Non-Human Identities and Managing Privileged Access

Cybersecurity isn’t just about protecting our human users. Non-human identities like applications, APIs, and system IDs are commonly used for different purposes.  Many of these identities are often given privileged access in order to fulfill their purpose.  In this regard, adherence to the rule of least privilege can play a critical role in safeguarding industrial systems against evolving threats. Ignoring non-human identities and their level of privileged access can lead to devastating breaches, downtime, or even compromised safety.

What Is Privileged Access?

Privileged access refers to the elevated rights and permissions granted to certain users, systems, or processes that enable them to perform critical functions, such as managing system configurations, accessing sensitive data, or modifying applications or configurations. While essential for operations, these high-level permissions also make privileged accounts prime targets for cyberattackers.

The Rule of Least Privilege: A Key Defensive Strategy

The rule of least privilege dictates that users, applications, and systems should only have the minimum level of permissions necessary to perform their job or function. This minimizes the risk of abuse, whether intentional or accidental, and limits the potential damage if an account or system is compromised.

The Rise of Non-Human Identities

Non-human identities—such as APIs, service accounts, IoT devices, and bots—have proliferated in manufacturing environments. While these entities drive efficiency and automation, they also expand the attack surface. Each non-human identity with privileged access poses a potential security risk, especially if unmanaged, improperly secured, or given blanket privileged or administrative permissions.

Best Practices for Managing Privileged Access and Non-Human Identities

1. Inventory and Classify Accounts
   • Identify all human and non-human identities within your environment
   • Classify accounts based on their level of access and criticality to operations
2. Apply the Rule of Least Privilege
   • Audit permissions regularly and remove excessive access rights that are not needed
   • Use role-based access control (RBAC) to standardize and limit access
3. Secure Non-Human Identities
   • Ensure all service accounts and APIs use strong, unique credentials
   • Rotate secrets (passwords, tokens, keys) frequently
   • Require MFA for accessing privileged accounts to add an additional layer of security
   • Apply the least privilege principle to non-human identities as stringently as for human users
4. Conduct Regular Training and Assessments
   • Educate employees on the risks of privilege misuse
   • Regularly test the environment for privilege escalation vulnerabilities

The following are suggestions for more robust, sophisticated environments:

5. Monitor and Audit Privileged Activitiessome text
   • Deploy monitoring tools to log and analyze privileged actions
   • Implement anomaly detection to identify unusual behavior indicative of compromise
6. Use Privileged Access Management (PAM) Solutionssome text
   • Centralize control of privileged accounts with a PAM system
   • Require just-in-time access provisioning to limit continuous privilege exposure

Conclusion

In manufacturing, where industrial control systems and production lines are integral to business continuity, the stakes for cybersecurity are incredibly high. By adhering to the rule of least privilege and implementing robust management practices for privileged access and non-human identities, organizations can reduce their attack surface and protect critical assets.

Would you like to discuss specific tools or examples in a follow-up post? Share your thoughts and ideas with us at CyberHealth!

‍