What is least privilege access (LPA)?
The Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) is also commonly known in the cybersecurity community as Least Privilege Access (LPA). This concept in the security world essentially stipulates that there is a minimum amount of privilege – or access – granted to any entity that is a human user or automated process that needs permission to use an application to achieve its goals and which is also compliant with the organization’s risk goals.
What is privilege creep?
Privilege creep is the process of losing control of the number of permissions a specific user maintains in order to do their job or to complete a task. Simply put, if a user no longer needs access to a certain application to do their job, then that permission should be revoked to maintain as secure of an environment as possible.
In such circumstances, certain users obtain and hold more permissions and higher levels of access than their current job roles or responsibilities actually warrant. This might happen if, for example, permissions are granted to access resources for a temporary work assignment of short duration, but are not subsequently disallowed when that work assignment comes to an end.
Similarly, a change of job responsibilities could lead to an aggregation of privileges and permissions the person no longer needs. Automating LPA can help to address challenges like privilege creep and also:
- Prevention of misuse from privileged accounts
- Added complexity from short-term cloud entitlements
- Inconsistency across multiple cloud infrastructures
- Accounts with excessive access permissions
Zero trust vs. least privilege access
The concept of zero trust primarily relies on verification of different methods. In this security scenario, a user will never be able to simply gain access without undergoing some type of verification check. The most common type of verification technology is multi-factor authentication (MFA). This usually comes in the form of inputting a hardware key, receiving an authenticating text message, and/or inputting a one-time code so they can gain access.
Least privilege, on the other hand, is a process by which a user is inherently trusted and verified for the length of time they’ll need access to the application or program – meaning they won’t have to overcome any security verification measures to gain access.
Why is least privilege access important?
The risk of over-provisioning
LPA is important because it helps to keep a network as secure as possible. It does this by limiting the number of permissions network users need to do their job. In this way, a specific user doesn’t end up with excessive permissions, though it's understandable how they could.
Network environments—particularly in large enterprises—are often extremely complex, and it’s not always easy to determine the exact permissions users will need. In many cases, organizations default to over-provisioning access in anticipation of future needs, which increases security risk.
How privilege creep creates security risk
If a user’s system – or endpoint – is compromised, a threat actor could exploit those unnecessary elevated permissions to move laterally across systems, access sensitive data, and potentially launch a ransomware attack.
Solving for privilege creep at scale
Privilege creep is common, and managing excessive permissions at scale can be challenging. The solution lies in establishing a baseline of normal user activity over time. By correlating actual user behavior with granted permissions, organizations can automatically adjust access levels to meet Least Privilege Access (LPA) guidelines.
This behavioral approach not only enforces least privilege but also supports broader exposure management efforts by helping security teams identify and minimize excessive access across users and cloud environments.
What are the benefits of least privilege access?
The benefits of LPA are vast. An identity and access management (IAM) program, a broader category concerning access under which the concept of LPA falls, is a critical component of any modern security program.
A key benefit in instituting the principle of least privilege is that it essentially locks down the network attack surface without causing a significant slowdown in productivity. Let’s take a look at some of the other benefits of a least privilege access model:
Limit damage
According to the Center for Internet Security (CIS), by governing the level of access for each user, system, and process, LPA can limit the potential damage from unsanctioned activities, whether intentional or unintentional.
Limiting access can also reduce the number of exposed systems and services, strengthening vulnerability management by shrinking the attack surface and enabling security teams to prioritize remediation based on real risk.
Strengthen network segmentation
Network segmentation is already a great security measure to prevent total attack surface infiltration. Add to that the ability of LPA to be deployed across users building and securing those segments, and the network's defenses are optimized even further.
Reduce human error
If a user is finished working on a project and simply wants to look back at it, LPA will deny that ability. A myriad of human errors due to unnecessary access is a great way to let attackers exploit vulnerabilities, spread malware, and cost the business money and reputation.
How to implement least privilege access
Teams can establish and manage LPA by setting the minimum privileges possible to achieve the organization's risk goals. They can also:
Analyze cloud entitlements
Proactively analyze cloud environments for excessive entitlements at scale. An effective solution should break down complex, multi-tiered IAM policies and analyze them within the context of an environment to simplify the process of finding and fixing excessive entitlements.
Automate remediation and monitoring
Continuously monitor as well as automate remediation of anomalous behaviors and excessive permissions. This is a critical way to stay on track when growing cloud operations. For example, in InsightCloudSec from Rapid7, teams can leverage pre-defined bot actions and specify the resources they’ll evaluate for excessive permissions.
Use identify analysis protocols
Leverage identity analysis protocols to provide a unified view into identity-related risk across cloud environments, enabling security organizations to achieve LPA at scale.
Prepare the workforce for LPA adoption
Get their workforce ready to adopt LPA best practices. Most of us are used to jumping through some sort of identity verification hurdle to access things like bank information, healthcare portals, and educational tools for children. This semi-new normal societal behavior can help alleviate some of the friction implementing LPA business-wide might cause. However, implementations will look different for each organization, so it’s a good rule of thumb to over communicate to an employee base.
Maintain continuous oversight with CIEM
LPA is a never-ending process, requiring ongoing assessment of privilege levels against organizational roles and permissions. With over privileged account discovery, and some guided remediation, cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM) tools can help organizations move toward a stronger security posture.