Article curated and used by permission.
 
 
[i] https://www.webtitan.com/blog/cost-retail-data-breach-179-million-home-depot/#:~:text=The%20Home%20Depot%20data%20breach,one%20of%20the%20retailer's%20vendors
 
[ii] https://arxiv.org/pdf/1701.04940.pdf#:~:text=1%20INTRODUCTION,of%20personal%20information%20were%20stolen
 
[iii] https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/91830-surge-in-attacker-access-to-privileged-accounts-and-services-puts-businesses-at-risk
 
[iv] https://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/02/target-hackers-broke-in-via-hvac-company/
 

All You Need to Know About Least Privilege

 
In IT, the principle of least privilege (PoLP) refers to the concept that any process, program or user must be provided with 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 often considered a critical step for protecting privileged access to a businesses’ high-value assets and data (including customer/employee records). Since this principle extends beyond the scope of human access, it is also applicable 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[i] and Target[ii], occurred due to a compromise of their network credentials? In both the cases, hackers used privileged accounts to access critical business data and private records of customers. Taking cue from the breaches in the past, you need to understand that your informational security professionals and network managers must deploy security strategies for users and applications to perform critical functions within the network.

 
For ensuring efficient enforcement of the principle of least privilege, you need to devise a strategy to manage and secure your privileged credentials centrally and deploy flexible controls to strike a balance between your operational and end-user needs and your compliance and cybersecurity requirements.

 

Securing Your Business

The Vectra 2020 Attacker Behavior Industry Report[iii] highlights that privileged access is a key aspect that hackers leverage for lateral movement in cyberattacks. They use these privileges to gain access to the most critical assets that a business relies on.

 
PoLP is an efficient cybersecurity strategy that can be used to restrict unauthorized access of data from the different levels within your IT environment including applications, end users, systems, networks, databases, processes and so on. You can grant permissions to your users to execute, read or write only those resources or files that they need to perform their job. Additionally, you can restrict access rights for devices, processes, systems and applications to privileges required to carry out authorized activities.

 

Managing Access Levels

In some cases, the assignment of privileges is done 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 that operate with a limited set of 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 that are 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.[iv] What this implies is that you must not ignore third-party vendor risk management. Apart from your internal users, you must also implement 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 towards minimizing the associated risk.

 

Benefits of Principle of Least Privilege

 
We have rounded up a list of benefits of leveraging the principle of least privilege for your business. Read on:

 

Diminishes the Attack Surface

As mentioned earlier, the role of an HVAC contractor was critical to the Target data breach. Given the fact that the third-party vendor had elevated privileges, one can safely say that Target failed to implement PoLP, which consequently created a broad attack surface for the hacker to leverage.

Under PoLP, restricting privileges for your applications, processes and users significantly diminishes the attack surface and limits the ingresses and pathways for exploit.

 

Reduces the Impact of Breaches

By implementing PoLP, you can significantly reduce the impact of a breach that might occur as a result of unauthorized or unwanted use of network privileges. For instance, if a user account that has only limited privileges is compromised, the scope of catastrophic harm is relatively low.

 

Reduces Malware Propagation and Infection

Hackers usually target applications and systems with unrestricted privileges. As one of the most common web applications cyberattacks out there, a SQL injection attacks by inserting malicious instructions within SQL statements. The hacker can then enhance his privileges and acquire unauthorized control over your critical systems. However, by implementing PoLP, you can efficiently stunt and contain such malware attacks to where they first entered your system.

 

Ensures Superior Data Security Capabilities

In addition to eliminating any security flaws on the periphery of your business, you also need to focus on minimizing the risk of proprietary data thefts and insider leaks. That being said, it is imperative to monitor and control the activity of your authorized users to reinforce your cybersecurity stance.

Since PoLP restricts privilege elevations as well as the number of users that are given access to confidential information, it inherently enhances the security of your critical data.

PoLP Best Practices

 
There are certain best practices that you must follow to efficiently implement PoLP in your security policies.

 
Here is a list:

 

• For starters, you must conduct a privilege audit for all your existing programs, processes and user accounts to make sure that they have only the bare minimum permissions required to do their jobs.
• Make sure that you start all your user accounts with privileges set to the lowest possible level. Implement least privilege as the default for all your existing as well as new user accounts, applications and systems.
• You must elevate account privileges as needed and only for a specific time period that is required to do the job. An efficient strategy to provide the required access while also maintaining control is using one-time-use credentials and expiring privileges.
• Keep track of all the activity on your network including access requests, systems changes and individual logins. Having a comprehensive understanding of who is operating on your network and what they are doing is critical to maintaining control over who can access what.
• Maintain a management platform that allows flexibility to securely elevate and downgrade privileged credentials.
• Conduct regular audits to check if there are any old accounts, users or processes that have accumulated privileges over time and analyze whether or not the elevated privileges are still relevant

 
According to PoLP, organizations should operate under the zero-trust framework by not blindly trusting anything within or outside their network and verifying everything before granting permissions for access.

 
Implement PoLP across your IT environment today to strengthen your cybersecurity posture. Don’t know how? Contact us now to help you understand how you can implement and leverage the powerful capabilities of PoLP.

 
 

---

 
 
 
 
 
Article curated and used by permission.
 
 
[i] https://www.webtitan.com/blog/cost-retail-data-breach-179-million-home-depot/#:~:text=The%20Home%20Depot%20data%20breach,one%20of%20the%20retailer's%20vendors
 
[ii] https://arxiv.org/pdf/1701.04940.pdf#:~:text=1%20INTRODUCTION,of%20personal%20information%20were%20stolen
 
[iii] https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/91830-surge-in-attacker-access-to-privileged-accounts-and-services-puts-businesses-at-risk
 
[iv] https://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/02/target-hackers-broke-in-via-hvac-company/
 

Why Your Business Needs a Data Security Policy

 
Today, the competitive business environment is data-driven. Data provides key insights into your customers and business performance that helps you make better decisions and improve processes. However, the sudden influx of employees working remotely exposes your organization’s information to several security threats.

According to the FBI, cybersecurity complaints increased from 1,000 to 4,000 complaints daily during the COVID-19 pandemic.[i] The growing number of data breaches only validates that data security should be a top priority.

 

Data Security Versus Data Privacy

 
A well-crafted data security policy is critical to protecting your organization’s data from unauthorized access. It is important to understand the difference between data security and data privacy to develop a clearly defined data security policy. Data security is the process of securing sensitive information, such as company and customer data, from unauthorized access and exploitation. On the other hand, data privacy, also known as information privacy, is the process of managing how information is collected, used, stored and disseminated by an organization.

 

Risks and Consequences of Not Having a Data Security Policy

 
Despite the growing number of data breaches, most small and midsized businesses do not have well-established data security policies. The lack of a data security program opens the door to a wide variety of security risks, such as data theft, data tampering and unauthorized access to sensitive information. The impact of a single data breach can be much more devastating and result in huge financial loss. It can also have the following serious consequences:

 
Damage Brand Reputation: A security breach can tarnish your brand’s image and drive away potential customers. Your customers will lose trust and confidence in your company.

 
Disrupt Business Operations: The period of downtime from the moment a security incident occurs, right up to restoration, significantly affects business operations, leading to low productivity, revenue loss and unhappy customers.

 
Legal Implications: Organizations that fall victim to data breaches face serious consequences including fines, legal action and compensation to customers.

 
Loss of Intellectual Property: A data breach not only puts your company and customer information at risk, but you also run the risk of losing patents, blueprints and other certifications.

Proactive and Preventative Strategies to Protect Your Data

 
The truth is anyone can become a victim of data breaches. The costs of recovering your compromised data can be greater than taking proactive measures to prevent breaches from occurring in the first place.

 
Protecting your organization’s most valuable asset requires far more than an IT security program. Having a well-documented information security policy in place is an important step to protect sensitive data and minimize threats. Apart from setting up the policy, you should constantly communicate guidelines and best practices for data protection across your organization.

 

Understanding the Key Elements of a Data Security Policy

 
It is critical to identify both internal and external risks that could disrupt business operations in order to establish a robust data security policy. Here are some key elements your company’s data protection policy should include:

 
Data Privacy: As businesses gather massive amounts of customer information, it is extremely important to ensure confidential data records are safeguarded from prying eyes and opportunistic scammers. Having a data privacy policy in place will not only help you stay compliant with regulations but will also help prevent malicious misuse of your clients’ sensitive data.

 
Password Management: According to the 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, over 80 percent of data breaches due to hacking are password-related. It is vital that you implement a strong password management policy for all users who have access to your company’s resources so as to mitigate the risks of security breaches. The policy should state the importance of periodically updating passwords, how to manage and secure passwords, and the implications of not adhering to the policies and procedures.

 
Internet Usage: Businesses today rely heavily on the internet for their day-to-day operations, which also makes them vulnerable to several security risks. Therefore, it’s important to have an internet usage policy to guide your employees on how to securely access the internet. Your employees should be made aware that browsing restricted sites and downloading unnecessary files are prohibited and failing to adhere to these rules can be detrimental.

 
Email Usage: In the 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report, 94 percent of malware was delivered through email. A carefully outlined email policy will protect your employees and organizations from threats related to malicious emails. Training programs on email etiquette will ensure corporate emails are responsibly used and confidential client-related information is secured and protected.

 
Company-Owned and Personal Employee Devices: The sudden shift to remote working has dramatically increased the level of security risks. Having a company-owned device policy will help in managing, monitoring and securing both the device and the information on it from unauthorized access and data theft.

 
As personal employee devices are used for both recreational and business purposes, it’s difficult to monitor and control personal devices, which can be easily exploited. By outlining a comprehensive information security policy, such as using up-to-date software, connecting to the network through secure VPN and immediately reporting if the device is lost or stolen, you can minimize the risks of data breaches.

 
Software User Agreements: Every software user should comply with the end-user license agreement. Breaching this agreement could result in lawsuits and fines. A software user agreement policy will ensure your employees are using only those software applications that are legal and approved by your company.

 
Reporting Security Breaches: A security incident can occur when you least expect it. Data breaches should be immediately reported to minimize negative impacts and prevent further attacks. A data breach policy will guide your employees on what actions need to be taken to manage data breaches. It will also ensure your employees follow appropriate procedures while reporting such incidents.

 
Conquer the Challenge of Data Policies
 
For any organization, data is a valuable asset that needs to be protected at all costs. Adding to the challenge are the constantly evolving and complex data privacy regulations that every business should comply with.

 
To find out how you can secure your data while staying compliant with regulations, contact us today.

 
 
 


 
 
Article curated and used by permission.
 
 
 
 
[i] https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/493198-fbi-sees-spike-in-cyber-crime-reports-during-coronavirus-pandemic
 

Why Your Business Needs a Data Security Policy

  Today, the competitive business environment is data-driven. Data provides key insights into your customers and business performance that helps you make better decisions and improve processes. However, the sudden influx of employees working remotely exposes your organization’s information to several security threats.

According to the FBI, cybersecurity complaints increased from 1,000 to 4,000 complaints daily during the COVID-19 pandemic.[i] The growing number of data breaches only validates that data security should be a top priority.

 

Data Security Versus Data Privacy

  A well-crafted data security policy is critical to protecting your organization’s data from unauthorized access. It is important to understand the difference between data security and data privacy to develop a clearly defined data security policy. Data security is the process of securing sensitive information, such as company and customer data, from unauthorized access and exploitation. On the other hand, data privacy, also known as information privacy, is the process of managing how information is collected, used, stored and disseminated by an organization.

 

Risks and Consequences of Not Having a Data Security Policy

  Despite the growing number of data breaches, most small and midsized businesses do not have well-established data security policies. The lack of a data security program opens the door to a wide variety of security risks, such as data theft, data tampering and unauthorized access to sensitive information. The impact of a single data breach can be much more devastating and result in huge financial loss. It can also have the following serious consequences:

  Damage Brand Reputation: A security breach can tarnish your brand’s image and drive away potential customers. Your customers will lose trust and confidence in your company.

  Disrupt Business Operations: The period of downtime from the moment a security incident occurs, right up to restoration, significantly affects business operations, leading to low productivity, revenue loss and unhappy customers.

  Legal Implications: Organizations that fall victim to data breaches face serious consequences including fines, legal action and compensation to customers.

  Loss of Intellectual Property: A data breach not only puts your company and customer information at risk, but you also run the risk of losing patents, blueprints and other certifications.

Proactive and Preventative Strategies to Protect Your Data

  The truth is anyone can become a victim of data breaches. The costs of recovering your compromised data can be greater than taking proactive measures to prevent breaches from occurring in the first place.

  Protecting your organization’s most valuable asset requires far more than an IT security program. Having a well-documented information security policy in place is an important step to protect sensitive data and minimize threats. Apart from setting up the policy, you should constantly communicate guidelines and best practices for data protection across your organization.

 

Understanding the Key Elements of a Data Security Policy

  It is critical to identify both internal and external risks that could disrupt business operations in order to establish a robust data security policy. Here are some key elements your company’s data protection policy should include:

  Data Privacy: As businesses gather massive amounts of customer information, it is extremely important to ensure confidential data records are safeguarded from prying eyes and opportunistic scammers. Having a data privacy policy in place will not only help you stay compliant with regulations but will also help prevent malicious misuse of your clients’ sensitive data.

  Password Management: According to the 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, over 80 percent of data breaches due to hacking are password-related. It is vital that you implement a strong password management policy for all users who have access to your company’s resources so as to mitigate the risks of security breaches. The policy should state the importance of periodically updating passwords, how to manage and secure passwords, and the implications of not adhering to the policies and procedures.

  Internet Usage: Businesses today rely heavily on the internet for their day-to-day operations, which also makes them vulnerable to several security risks. Therefore, it’s important to have an internet usage policy to guide your employees on how to securely access the internet. Your employees should be made aware that browsing restricted sites and downloading unnecessary files are prohibited and failing to adhere to these rules can be detrimental.

  Email Usage: In the 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report, 94 percent of malware was delivered through email. A carefully outlined email policy will protect your employees and organizations from threats related to malicious emails. Training programs on email etiquette will ensure corporate emails are responsibly used and confidential client-related information is secured and protected.

  Company-Owned and Personal Employee Devices: The sudden shift to remote working has dramatically increased the level of security risks. Having a company-owned device policy will help in managing, monitoring and securing both the device and the information on it from unauthorized access and data theft.

  As personal employee devices are used for both recreational and business purposes, it’s difficult to monitor and control personal devices, which can be easily exploited. By outlining a comprehensive information security policy, such as using up-to-date software, connecting to the network through secure VPN and immediately reporting if the device is lost or stolen, you can minimize the risks of data breaches.

  Software User Agreements: Every software user should comply with the end-user license agreement. Breaching this agreement could result in lawsuits and fines. A software user agreement policy will ensure your employees are using only those software applications that are legal and approved by your company.

  Reporting Security Breaches: A security incident can occur when you least expect it. Data breaches should be immediately reported to minimize negative impacts and prevent further attacks. A data breach policy will guide your employees on what actions need to be taken to manage data breaches. It will also ensure your employees follow appropriate procedures while reporting such incidents.

  Conquer the Challenge of Data Policies   For any organization, data is a valuable asset that needs to be protected at all costs. Adding to the challenge are the constantly evolving and complex data privacy regulations that every business should comply with.

  To find out how you can secure your data while staying compliant with regulations, contact us today.

     

---

    Article curated and used by permission.         [i] https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/493198-fbi-sees-spike-in-cyber-crime-reports-during-coronavirus-pandemic