A robust identity security posture and strategy is critical in today’s digital-first world, where organizations rely on numerous on-prem and cloud applications and systems. And every application requires various account types to function correctly. Among these, service accounts are critical, often operating behind the scenes to facilitate automated processes, system integrations, and other essential functions. However, the very nature of service accounts—highly privileged and less frequently monitored—makes them a significant security risk if not properly managed. This is where Zilla can help. Zilla has a comprehensive, yet easy-to-use solution for effectively managing and reviewing service accounts.
Understanding Service Accounts and their Associated Risks
Service accounts are non-human accounts used by applications or services to interact with the operating system, other applications, or services. These accounts typically have elevated privileges, enabling them to perform operational or administrative functions without human intervention. Due to this elevated access and to the proliferation of apps and service accounts across the enterprise, mismanaged service accounts are considered top security vulnerabilities. In addition, service accounts are often not subject to typical security measures such as MFA, which makes them even more of a target for rogue actors. Specifically, service accounts pose risks in the following areas:
1. Unused or forgotten service accounts can provide persistent access points for unauthorized users. Service accounts often remain active longer than needed and, sometimes, are completely forgotten.
2. Over-Privileged Accounts: Many service accounts have broad permissions (and in many cases, are over-privileged). These high levels of permissions can then be exploited if the account is compromised.
3. Lack of Monitoring: Service accounts are often set up initially and then remain active in the background. Compared to other types of user accounts, they are less likely to be monitored for suspicious activity, as they often don’t have a dedicated individual responsible for maintaining the account over time.
4. Compliance Issues: Service accounts are still subject to monitoring and access reviews in accordance with major compliance standards. Failing to manage service accounts properly can result in non-compliance findings, which can result in fines and disciplinary action.
All of these characteristics make service accounts attractive targets for malicious actors.
Zilla’s Approach to Service Account Management
At Zilla, we recognize the importance of effective service account management. Zilla brings all infrastructure and applications – regardless of whether they are on-prem, in the cloud, or homegrown – into a unified system. This ensures that all accounts, including service accounts, are accurately identified, tracked, and managed. Here’s how Zilla makes it easy to follow service account best practices as part of the user access review process:
1. Identification and Classification: Zilla identifies all service accounts and classifies them as a “Service Account” type within our solution. This initial classification is crucial for distinguishing service accounts from regular user accounts.
2. Mapping to Account Owners: Each service account is mapped to an “Account Owner” or “Service Owner” within the employee list. This mapping establishes clear responsibility and accountability for the management of each service account.
3. Access Review Campaigns: Zilla Security conducts “Service Account” access review campaigns with the “Account Owners” campaign setting enabled. This means that the review tasks are sent directly to the designated service owners.
4. Review Objectives: During the access review process, service owners are tasked with:
- Validation: Confirming whether the service account is still needed
- Privilege Assessment: Evaluating if the service account has excessive privileges.
- Least Privilege Practice: Adjusting permissions to ensure the account operates with the least privilege necessary for its function.
5. Automated Revocation of Permissions: Zilla’s access review process, empowers customers to revoke service account permissions and remove them from group assignments. When reviewers mark a permission for revocation, Zilla’s API integrations can automatically trigger the revocation update in the next scheduled daily sync, ensuring that changes are fulfilled swiftly and accurately.
The Benefits of Regular Service Account Reviews
Regularly reviewing service accounts through Zilla is important for maintaining a strong identity security posture:
1. Enhanced Security: Regular reviews help identify and mitigate potential security risks associated with inactive or over-privileged service accounts.
2. Improved Compliance: Demonstrating regular service account reviews is often required for compliance with major regulatory standards, such as SOX, HIPAA, GLBA, NYDFS, PCI, and SOC 2.
3. Operational Efficiency: By ensuring service accounts are regularly reviewed and removed where applicable, organizations can reduce the number of accounts and improve overall operational efficiency.
4. Accountability: Clear mapping of service accounts to service owners ensures accountability and proper management.
Zilla Enables Proactive Identity Security
Zilla’s proactive approach to identity security extends beyond just service accounts. Our platform integrates applications across the entire organization and continuously compares them to an active employee list. This ensures that accounts linked to inactive employees are flagged and deactivated, preventing unauthorized access and eliminating potential breach risks.
Conducting regular access reviews doesn’t have to be a manual, labor-intensive process. Zilla uses automation to streamline access reviews, enabling organizations to maintain a strong security posture with minimal manual effort.
Best Practices for Service Account Access Reviews
Service account management is and will continue to be a critical component of identity security. Unmanaged service accounts pose significant risks, but there are ways to mitigate those risks. Using Zilla, organizations can ensure that these accounts are properly identified, classified, mapped to responsible owners, and regularly reviewed. This approach is key to a proactive security posture, supports regulatory compliance, and enhances operational efficiency.
In the evolving landscape of cyber threats, it is essential to properly manage and review service accounts. Zilla’s robust platform provides the tools to manage these accounts effectively without creating an undue administrative burden or manual processes. Regular service account reviews are not just a best practice—they are a necessity in today’s world.
Contact Zilla today to learn how to maintain a strong security posture with proper service account management.
