04
Wed, Dec
6 New Articles

Authentication and Authorization: Why? Part 3: A Word About Privileged Account Management

Security - Other
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

One of the major concerns for any identity and access management environment is how to control privileged accounts. Internal employees, or external contractors, are increasingly the source of threat within an organization.

by Graham Williamson

Editor’s note: This chapter is excerpted from chapter 4 of Identity Management: A Business Perspective.

Recent hacking events at some very large organizations have been the result of either overt or surreptitious stealing of login details for privileged accounts. Such events highlight inappropriate procedures to thwart surreptitious approaches to staff and a lack of a risk-management strategy to adequately identify and manage internal staff threat vectors.

Privileged accounts are not normal user accounts. They have special permissions that allow a user logged on with one of these accounts to do specialist activities that are not available to the normal user. A system administrator account is a typical example. In order to manage a system, the administrator needs access to special functions that allow them to do dramatic things. A system administrator can typically access all files, even restricted ones, modify or remove users, and even shut down the system, if necessary. Such actions must necessarily be restricted to trusted staff, and access must be strictly controlled. A “four-eyes” policy will normally be established that, at a minimum, will notify a manager that an account at administrator level has been accessed.

To this end, IT audits typically target the management of privileged accounts to ensure that there is proper governance over the granting of elevated privileges, the monitoring of special account management, and rescinding of privileges as soon as they are no longer required. Failed audits are a major driver for privileged identity management (PIM) system sales.

Types of Elevated Privilege Accounts

All systems have accounts with administrative privileges that normal users cannot access. These include standard system administrator accounts that can undertake special functions at the system level, such as turning on and off services, or the application level, such as adding or deleting users.

For UNIX systems, access at the root level provides access to all management features of the system, including CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) permissions on the file structure.

There are also special accounts for database administrators. Such accounts can manage access to database elements, restricting access to rows, columns, or specific attributes. Tools are available now that will perform real-time redaction on data elements based on the attributes of a user accessing the database.

Principle of Least Privilege

The principle of least privilege states that at any point in time a user should have permissions at the lowest level of access they require to perform their job. Most users only need to access standard functionality, so a user’s normal account should provide permissions only at this level. For instance, if your job requires you to be able to manage printers, your account permissions should allow you access to the printer administration function. Normal users do not need this functionality, so they should not be able to access printers at the management level.

An extension of this principle is very important for privileged accounts. The timeframe during which a user requires special privileges is actually quite small. Most of the time, a system administrator is not managing file shares, removing users, and turning the system off and on; thus, most of the time, standard user permissions are quite satisfactory. The principle of least privilege will therefore suggest that system administrators’ access at an “elevated” level should last for only as long as is necessary to perform the required activity; then the account permissions should revert to a normal user level.

An obvious benefit of such an arrangement is to reduce the incidence of inadvertent system administration activity. If the time a system administrator account is active is limited, the time available for mistakes or malicious activity is reduced. Least privilege also assists in forensic analysis. If accounts operating at an administrative level are minimized, it becomes easier to identify accounts that may have been compromised.

Types of Privileged Account Management

There are several mechanisms used to manage accounts with elevated privileges.

Note: The terms privileged account management (PAM) and privileged identity management (PIM) are often used interchangeably.

Password Vault

PAM systems become the gateway to the systems they protect. They typically comprise a password management facility that manages access to the protected resources. In effect, the PAM becomes the only way users can access the protected systems because they use complex passwords that would take an inordinately long time to crack with a brute-force attack.

PAM systems have the big advantage in that they provide a single location where privileged account passwords are managed. By taking a user out of the PAM system, their access is removed from all relying systems (other systems using complex passwords managed by the PAM system). A password vault system also provides a single sign-on (SSO) facility for users who have elevated privileges. Because the system is managing user accounts in the relying systems, once a user has authenticated to the PAM system, if they can click on the systems that are attached to their account, they can be automatically logged into the new requested system if the PAM has been configured to do so.

ERPM

Enterprise random password manager (ERPM) systems take the PAM operation to the next level. They monitor systems that have privileged accounts and periodically change the account passwords. They typically use a complex password to make any access outside the ERPM system difficult. One advantage of such as system is password rotation. If a management account is ever compromised, it won’t be long until the password is changed.

Default System Password Replacement

A useful capability of some PAM products is the ability to prompt networked systems to identify and update any system that maintains a default password. Systems that have been installed without the default password being changed are automatically updated to a complex password and are then accessed via the PAM system. Though it may be hard to believe, many ransomware attacks have been enabled by systems being deployed without the default password being changed.

Next time: PAM Systems. Want to learn more now?  Buy Graham's book today at the MC Press Bookstore.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2 To counter potential corruption in granting access controls, a “four-eyes” policy may be adopted. Such a policy requires more than one person to authorize a user’s access permissions to a sensitive resource.

Graham Williamson is an identity management consultant in Brisbane, Australia. He has 27 years of experience in the IT industry, with expertise in identity management, electronic directories, public key infrastructure, smart card technology, and enterprise architecture. He is a coauthor of Identity Management: A Primer and the author of Identity Management: A Business Perspective.


MC Press books written by Graham Williamson available now on the MC Press Bookstore.

Identity Management: A Business Perspective Identity Management: A Business Perspective
Understand all facets of identity management and how to leverage identity data for access control.
List Price $49.95

Now On Sale

Identity Management: A Primer Identity Management: A Primer
Get a comprehensive overview of the elements required for a properly planned identity environment.
List Price $49.95

Now On Sale

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: