Data, data everywhere but you have no time to think.  One of an enterprises most important assets is it’s data.  Financial, intellectual property and employee information are all types of information that competitors and hackers, alike,  clamor to get there hands on.  Making sure only those who need this information to do their jobs is known as Access Control.    Implementing access controls are critical to  safeguard your data.  But what about those ITs folks who show up to every employee gathering and eat all the pizza?  How they fit into this?

The enterprise environment is split into multiple layers — Network, Database, Application and Infrastructure.  At each one of these layers, IT associates manage and maintain performance to make sure business can be conducted, uniterrupted.  A byproduct of this responsibility is having access to all of businesses most sensitive data.   If you are a CEO or business owner, I can hear your collective, “Yikes!!!”  So what is a gal/guy to do?  Enter Privileged Identity Management.

Privileged Identity Management 

Privileged Accounts (PA) are non-user accounts that grant elevated access to systems, resources and data.  These are your Administrator, Root and Super User accounts.  They are typically shared among support personnel to perform administrative duties.  Our pizza eating friends just when from Petty Cash Piranhas to true Enterprise Risk.

Risks

As with all life’s activity, there is some level of risk involved.  This case is no different.  Having specialized labor perform a specific job or function is a huge benefit.  But be aware — you’re handing over the keys to the kingdom.  Understanding each risk / benefit proposition is the first step to proper mitigation.  I’ve highlighted some key risks to focus on:

1. Lack of Audit Trail – PAs are essentially anonymous accounts.  They lack association to a “real” user.  This allows actions performed under this account, virtually, no accountability.   It’s like free calories while on a diet.
2. Access Leakage – Since passwords for PAs are shared amoung several people, they tends to leak out of Administrative groups over time.  With management of hundreds or thousands of accounts, the password for one account may very well be the password for EVERY ACCOUNT.  If you know one, you have them all.  To top it all off, without good password management practices like changing them periodically, the situation snowballs out of control quickly.
3. Segregation of Duties (SOD) – PAs have access to sensitive information in the enterprise.  In most cases, this data is Confidential or Classified.  PAs inherently lack SOD controls (they have access to EVERYTHING).  Misuse can go completely unchecked.  Insert a Purchase Order into a database for “Line My Pocket Co.”  AND then insert the approval for payment.  Easy money…check’s in the mail.
4. Principle of Least Authority (POLA) – POLA asserts that granting only the access required to perform a task, one can’t overstep their bounds.  Some administrators use PAs to perform daily activities that do not require the the vast authority these accounts wield.  One small error in scripting could invoke monstrous unintended consequences.  Say the admin just forgot they were in same directory as your ERP database.  They then issue a delete command. POOF!  Bye-bye data.

I’ve just highlighted some of the inherent risks of utilizing PAs.  Not to worry thou, there are strategies for to minimize, mitigate and in some cases, eliminate these risks.  In my next article, I will explore practical solutions for you implement.  Eating too much will be the only reason to give IT the “hairy eye” at the next pizza party.