Cybersecurity attacks and data breaches may conjure up an image of a hacker sitting behind a laptop and breaking into a system. However, a breach or malware infection is much more likely to happen because of the misuse or abuse of access privileges. Statistics on attacks initiated via access privilege abuse vary, but research from IBM shows a 71% year-over-year increase in cyberattacks using legitimate login credentials. When access is uncontrolled and excessive, it becomes much more likely that accidental and malicious data exposure will occur.

However, organizations can stop privilege creep. Here’s how to ensure that your employees have the right level of access based on the principle of least privilege.

Definition of privilege creep

Privilege creep occurs when employees and contractors gradually accumulate access rights beyond those needed to perform their jobs. It directly contradicts the principle of least privilege, whereby people have access only to the resources they need to work productively. Unmanaged and unnecessary permissions lead to opportunities for privilege abuse and misuse, which can come from both insider threats and external attackers.

What is the principle of least privilege?

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines least privileged access as "seek(ing) to ensure the right people and things have the right access to the right resources at the right time." Privilege creep breaks the principle of least privilege, preventing an organization from adhering to many standards and regulations, including the ISO 27001 access control policy.

Why has privilege creep evolved?

Technology and business processes are fluid. Applications come and go. People join and leave companies. They change roles. Over time, business needs change, so they bring new technology into the company. SaaS apps proliferate, and people bring apps in through shadow IT routes. So nothing in business is ever static. This creates a complicated mesh of people, tech, and business requirements. And all these moving parts impact decisions on access permissions, enforcement, and management. 

Then, there are complications regarding the right level of access permissions for an employee role. For example, HR typically needs to have user access to highly sensitive employee data. Other roles, such as senior management and IT, may also be given greater access privileges than most. Similarly, some staff may need temporary privileges to cover employee leave, specific project work, etc. But what if those privileges aren’t revoked when they’re no longer needed? 

Identity sprawl further complicates privilege creep. Companies often use multi-cloud environments running SaaS, with an average of 130 SaaS apps. Uncontrolled identities proliferate, with staff needing multiple IDs — with varying access rights — to access different applications and IT resources. Users may even take on differing  roles, depending on which application they’re currently using. Shadow IT makes this situation even more complex.

So privilege creep is a natural consequence of loose governance over access rights within a dynamic, distributed system.

The risks of privilege creep

The 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) found that privilege misuse was almost entirely internal and, when malicious, usually financially motivated. The report also highlights privilege misuse as one of the top threat vectors.

When you give someone access privileges, you’re handing over a set of keys. Some of those keys open one door but not others. Some privileges may open many doors. Unless you carefully control and manage these privileges, they can be abused or misused. Everything from data-exposure accidents to malicious credential theft is exacerbated when privileges are allowed to creep. And it’s not just employees who experience privilege creep. Privileged users, like supply chain vendors and consultants, may be given too many user privileges — which are often left unrevoked when these relationships end. Once the principle of least privilege is broken, security gaps open — and a variety of threats can become incidents.

Examples of security gaps caused by privilege creep include the following:

• Accidental data exposure from insider threats. Employees may be unaware that they’re leaking sensitive data or sharing with inappropriate personnel.

• Third-party violations leading to data exfiltration

• Unnecessary vendor access to sensitive systems and data, leading to non-compliance

• Cybercriminal targeting of key business roles with heightened privileges, to initiate various cyber-attacks, including business email compromise

• Leveraging software updates delivered via developer workstations, DevOps, and automation tools that have broad access privileges

Best practices to mitigate privilege creep

Preventing privilege creep may seem challenging in dynamic systems that experience SaaS sprawl and identity sprawl, but it is achievable. Here are some best practices to keep privilege creep from making your company insecure.

Use an identity governance and administration tool (IGA) to prevent privilege creep

Without governance, digital identities proliferate, facilitating privilege creep. By deploying an identity governance and administration tool (IGA), you can prevent unnecessary privileges and automate provisioning and de-provisioning. An IGA tool, unlike older, manual identity management systems, gives IT teams, system administrators, etc. visibility across the entire IT estate — including disparate SaaS apps and shadow IT. This visibility and automated access management capabilities help organizations adhere to the principle of least privilege. IGA ensures that each role is assigned the right level of access to do the job. IGA can also automate privilege revocation when employees change roles or leave an organization— or assign temporary privileges needed only for the duration of a specified project.

Automate onboarding and offboarding

IT teams can become overloaded when handling many user accounts with data access requests. Handling these requests manually can result in backlogs and productivity bottlenecks. Similarly, slow manual revocation of privileges due to backlogs leads to security and compliance failings. Advanced IGA platforms, like AccessOwl, provide a mechanism to automate data access requests and privilege revocation. Using Slack to orchestrate the workflow of these requests ensures a seamless user experience for all stakeholders.

Automate access reviews to stop privilege creep

Privilege creep happens when privileges are uncontrolled and access rights are accumulated with no governance layer. An access review reveals who has access to what apps and data, and under which conditions. An identity governance and administration (IGA) platform, like AccessOwl, performs automated access certification reviews and sends reviewers custom reminders directly via Slack. Once a review is completed, all access changes are processed and documented, and evidence is shared with your auditor. These automated access reviews are an essential part of containing privilege creep.

Shadow IT detection and privilege creep?

Shadow IT is an organization’s Achilles heel, as access privileges are essentially invisible. So being able to detect shadow IT apps is an essential aspect of controlling privilege creep. When employees use unsanctioned apps, the access rights to those apps are outside the control of your organization. Modern IGA solutions offer ways to register shadow IT, facilitating risk assessments on the shadow IT stack. Automated access requests, incorporated as part of the registration and discovery workflow, mitigate shadow IT-related privilege creep.

Best practices for managing access rights as your organization grows

Startups often suffer from privilege creep because of the fluid nature of their staffing and growth trajectory. As a startup’s staff come and go and it expands its operations, access controls can become challenging to manage. The result is privilege accumulation — privilege creep. The multiple roles startups often assign its staff complicates matters, as employees and contractors rapidly move in and out of projects. Having the option to quickly and securely assign and revoke access rights is essential in enforcing least privilege and preventing privilege creep.