The principle of least privilege (PoLP) states that any user or entity should only have the privileges required to perform their intended function. "Least privilege" refers to the minimum level of privileges that a user needs to complete their task. For example, a software engineer whose job is to write, compile, and run lines of code wouldn't need access to an accounting application.
The PoLP is also known as:
The PoLP plays an important role in mitigating insider attacks. Malicious insiders pose a significant threat to organizations. By abusing their privileges, malicious insiders gain access to confidential data and critical systems. They exploit their privileges for their own personal benefits. According to Verizon's 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report, 80% of all privilege misuse cases were financially motivated.
When it comes to data security, IT administrators need to strictly impose the PoLP on all users and entities to prevent privilege escalations and insider attacks.
Employees may share their credentials with other colleagues to get a task done and later forget about it. When this continues over a long period, multiple unprivileged users gain access to privileged tools, and it gets difficult to track all the privileges. This slow accumulation of non-essential access privileges and permissions of each user is known as privilege creep.
Imagine making a small snowball and letting it roll down a hill. As it rolls down, the small snowball starts to get bigger, and eventually, it will get big enough to cause an avalanche.
When a user is given privileged access to an application or system for a short period to complete their task, it's known as privilege bracketing. The credentials will be revoked after a brief period, preventing access to those applications or systems. This helps protect the information from any leakage and also ensures that the user’s task is completed.
In 2020, two General Electric (GE) employees stole data from advanced computer models that were used to calibrate their company's turbines. They also took marketing and pricing data in order to promote their own service. With the stolen intellectual property in hand, one of the employees founded a new business and competed against GE in tenders for turbine calibration.
How did it happen?
One of the employees stole numerous documents containing confidential information from the company's servers and transferred them to private email addresses or stored them in the cloud. Another employee persuaded a system administrator to give him access to information he wasn't meant to have.
In general, the fewer privileges a user or entity requires, the easier it is to monitor users and entities within a larger environment.
The PoLP helps organizations understand the type of data they have, where it resides, and who has access to it. These attributes simplify the process of data classification, making it easier to track insider attacks and data breaches.
When a threat actor acquires unauthorized access to enhanced rights or privileges such as performing operations as an administrator, it's known as privilege escalation. Threat actors gain access to privileged credentials and use those credentials to move laterally to gain administrative rights. These malicious lateral movements can be prevented by imposing the PoLP.
The PoLP helps in reducing the spread of any malware infections, such as viruses, ransomware, and spyware. If malware affects a system that's present at the bottom of the network's hierarchy, only that system remains affected while the rest are safe.
Organizations can establish a more audit-friendly system by limiting the privileges and actions that can be performed by their employees. Regulatory mandates such as HIPPA and FDDC require organizations to implement the PoLP in order to bolster information security.
The PoLP is a highly recommended IT security practice. By imposing this principle, administrators can ensure that fewer users have access to their organization's sensitive data. Administrators need an effective solution to seamlessly detect any unusual activity surrounding sensitive data. With AD360's AI-powered threat hunting capabilities and user-friendly interface, administrators can seamlessly implement the PoLP and prevent time-sensitive incidents such as insider attacks and data breaches.
