Providing each user, application, or service the permission required to perform a particular work is known as the principle of least privileges. According to experts like https://sonraisecurity.com/blog/principle-least-privilege/, the principle of least privileges (POLP) is an integral part of the system, network, and account security.
When you minimize the level of access for each user, you naturally reduce the attack surface and security risks in the process. If you have not added this principle to your security solution yet, read this to know how you can maintain account security with POLP.
Manage passwords effectively
When it comes to an organization, you will come across various types of accounts for different purposes. User accounts, privileged accounts, service accounts, and shared accounts are some accounts, to name a few. No matter the type of account, you must practice credentials best practices to enforce control over different passwords.
Make sure that the password length is longer and take its complexity up a notch. Set it properly so that the passwords expire within a given time, and it can also be reset after a specific number of days.
Finally, an account lockout policy should also be in place to ensure secure login and logouts.
Manage least privileges using groups
It can sometimes be impossible to maintain account security by managing privileges individually for hundreds of employees. It also slowly becomes challenging to manage the principle of least privilege.
A better way to do this is by placing users in different groups based on job roles and then managing the privileges for the smaller groups. For instance, if your organization is purchasing a new HR app, you can provide permission to the HR group instead of granting individual access to each HR member. This makes the process less time-consuming and also eliminates the chances of errors in the task.
Similarly, if an employee is shifting to a different team, all you have to do is remove that particular person from their previous group and add them to the other. This way, you can cut down time spent on manually removing access rights and creating new ones.
Assign different user working hours
Restricting the usage of accounts to the individual’s regular working hours, especially for those working on a consistent schedule, is another way to maintain account security with the principle of least privileges.
For instance, if a team member usually works from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, you must make sure that the particular employee’s account remains unusable at 2 a.m. But you can compromise for little leniency by setting up the account to be operational from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Apply restrictions based on location
If you have a workforce that contains employees working from different parts of the world, you can also deploy specific location-based rules to ensure account security. One way to implement this is by limiting the locations from where an account can be accessed from.
If an employee working in Los Angeles visits San Francisco on a trip, the person should not be able to access their official account from SF. You can add a layer of security by providing the employees with the option of requesting access during particular circumstances.
Implement machine-based restrictions
A sub-branch of location-based restriction based on the principle of least privileges is machine-based restrictions. How this works is, based on least privileges, if an accountant working on the fourth floor wants to use the machines on the first floor, he will not be able to do so.
However, you cannot impose this restriction on all accounts. For instance, if you have a technical support team in your organization, the team members should have the liberty to access any computer on the network, mainly for rendering support when there are any issues.
User access control (UAC) is an important feature
While working on Windows, you may have come by UAC dialog boxes while running an application, especially something related to work. Such dialog boxes usually present you with a confirmation question about the particular application you are trying to run. This user control is an integral part of the principle of least privileges.
When you implement UAC to different user groups, you are restricting access, which reduces the chances of any malicious activity in the system. For instance, when the UAC tab pops up, it means that the system asks explicit permission to run a particular application or software deviating from the regular user permissions.
Again, it ultimately helps limit the spread of malware in the system.
As there is a need for constant testing and monitoring in POLP, applying it can be challenging for many organizations. However, stepping back is not a wise option. Instead, reach out to reliable security platform solutions to help you with the process.