In today’s rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape, detecting and remediating identity misconfigurations and blind spots has become critical to an organization’s identity security posture. As identity emerges as the new perimeter and a crucial pillar of an identity fabric, understanding and addressing these vulnerabilities is paramount. This article explores what identity blind spots and misconfigurations are, why finding them is essential, and details the top seven identity security risks to avoid.
The Importance of Identifying Identity Misconfigurations and Blind Spots
Identity misconfigurations and identity blind spots stand out as critical concerns that undermine an organization’s identity security posture. An identity misconfiguration occurs when identity infrastructure and systems are not configured correctly. This can result from administrative errors or configuration drift, which is the gradual divergence of an organization’s identity and access controls from their intended state, often due to unsanctioned changes or updates.
Identity blind spots are risks that are overlooked or not monitored by an organization’s existing identity controls, leaving undetected vulnerabilities that threat actors might exploit. These blind spots often arise from insufficient visibility into the activities of both human and machine identities within the network.
Understanding these concepts is vital because traditional security measures that focus on fortifying an organization’s network perimeter are becoming less effective with the widespread adoption of cloud computing, SaaS services, and hybrid work models. In this new landscape, achieving full visibility and control over identity activities is crucial for mitigating cyberthreats.
Research and real-world incidents validate the need to secure identities. According to the Identity Defined Security Alliance’s most recent research, 90% of organizations surveyed experienced at least one identity-based attack in the past year. Additionally, the latest Threat Intelligence Index Report highlights that identity has become the leading attack vector, with a 71% increase in valid identities used in cyberattacks year-over-year. These statistics underscore the urgency for organizations to prioritize identity security.
One notable example of an identity-based attack is the Midnight Blizzard attack disclosed in January 2024. The attackers used a password spray attack to compromise a legacy non-production test tenant account. Once they gained a foothold through a valid account, they leveraged its permissions to access a small percentage of the company’s corporate email user accounts, potentially exfiltrating sensitive information, including emails and attached documents.
The Top Seven Risks to an Organization’s Identity Security Posture
To stay ahead of identity-related attacks, identity and security teams must proactively improve their identity security posture by addressing common identity misconfigurations and blind spots. Here are the top seven risks organizations should take steps to avoid:
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) consistently urges organizations to implement MFA for all users and services to prevent unauthorized access. However, achieving this goal can be challenging in practice due to the complexity of configuring multiple identity systems and applications. Incorrect MFA configuration can lead to scenarios where MFA is not enforced due to accidental omission or gaps in session management.
For instance, a 2023 survey by Verizon found that 29% of data breaches involved the use of stolen credentials. Implementing MFA can mitigate this risk by adding an extra layer of security, making it significantly harder for attackers to gain access with stolen credentials.
Effective password hygiene is crucial to an organization’s identity security posture, yet common identity misconfigurations frequently undermine password quality. Weak or commonly used passwords facilitate unauthorized access through simple guessing or brute force attacks. Additionally, strong but default passwords can make password spray attacks easier.
Using outdated password hash algorithms like SHA-1, MD4, MD5, RC2, or RC4, which can be quickly decoded, further exposes user credentials. Inadequate salting of passwords weakens their defense against dictionary and rainbow table attacks. A 2023 study by the Ponemon Institute found that 57% of organizations experienced a data breach due to poor password practices, highlighting the importance of maintaining strong password hygiene.
Privileged Access Management (PAM) systems control and monitor access to privileged accounts, such as domain administrator and admin-level application accounts. These systems provide an extra layer of security by storing credentials in a secure vault and brokering access through a proxy server or bastion host.
However, PAM controls can be bypassed if not configured correctly, significantly reducing their protection. A similar problem occurs when users bypass Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) systems due to initial configuration issues or configuration drift over time. According to a 2023 Forrester report, 60% of organizations experienced security incidents due to misconfigured or bypassed PAM systems.
Shadow access occurs when a user retains unmanaged access via a local account to an application or service, often for convenience or troubleshooting. Local accounts typically rely on static credentials, lack proper documentation, and are at higher risk of unauthorized access. High-privilege local accounts, such as super admin accounts, pose significant security risks.
For example, a 2023 Gartner report highlighted that 40% of security incidents involving privileged access were due to unmanaged local accounts. Organizations must enforce strict access controls and regularly review and manage all accounts to mitigate this risk.
Shadow assets, a subset of shadow IT, represent a significant blind spot in identity security. These are applications or services within the network that are “unknown” to Active Directory or other Identity Providers. Their existence and access are not documented or controlled by an organization’s identity systems, making enforcing security measures challenging.
A 2023 McAfee report found that 25% of cloud applications used in organizations were unsanctioned, leading to increased security risks. Integrating shadow assets into established authentication and authorization frameworks is essential for maintaining a robust identity security posture.
Shadow identity systems are unauthorized identity systems that might fall under shadow assets but are called out separately given the risk they pose. The most common shadow identity system is the use of unapproved password managers. Software development teams may implement unsanctioned secret management tools to secure application credentials or stand up their own Identity Providers.
A 2023 survey by CyberArk found that 48% of organizations had shadow identity systems, with 33% experiencing security incidents due to these unauthorized systems. Properly managing and monitoring identity systems is critical to reducing this risk.
Service accounts, a type of machine identity, can perform various actions depending on their permissions, such as running applications, automating services, and managing virtual machine instances. When service accounts are no longer in active use but remain unmonitored with permissions intact, they become prime targets for exploitation.
Attackers can use forgotten service accounts to gain unauthorized access, leading to data breaches, service disruptions, and compromised systems. A 2023 Identity Management Institute report found that 30% of security incidents involving service accounts were due to their improper management and monitoring.
Adopting Identity Security Posture Management (ISPM) to Reduce Risk
Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems, such as Active Directory, Identity Providers, and PAM, typically offer limited capabilities to find identity misconfigurations and blind spots that lead to a poor identity security posture. These identity security solutions often lack the necessary telemetry to identify these issues, requiring data collection and correlation from multiple sources, including identity system log data, network traffic, cloud traffic, and remote access logs.
Implementing Identity Security Posture Management (ISPM) can help organizations reduce risk by providing comprehensive visibility into identity activities and configurations. ISPM solutions can detect and remediate identity misconfigurations and blind spots, ensuring a robust identity security posture.
Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding and addressing identity misconfigurations and blind spots are essential for maintaining a strong identity security posture. By proactively identifying and mitigating the top seven identity security risks, organizations can enhance their security measures and protect against identity-related attacks. Adopting ISPM solutions can further strengthen identity security, providing the necessary visibility and control to safeguard against evolving cyber threats.
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