A Beginner’s Guide to Service Accounts: What They Are and How To Secure Them

Service accounts are nonhuman privileged accounts used by systems or applications to perform certain tasks, access resources or run processes. These accounts are typically given only the permissions they need for a specific job. According to ReliaQuest, 85% of data breaches between January 2024 and July 2024 that organizations responded to involved compromised service accounts. To prevent the misuse of credentials, organizations should secure their service accounts.

Continue reading to learn why it’s important to secure service accounts, how to secure them and how KeeperPAM^® can help.

Service account vs user account: What’s the difference?

The main difference between service and user accounts is their purpose. A service account is used by a system or app, while a user account is created for a person. User accounts require passwords and are used actively by an individual, while service accounts are used to perform automated processes and function in the background without direct human interaction. 

Both types of accounts require careful security management. User accounts need strong password policies, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and regular security training for users. Service accounts require strict access controls, credential rotation, secure credential storage, session monitoring for unusual activities and the implementation of least-privilege access, since they often have elevated system access. Neither type is inherently more secure than the other; each presents different security challenges that must be properly managed to maintain an organization’s overall security posture.

Why securing service accounts is important

Securing service accounts is important because they have elevated privileges, are used for long-term access and are a common target for cyber attacks.

• Elevated privileges: Service accounts usually have access to sensitive resources, including databases, services and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Without proper security controls, cybercriminals who exploit these privileges can access sensitive data, leading to data breaches or system outages. 
• Continuous, long-term access: Unlike user accounts, which typically employ password rotation, service accounts are designed to maintain continuous system access. This constant access creates security risks that require additional monitoring and control measures.
• Common targets in cyber attacks: Threat actors specifically target service accounts because they have elevated privileges and are not typically monitored as closely as user accounts. A compromised service account can provide cybercriminals access while flying under the radar, making service accounts appealing targets for data theft.

Best practices to securely manage service accounts

Organizations can securely manage service accounts by implementing the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP), using strong authentication methods and rotating service account credentials regularly.

Implement the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP)

The Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) restricts service accounts to only the permissions necessary for their specific functions. Organizations should implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to enforce PoLP by creating granular roles with the minimal required permissions. Regular access reviews should verify that permissions remain appropriate, and any unnecessary access should be promptly removed. 

Use strong authentication methods

Even though service accounts operate without human interaction, strong authentication methods must still be enforced. While service accounts typically don’t support traditional Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), other strong authentication methods can be used, such as SSH keys and certificate-based authentication. 

A Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution like KeeperPAM® enforces MFA on all systems, including those that don’t natively support it, by requiring MFA to access the platform itself. This ensures that only authorized users can retrieve or manage service account credentials. Additionally, KeeperPAM applies strong authentication controls through its access policies, connection management and zero-trust architecture.

Regularly rotate service account credentials

To reduce the security risks of compromised credentials, it’s important for organizations to regularly rotate service account credentials, including passwords and security keys. Rotating service account credentials minimizes the risks of credential misuse; if a cybercriminal steals service account credentials but those credentials are changed frequently, they will become invalid.

Actively audit and monitor service accounts

Organizations can securely manage service accounts by actively monitoring their activity through audit logs. If suspicious activity occurs on a service account, someone may be misusing the account or have unauthorized access. This is why alerts should be set up to notify IT administrators to investigate any unusual activity and stop potential security threats. Without actively auditing and monitoring service accounts, organizations may not be able to track how a cybercriminal gained control of a service account or what data was compromised or altered.

Store credentials securely

Instead of hardcoding service account credentials into application code or configuration files, these credentials should be stored securely using secrets management tools. These tools keep credentials hidden and grant access only when needed. By storing service account credentials securely with a secrets management tool, organizations can protect themselves against data leaks, update credentials quickly and encrypt credentials to make their service accounts more secure.

Document service account inventory

Organizations must have a complete inventory of all service accounts to track the owner, purpose, expiration dates, review cycles and dependencies of each account. Proper documentation of service accounts makes it easier for organizations to identify whether account changes are authorized. Not having proper documentation of service accounts can lead to security vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit to gain unauthorized access to privileged accounts. There must be a process for provisioning each service account; for example, authorizing only certain members of an organization’s IT team to create and approve service accounts. If not all service accounts are recorded and known to an organization, sensitive data and resources can be left vulnerable to privilege escalation, which can lead to data breaches and compliance issues.

How KeeperPAM helps organizations secure service accounts

KeeperPAM® helps organizations secure their service accounts by securely storing credentials, automating credential rotation, enabling granular access control, providing real-time monitoring and auditing and integrating with existing IT infrastructure.

Securely stores service account credentials

KeeperPAM uses zero-knowledge encryption to securely store service account credentials, ensuring that data is encrypted and decrypted at the device level. This ensures that sensitive information like passwords, SSH keys and certificates remains protected and inaccessible to unauthorized users. Keeper Secrets Manager, a component of KeeperPAM, secures a wide variety of service account credentials and secrets, preventing unauthorized access and protecting data in the Keeper Vault.

Automates credential rotation

KeeperPAM automatically rotates passwords and secrets for service accounts by scheduling rotations to occur on a predetermined schedule or on demand. Automated credential rotation reduces the risk of credential compromise, minimizes disruptions by synchronizing rotations across all systems and ensures compliance with industry regulations. 

Enables granular access control

With KeeperPAM’s role-based access control, organizations can restrict access to service account credentials, ensuring that only authorized users or systems can access, modify or share sensitive resources. By implementing Just-in-Time (JIT) access, KeeperPAM ensures credentials are accessible only when needed for a specific task or during a specified time frame, eliminating standing access. This combination of RBAC and JIT access significantly reduces the risk of credential misuse and strengthens organizational security.

Provides real-time monitoring and auditing

Secure service accounts by relying on KeeperPAM’s real-time monitoring and auditing to track credential usage and detect anomalous activity. With Keeper’s Advanced Reporting and Alerts Module (ARAM), administrators receive alerts as soon as suspicious activity occurs, such as access attempts from unapproved locations during non-business hours. Detailed audit logs record every access event, including who accessed which credentials, when and for what purpose. These features enable organizations to respond rapidly to potential threats, reduce unauthorized access and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.

Seamlessly integrates with existing IT infrastructure

KeeperPAM seamlessly integrates with major cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), to secure credentials used in cloud environments. It also supports on-premises systems, third-party applications and CI/CD pipelines, ensuring credentials are managed securely across all environments. By integrating KeeperPAM into existing infrastructure, organizations can efficiently manage service account credentials without disrupting workflows.

Secure your service accounts today with KeeperPAM

Your organization can secure its service accounts using KeeperPAM. KeeperPAM secures secrets, automates credential rotation, offers granular access control and employs real-time monitoring to reduce the risks of misuse and data breaches.

Request a demo of KeeperPAM today to take control of your service account security.