Too many digital identities with elevated rights to access confidential information lead to strongest chances of credential misuse, data breach and subsequent catastrophes. About 75% of data breach incidents start with privileged account abuse across the world. Standing in the middle of growing IT infrastructure with increased adoption of cloud computing and AI/ ML based technologies, many organizations today end up adding privileges on adhoc basis to meet the IT demands. Eventually, this uncontrolled and repeated addition of privileges leads to over-provisioning of privileged identities and privileged tasks.  This in turn, invites multiple IT risks such as credential abuse, snooping, cyber espionage, data breach among many other threats. 

Why does it happen?

The objective behind over-provisioning is to enhance productivity and ensure uninterrupted business processes. However, if we observe closely, most organizations concentrate on business requirements and business demand before taking decisions on granting the elevated rights to systems. 

A study by Researchgate suggests that 68% organizations don’t pay heed to the crucial assessment of managing and monitoring the elevated accounts in their IT environment before adding new. Had it been assessed minutely, many cyber incidents could have been averted; specially those incidents that happen due to too many standing privileges in an enterprise network. A recent study by Oracle says, 59% surveyed organizations suffered cyber attacks due to misuse of unmonitored standing privileges. So why does it happen?

The perils of over-provisioning happens due to:

• Inadequate assessment of the necessity of over-provisioning
• Concentrating too much on the demand and ignoring the capacity
• Irregular monitoring of the over-provisioned/ elevated accounts and inviting IT risks
• Ignoring the Principle of ‘Least Privilege’, where end-users are allowed access only after authenticating as per the set of IT security policies

Malicious actors, compromised insiders or suspicious third parties exploit the vulnerabilities arising from excessive elevated accounts that eventually lead to credential misuse, data breaches and cyber espionage.

The Remedy for risks arising from over-provisioning 

Privileged accounts are the set of elevated accounts on the base of which over-provisioning happens in an enterprise IT environment. They manage and control highly confidential business information in databases and applications. As organizations face infrastructural expansion, the number of elevated accounts keep on adding as and when required and the risk of standing privileges arise. In the era when the world is talking about the Zero Trust security framework , having too many privileged accounts is undoubtedly a high risk factor. 

A robust Privileged Access Management (PAM) is the best remedy to address the IT risks arising from over-provisioning of critical accesses. A feature-rich solution like ARCON | Privileged Access Management (PAM) provides foolproof security from compromised insiders and third-party threats by reinforcing robust access controls to critical systems. How does it work?

• ARCON | PAM solution lays the foundation of the principle of ‘least privilege’ that enables enterprises to enforce control over all privileged users even at a granular level. All the privileged user activities, including third party access are centrally controlled in a fine-grained manner (Granular access control). For example, configuration command profiles allows administrators to configure access permissions on Oses like Unix / databases / windows at group level or user level as per the role and responsibilities. ARCON | PAM allows IT administrators to grant privileged rights only on a ‘need-to-know’ and ‘need-to-do’ basis and mitigates risks arising from excessive privileges

• Enhanced segregation of duties within PAM solution through Virtual Grouping ensures responsibility, accountability and IT efficiency in the privileged access environment

• Just-In-Time (JIT) Privilege capability of ARCON | PAM allows IT administrators to grant privileged rights to the right person at the right time for the right reasons. These JIT privileges to systems are immediately revoked after the task is completed. The JIT approach insurers that organizations doesn’t end up in creating too many standing privileges

• Privileged Elevation and Delegation Management (PEDM) of ARCON | PAM helps organizations with temporary access to the non-admin users for accessing critical systems and performing any specific task as required. These assigned access rights are revoked automatically after the task is completed.

Conclusion

Over-provisioning of privileged access is unavoidable in today’s organizations. IT expansion is happening everywhere in every industry. The only way out to stay resilient to cyber threats is to ensure that the access control system is reinforced with a robust PAM tool,  and the ‘Least Privilege’ principle is followed irrespective of the number of accounts. Once there is no ‘all-time’ access to the critical systems, the risks automatically subside.

Brute Force Attack: An Overview

A Brute Force attack is a conventional way to compromise a website by stealing the credentials. It happens when a person is repeatedly guessing the login credentials and trying to get access to the elevated accounts. Today, cybercrime has risen exponentially because of the incorporation IT security mechanisms. Due to that, it has been easier for hackers to find out more loopholes to compromise passwords. The correct instance is to crack a high-profile eight-character password in just six hours or lesser than that.

Motives behind Brute Force Attacks

A Brute Force attack is considered to be the first step for a hacker before obtaining unauthorized access. Considering its nature, they target several organizations at a time. It is a way of letting the automated attackers get a match. The motives behind Brute Force Attack are:

● Stealing Credentials

Hackers might need your credentials to use for a different purpose fulfilling their needs. So, they use the process, hoping to get a match and collect the information.

● Spoiling Reputation

By accessing confidential details of the company, cybercriminals can attack the firm by threatening them or spoiling their goodwill. This way, the organization might face huge losses, and malign the reputation.

● Looking for hidden web pages

Another motive of the cyber crooks can be searching for hidden web pages within the website. Here the hackers use guesses to find the URLs of pages in any attempt to get your details.

● Demanding Ransom

After stealing the details, attackers may ask for some money in return for the documents. But the fact is even after giving the cash, they may not provide the details and continue accessing the critical systems. Thus, prevention of Brute Force attacks should be prioritized.

Different ways of Brute Force Attack

Before knowing how to safeguard an organization from Brute Force attack, understanding how it happens holds the greatest importance. Let us analyze closely.

• Simple Brute Force Attack: Many methods are used to find the logins and passwords in this process. It is done to crack local files, as no restrictions are there on the number of attempts.
• Credential stuffing: In this method, hackers use logins that have appeared in a different place. It can be social media platforms, etc. If hackers can get into one website, they can break others as well.
• Dictionary Brute Force Attack:Here, a special dictionary attack is used to pick the most common password. For examples, phrases like welcome, admin, etc. So, never use such terms while setting passwords.
• Hybrid Brute Force Attack: It is a mix of various types aimed to gain access to your confidential information. The process is an amalgamation of both simple and dictionary attacks.

How to prevent Brute Force Attacks?

Here are some ways:

● Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution

It is a perfect solution used for managing, controlling, and monitoring privileged user activities. It offers role and rule-based restricted access, ensuring all accesses are safe. By using the system, you can safeguard your entire structure and eliminate Brute Force Attacks.

Read more about Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution 

● Using stronger passwords

The most effective and easiest way to prevent attackers from accessing your data by creating a strong password. Somewhat complex passwords create a different level of resistance from the hackers. The password should never contain any keyword that can easily guess.

● Using Captcha

Captchas help in differentiating real users and spam computers and are a reliable way to eliminate data thefts. By incorporating captcha, there can be delay in the log in time. So, hackers will surely face a hard time.

● Reducing the number of login attempts

Another effective way to stop hackers from illegal accesses is by reducing the number of login attempts. This happens due to continuous data selection. So, establishing this step can help to avoid attacks.

● Enforcing multi-factor authentication

Multi-level user validation process is required for logging crucial account. Different ways used are retina scars, fingerprints, email message, face scans, SMS codes, etc. Nowadays, many organizations are using this to stop attackers from getting access.

Read more about Privileged Access Management (PAM) :  Multi-factor Authentication feature

● Getting support from the best web security operator

Over time, it has been seen that the best way to avoid Brute Force Attack is by opting for ongoing website support. It helps in protecting the website depending on the newest trends and ensures data protection.

Final thoughts

By opting the best solution, preventing Brute Force attacks can definitely be easier. The right platform and reliable software solutions can help in preventing and detecting attacks through continuous and proactive monitoring. It is the right way to protect organizations’ data assets from getting in the hands of the wrong people.

Indeed, the other day, I got startled to find how one scientist from the University of Rochester in New York is scripting an algorithm, which would help in decoding the human gestures!

A host of other advanced technologies have also completely transformed the way we do our business or conduct day-to-day activities.

Staying ahead of the competition is easier now as big data analytics allow us to capture and analyze data in a real-time. Artificial intelligence, which minimizes or completely leaves out human intervention, makes driving one helluva experience through driverless cars, while 3D Printing helps in streamlining manufacturing processes.

Increased digitization and web connectivity in our daily lives, however, exposes us to innumerable vulnerabilities arising from cyberspace. As a risk-consultant, for the last two decades, I must confess, our attitude towards security of IT systems and internet-enabled devices remains lackadaisical.

I was in Manila last summer, participating at the IT security conference. I was one of the speakers. Before sharing my concerns about organizations’ lurking IT systems related risks and suggesting possible preventive measures, I asked my audience—which comprised of CIOs and CISOs from an array of industries—one simple question: How many among you change your passwords very often? Not many hands got raised, which led me to conclude that our overall approach towards IT security is not up to the mark.

More and more banking transactions are done through mobile phones. But our mobiles are extremely vulnerable to hacking. Even the best operating systems in the market are not foolproof. The recent episode where researchers identified three security gaps in iOS could have allowed hackers to snoop on us and keep a track on all of our logs. Two malicious software programs: Aceard and GM Bot, capable enough to bug both Android and iOS applications and drain bank accounts were recently discovered by the law enforcement agency in the U.S.

Here I don’t mean to say that one should stop using mobile phones for commercial purposes. Instead, be mindful of vulnerabilities. Try to figure out how you could plug security gaps. Vendors often release the product security updates. Always stay informed. And if you are aware of any security gaps and available remedial measures, implement those.

Your private keys that give access to many important accounts are typically stored in internet-enabled devices or hard drives for the sake of convenience. That’s asking for a trouble. This is not the safest way to secure passwords in ever expanding but increasingly complex cyberspace. With the advent of technologies like the internet of things (IOTs), your highly classified information, and data are constantly under threat from cyber criminals. Denial-of-service assaults or data theft could leave you devastated.

In this backdrop, it becomes vital to safeguard our passwords. Those strings of alphabetic and non-alphabetic characters should not only be strong but also need frequent rotations. At a higher level we need to change our attitude towards securing our data by being more alert, mindful of what personal information we provide on Internet or social media.

Finally we need to imbibe the principles of providing information on “need- to- know” and “need- to- do” basis and a culture of being risk aware in this increasingly connected world where there are no boundaries.

Some might call it as paranoia. But it’s better to be paranoid when it comes to protecting information. As the famous saying goes: “Complacency Kills. Paranoia is the reason I am still alive”.

About the author: An inspired Innovator, investor, and mentor for some new age cybersecurity companies besides being a recognized thought leader in areas related to Governance, Risk and Compliance.

ARCON provides state-of-the-art technology aimed at mitigating information systems related risks. The company’s Privileged Identity Management / Privileged Access Management solution enables blocking unauthorized access to ‘privileged identities’, while its Secured Configuration Management solution helps to comply with Governance, Risks, and Compliance (GRC) requirements .

Need a solution for safeguarding critical IT assets? Please contact us