Locking down service accounts without disrupting operations

The security of service accounts cannot rely on outdated practices. (Image: Supplied)

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When securing service accounts, a long-standing best practice has been to enforce regular password rotation. But is this truly the most effective way to protect non-human identities, or is it more critical to understand where they are used, how they operate and implement granular access controls?

Service accounts are non-human identities used by applications, services and automated processes to authenticate and perform tasks within IT environments. Unlike user accounts, they do not belong to a specific individual but instead enable system-to-system interactions, such as running background services, connecting to databases and executing scheduled jobs. Because they often require persistent access and operate without direct user intervention, service accounts can become security blind spots – making them prime targets for attackers seeking to move laterally through networks.

With the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, particularly lateral movement attacks, organisations must rethink how they manage service accounts. Rather than focusing solely on password rotation, the emphasis should be on visibility, access control and behavioural security, ensuring service accounts are only used as intended and are locked down to access only what they need when they need it.

Unlike human identities, service accounts often operate without direct user interaction, making them prime targets for threat actors. These accounts are widely used across IT environments, integrating applications, automating tasks and enabling machine-to-machine (M2M) interactions. Multifactor authentication (MFA) cannot be applied to service accounts since they are not associated with a human user, and frequent password rotation can lead to operational disruptions.

1. Breaking critical systems: Some legacy applications or services do not support automated credential updates, requiring manual intervention when passwords change. This can lead to service downtime or application failures.
2. Hardcoded credentials: Many older systems still rely on hardcoded passwords in scripts or configuration files. Changing these passwords can be complex and error-prone, increasing the risk of misconfiguration.
3. Operational overhead: Managing password changes across hundreds or thousands of service accounts is labour-intensive and requires careful co-ordination to prevent a chain reaction of failures.
4. Limited protection against lateral movement: Even with regular password changes, if an attacker compromises a service account, they can still exploit its privileges to move laterally across the network.

A notable example of weak service account security is the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In 2015, OPM experienced a significant data breach, where attackers exploited vulnerabilities in service accounts to gain access to sensitive personnel records of millions of federal employees.

This incident highlighted the critical need for enhanced security measures around service accounts, demonstrating that attackers actively target these non-human identities to gain access to high-value data. The breach underscored the importance of continuous monitoring, behavioural analysis and access controls as opposed to relying solely on periodic password changes.

A more effective way to secure service accounts without the risks associated with frequent password changes is through adaptive access policies that ensure service accounts can only operate under specific conditions, reducing the attack surface.

1. Automated discovery and monitoring: Identifies all service accounts in the environment, mapping their usage patterns and detecting anomalies.
2. Virtual perimeter for service accounts: Implements access policies based on behavioural analytics, ensuring service accounts are used only as expected.
3. Granular access control: Restricts service accounts to access only the necessary resources under predefined conditions (time, location, device, etc).
4. Protection against lateral movement: Prevents attackers from exploiting compromised service accounts to move laterally across the network.
5. Machine-to-machine (M2M) access: Detect misuse and enforce real-time controls for unauthorised actions.

In identity security, understanding the usage of service accounts and enforcing least-privilege access is more effective than merely changing passwords.

The security of service accounts cannot rely on outdated practices like routine password rotation alone. Instead, organisations must adopt a more strategic approach that prioritises visibility, control and continuous monitoring. By treating service accounts as critical assets rather than afterthoughts, businesses can significantly reduce their risk exposure.

A well-implemented security framework should ensure that service accounts operate under strict, predefined conditions, minimising unnecessary access and preventing lateral movement in the event of a breach. With cyber threats becoming increasingly sophisticated, proactive security measures, such as automated discovery, behavioural analytics and real-time enforcement, are essential.