Main takeaways from this article:
PoLP grants users only the minimum access necessary to perform their tasks, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.
PoLP is implemented through strategies like granular permission assignment, RBAC, JIT access, and separation of duties.
PoLP applies to managing database and file access, limiting admin rights, securing APIs, and protecting cloud storage.
Implementing PoLP shrinks the attack surface and minimizes the chance of a data breaches. It can also help an organization meet compliance regulations by limiting access.
Benefits include better security, regulatory compliance, improved productivity, and minimized misuse of privileges.
What is the principle of least privilege?
The principle of least privilege (PoLP), also known as the principle of minimal privilege or least authority, is a cybersecurity concept that grants users, programs, or processes only the minimal access needed to perform their tasks.
At the core of PoLP are privileges and privileged accounts. A privilege defines the level of access granted to a user, while privileged accounts have elevated permissions, like reconfiguring systems. Privileged access management (PAM) is used to safeguard these accounts and reduce security risks.
Excessive privileges—or unguarded access to sensitive data—can increase the risk of data breaches. For instance, if threat actors deploy a phishing link to access an employee account responsible for database updates, but a PoLP strategy is already in place, the potential damage from the hack will be isolated to the employee's limited reach.
However, if the employee has unlimited or root access privileges (the ability to export or delete sensitive data from the database), then the attack can be disastrous, damaging customer trust and resulting in hefty fines.
PoLP prevents privilege creep by conducting regular access reviews and audits, ensuring users don't accumulate unnecessary permissions over time. This reduces the risk of data breaches, misuse, and noncompliance with regulations like GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. Additionally, PoLP limits access to minimize breach risks and makes it easier to trace the source of issues by tracking who had access and when.
How does the principle of least privilege work?
The principle of least privilege works by granting users only the minimal access needed to perform their tasks, reducing security risks and preventing unauthorized actions.
Key components of PoLP include:
Granular permission assignment: Access is customized to each user, limiting exposure to the data they need.
Task-based privilege allocation: Permissions are granted based on specific tasks, preventing over-access and aligning with job duties.
Role-based access control (RBAC): Permissions are grouped into roles, making it easier to manage and enforce least privilege.
Just-in-time (JIT) access: Users receive temporary access only when required, reducing the risk of prolonged, unnecessary permissions.
Separation of privileges: Access rights are split among users, preventing any one person from having too much control.
Continuous permission adjustments: Regular updates keep access aligned with changing roles and security needs.
Minimal default privileges: Starting with the least access possible reduces potential vulnerabilities.
Least access paths: Limiting access routes to critical resources reduces opportunities for unauthorized entry.
Practical applications of least privilege access
Implementing least privilege access across your organization's IT infrastructure helps mitigate risks and safeguard sensitive data.
Key applications include:
Database access: Restricting access to authorized users only minimizes the risk of data breaches and maintains database integrity.
File permissions: Carefully managing read, write, and execute permissions prevents unauthorized alterations to critical documents, ensuring data security.
System admin rights: Limiting administrative access reduces the risk of misconfigurations and unauthorized changes, ensuring control remains with trained personnel.
API access: PoLP secures APIs by granting specific permissions to trusted users and applications, protecting against unauthorized use.
Remote worker access: Limiting remote access to necessary resources reduces security risks and protects against potential threats.
Cloud storage: Ensuring only authorized users can access cloud data helps maintain confidentiality and prevent breaches.
Service accounts: Restricting access to essential functions reduces exploitation risks and ensures proper use of system resources.
Virtual machines (VMs): Controlling access to VMs prevents unauthorized actions, protecting the stability of virtual environments.
Third-party vendor access: Limiting vendor access to necessary systems safeguards internal resources and reduces vulnerabilities.
Applying least privilege access throughout these key areas helps organizations mitigate security threats and prevent unauthorized access to critical data.
Benefits of least privilege access
Let's take a closer look at the major advantages of PoLP and its role in improving security and operational effectiveness:
Reduced attack surface
The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report indicates that 82% of data breaches in 2021 resulted from employee and other human-related mistakes/exploitation, circumstances that PoLP effectively combats. By limiting user and software privileges, PoLP ensures that in the event of a breach, only limited parts of and functions within organizations' resources can be accessed, reducing the potential attack surface and preventing lateral movement.
Increased regulatory compliance and improved accountability
PoLP allows for efficient auditing, accountability, and regulatory compliance by enabling organizations to control and track user activities. The ability to implement just-in-time access (granting access at the exact time it is needed and withdrawing it once the specific function has been completed) and least-privilege access reduces the risk of data breaches and allows for easy traceability when security incidents occur. Tracking and tracing facilitate swift remediation and demonstrate organizations’ commitment to protecting sensitive data.
Enhanced data security
Least privilege involves implementing strong authentication mechanisms and encryption to monitor access, detect anomalies, and effectively respond to security incidents. All these methods are used to further secure sensitive data.
Improved user productivity and end-user experience
PoLP reduces system downtime, the risk of malware injection (for example, SQL injection), and service disruptions because access to sensitive data and infrastructure is restricted and elevated only when required. The result is improved software availability for IT teams and end users, which leads to greater profit margins.
The high cost of ignoring PoLP: real-world breaches
Here are two real-life examples where PoLP could have saved the day from data breaches:
An engineer at General Electric stole more than 8,000 sensitive files containing trade secrets in order to start a rival firm. This breach occurred because the employee operated a privileged account that allowed him root access to the organization’s resources, a situation that PoLP could have prevented. Discovered in 2022, the breach had a dwell time of more than eight years and could have been remediated much earlier with the implementation of PoLP's regular access reviews.
Across two weeks in March 2022, a malicious actor hacked Shields Health Care Group’s network server and exfiltrated patients' PII and PHI, including full names, addresses, credit card numbers, diagnoses, and medical record numbers. The IT team was alerted to the breach on March 28, a week after the hacker had exited the server. PoLP could have helped to prevent data exfiltration via role-based access control.
The Wiz Research team discovered the most common AWS privileges that lead to unintended exposure are: iam:PutRolePolicy, lambda:AddPermission, and AWS ReadOnlyAccess.
Cloud environments and the need for least privilege
From virtual machines, orchestration systems, and storage buckets to APIs, remote workers, and third-party providers, cloud infrastructures are inherently dynamic. The ability to rapidly provision and deprovision resources makes least privilege essential to cloud security.
For example, in object storage environments like Azure and AWS, enforcing least privilege by defining granular permissions is the first step to ensuring users only access the specific resources required for their tasks, thereby reducing the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data.
Over 90% of cloud security teams were not aware they gave high permissions to 3rd party vendors.
Wiz Research Team's study of 1,300 AWS accounts
Additionally, cloud security relies on understanding the shared responsibility model:
Cloud providers secure the underlying infrastructure.
Customers are responsible for safeguarding applications, data, and user access.
Knowing where the provider’s responsibilities end and yours begin is critical.
By applying least privilege, you can ensure that access to critical cloud systems is strictly controlled, minimizing potential breaches and protecting sensitive data from unauthorized users.
How to implement PoLP step-by-step
Now that we've explored the nuances of PoLP, let's take a closer look at implementation. Here are nine essential steps to effectively implement least privilege:
1. Assess current permissions and access levels
Start by thoroughly auditing existing user accounts, group memberships, and permission sets. Use tools to see who has access to critical resources. Make a list of high-risk areas and prioritize them for immediate review. Ensure you document all findings for accountability and future reference.
Our data shows that approximately 87% of cloud environments that utilize AKS clusters are using local accounts with Kubernetes RBAC, the least secure authentication and authorization method.
2. Define roles and access requirements
Next, map out organizational roles and their responsibilities. Identify what access each role requires to perform necessary tasks efficiently. Ensure permissions align with business objectives to avoid over-privileging. Collaborate with department heads to validate these requirements, as this minimizes risk and ensures that rights granted are functional and relevant, maintaining a secure, streamlined access management system.
3. Assign minimum required permissions
Adopt a "default deny" approach to access control. In other words, deny access to resources by default unless access is explicitly authorized. Start with minimal privileges for users and gradually grant additional permissions based on specific needs. Avoid assigning excessive privileges upfront, as more assigned privileges increase the attack surface and exacerbate potential risks.
4. Implement role-based access control (RBAC)
Implement and regularly review RBAC to assign privileged credentials based on predefined user roles, and update/withdraw these privileges when roles change to enhance your organization's security posture.
5. Limit administrator privileges
Limit administrative access to trusted employees, and enable just-in-time privilege elevation for them. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) is another way to safeguard administrative access. It's always a good idea to monitor activities related to privileged accounts in order to enhance data security and prevent malware injection.
6. Enforce separation of duties
Sensitive duties—such as database administration, system configuration, and user access management—should be divided among different individuals to prevent unauthorized actions and lateral movement if a cyberattack occurs. It’s best practice to ensure that no single user has complete authority over important processes.
7. Regularly review and update permissions
Establish a robust monitoring and auditing process to track and analyze user activities within your software and in third-party environments. This will enable you to monitor access patterns, privilege usage, and system logs to swiftly detect and put a stop to suspicious behavior and update permissions as necessary to maintain security.
8. Automate access management
Leverage identity access management (IAM) security solutions and policy-as-code frameworks to streamline privilege management, minimizing human error. In cloud environments, IAM plays a critical role in enforcing least privilege by defining and managing roles, permissions, and policies, ensuring secure, role-based access to only the resources necessary for each user.
9. Educate employees
Educate employees about the principle of least privilege and the importance of access control. Other training topics include security best practices, social engineering threats, and the potential impact of excessive privileges. Regular training can reduce the risk of employees with privileged accounts falling for phishing links or clicking SQL-attack links, ensuring a more secure software environment.
Strengthen identity and access controls with Wiz
PoLP is the key to avoiding breach-associated consequences, such as business downtime, reputational damage, loss of clientele, lawsuits, and hefty fines. And implementing PoLP doesn’t have to be hard. Wiz's Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) solution offers a comprehensive and automated approach to managing user access and privileges in your cloud environments.
With Wiz, it’s easy to define and enforce fine-grained access control policies, conduct regular access reviews, and monitor user activity to ensure compliance with least privilege. Discover the benefits of Wiz's CIEM solution firsthand: Request a demo today.
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