What Are Zero Standing Privileges?

Zero Standing Privileges (ZSP) is a Privileged Access Management (PAM) strategy in which organizations limit access to sensitive data by removing all permanent user access. It requires users to request specific access to resources needed to complete a task. However, instead of granting users continuous access, ZSP will grant them temporary access until the task is complete.

Zero standing privileges remove the implicit trust of users and require them to constantly verify their identity and their need to access specific resources. It aids in implementing a zero-trust approach to security, where all human and non-human users must explicitly and continuously verify their identities and receive the least amount of privileges only at the times they need.

Continue reading to learn more about zero standing privileges, the risks of standing privileges, the benefits of zero standing privileges and how to implement zero standing privileges with a PAM solution.

What are standing privileges?

A standing privilege is a privilege that is assigned to a user that is “always on.” Organizations define roles and responsibilities to assign users permanent access to the specific resources they need to do their jobs. This allows users to access the resources they need from anywhere at any time. Standing privileges are convenient for users and allow them to access the resources they need right away. However, users who have constant access to those resources open up security risks that could jeopardize the organization.

The risks of standing privileges

Standing privileges create the risk of excessive access and potential data breaches. If a cybercriminal gains unauthorized access to an organization’s network, they can exploit standing privileges to access sensitive data and systems. Here are some of the common risks that result from standing privileges.

Privilege creep

Privilege creep refers to the gradual increase in network access levels that go beyond what is necessary for an individual to do their job. This often happens as a result of poor privileged access management, where organizations forget to remove unneeded privileges, or by shadow IT bypassing network restrictions to complete a task. Cybercriminals try to compromise accounts that have privilege creep and abuse the accumulated standing privileges.

Privilege escalation

Privilege escalation is a cyber attack in which cybercriminals use a compromised privileged account to expand their levels of privileges within an organization’s network. Standing privileges often allow cybercriminals to escalate their privileges either vertically or horizontally. Cybercriminals will either broaden their sphere of access to accounts with similar privileges or elevate their privileges by obtaining higher-level access to administrator accounts.

Lateral movement

Lateral movement is a technique threat actors use to move deeper within a network after gaining initial access. After accessing an organization’s network undetected, cybercriminals will move laterally by infecting other devices with malware, stealing login credentials for accounts with standing privileges and bypassing authorization. Lateral movement can also be done by malicious insider threats trying to compromise an organization’s sensitive data and valuable assets.

The benefits of zero standing privileges

Here are the benefits of zero-standing privileges.

Reduce cybersecurity risks

By removing standing privileges, organizations limit access to their network of sensitive data and systems. Zero standing privileges can help prevent privilege abuse by external threat actors or malicious insider threats through privilege creep, privilege escalation and lateral movement. Organizations will not have to worry about cybercriminals compromising accounts with standing privileges if they implement temporary access.

Helps qualify for cyber insurance

Cyber insurance is a specialized insurance policy created to protect businesses from the losses due to a cyber attack. It covers the costs of data recovery and restoration, notifying affected parties of a data breach and business disruption from a cyber attack. Zero-standing privileges help organizations protect their network from unauthorized access and qualify for cyber insurance by addressing network security.

Aids in adhering to regulatory compliances

Organizations need to adhere to regulatory and industry compliances and frameworks that require them to protect sensitive data. Zero standing privileges help protect access to organizations’ sensitive data and aid them in adhering to regulatory compliances such as GDPR, SOX, HIPAA and PCI DSS.

How to implement zero standing privileges with a PAM solution

One of the best ways to implement zero-standing privileges is with a PAM solution. A PAM solution is a tool that allows organizations to manage and secure accounts with access to highly sensitive systems and data. It gives full visibility and control into an organization’s entire data infrastructure. With a PAM solution, organizations can see who is accessing their network, what exactly each user is accessing and how those resources are being used. 

A PAM solution can help organizations remove as many standing privileges as possible through just-in-time access. Just-in-time access is when human and non-human users obtain elevated privileges in real-time for a specific period to perform a task. Users will request temporary privileges to complete a task. The PAM solution will then either grant temporary elevated privileges to a user’s account or create a new, temporary privileged account that is deleted after the task is complete. Just-in-time access helps make it possible to implement zero standing privileges, ensuring no one has standing privileges.

Use Keeper® to implement zero standing privileges

To implement zero standing privileges, organizations need to invest in a PAM solution that enables them to use just-in-time access. KeeperPAM™ is a zero-trust and zero-knowledge privileged access management platform that allows organizations to secure passwords, credentials, secrets and privileges. It combines Keeper Enterprise Password Manager (EPM), Keeper Secrets Manager® (KSM) and Keeper Connection Manager® (KCM) to achieve complete visibility, security and control all in one platform. KeeperPAM also supports just-in-time access to help organizations implement zero standing privileges.