What is Least Privilege Access?
Least privilege access is more of a cybersecurity philosophy than it is an actual cybersecurity product. And this philosophy is strikingly simple.
When your company employs least privilege access, you’re being purposeful about how you distribute your system permissions. Employees, vendors, and customers are only given access to the software, storage, and permissions that they need to use. Admin privileges, in general, only go to senior IT leadership under a least-privilege access structure.
At Integris, we strongly recommend this strategy for all our clients and consider it an important part of having a Responsible IT Architecture. Why is it so important? Let’s get into the practical benefits.
Why every company should have Least Privilege Access
The primary benefit of least privilege access is obvious. The fewer people that have access to sensitive data, the lower the likelihood that data will be breached. Of course, there are a significant number of “inside job” data theft cases carried out by people with administrative access. But a data breach doesn’t have to be an active case of theft to be damaging. Often, employees may have malware in their systems they don’t know about. If that malware has a key logger attached, a hacker can have access to your most sensitive information in minutes.
Nearly every company has some type of sensitive data to protect. Perhaps it’s financial or health care data. Employee passwords and logins. Order and inventory systems. The opportunities for disruption are numerous.
When you are purposeful about creating a least privileged access system, there are written protocols for all levels of information access. Least access policies that are written down and well enforced offer the following benefits for your company:
- Faster onboarding and offboarding of employees, because their system access levels are pre-determined, and offboarding security policies are well established
- The ability to comply with the cyber security guidelines required by your cyber risk insurers, who are looking for proof your company data is being handled responsibly
- A fair and equitable system of granting access, that employees understand, eliminating conflicts
- Proof to regulators, customers, and potential clients that you take the handling of company data seriously and are complying with industry best practices for your IT
How does Least Privilege Access relate to Zero Trust Architecture?
Zero trust architecture is a way of enforcing least privilege access. Working together with tools like multifactor authentication, zero trust systems continuously verify your users’ location and credentials throughout their on-system experiences. This not only provides an extra layer of protection, it also provides an activity trail for every person in your system. This can be invaluable forensic information to have when security incidents occur.
Secure your business with
Responsible IT Architecture
Keeping your business safe and “on” is our primary goal. No single tool or firewall will secure your assets independently, so we’ve developed what we call Responsible IT Architecture, a full portfolio of layered cybersecurity coverage.
Integris takes an integrated approach to your security, incorporating complimentary cybersecurity solution pairings that provide a hardened shield of protection for your business. We’ll vet your existing cybersecurity stack to determine if it meets the exacting standards of regulators, cyber risk insurers, or potential customers. Then we’ll consolidate everything into an integrated, fully managed state-of-the-art solution.
Learn more about Least Privilege Access
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