Cyber security has long delved into the protection at the identity level. Attackers are increasingly inclined to penetrate network systems by stealing the identities of legitimate users. This "identity-based maintenance" has become one of the most common, covert and destructive attack methods that enterprises and institutions face. Enterprises or organizations have to confront such attacks. So, what are some good coping methods to eliminate such threats and help them build a trusted network environment?
Identity-based threats are often manifested as attackers obtaining legitimate identity credentials and manipulating critical resources, stealing data, and damaging the system without alerting the system. For example, obtain account passwords through means such as phishing emails, keyloggers or brute force cracking, and then log in to the internal network service remotely; Or, by taking advantage of lateral movement and impersonating accounts with higher permission levels, the attack surface can be further expanded. This type of attack evades traditional intrusion detection and log auditing systems by using "legitimate identities".
To thoroughly prevent such threats, enterprises must introduce the concept of "zero trust" and implement the principle of "never trust, always verify" in every user, device, application and request. One of the specific strategies is to implement a strict authentication mechanism for all user and service accounts. The traditional username and password mode is extremely risky due to its vulnerability to brute-force cracking and phishing, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) must be adopted as the basic protection. Whether it is dynamic tokens, SMS verification, hardware keys or biometric identification, the addition of MFA can significantly increase the difficulty for attackers to impersonate their identities.
But MFA is not the end. Continuous Authentication and behavioral analysis are important means to further enhance security strength. By analyzing the behavioral characteristics of users such as login time, device, geographical location, and access frequency through machine learning, the system can determine whether the behavior of a certain identity conforms to its daily pattern, thereby identifying potential risks of fraud. If abnormal behavior is detected, such as an employee account frequently accessing sensitive systems from a different location during non-working hours, the system can automatically trigger additional verification or temporary locking.
In addition to the user identity itself, the management of the service account is also of vital importance. Many enterprises neglect the security control of non-human identities (such as application accounts and automated script identities), which often have high permissions but become the breakthrough points for attackers to penetrate due to default passwords, hard-coded passwords and other issues. The solution is to introduce a Privileged Access Management (PAM) system, implementing the principle of least privilege, centralized control, on-demand authorization and audit trails for all high-privilege accounts. In addition, sensitive information such as keys and credentials should be stored in a dedicated key management system to eliminate the risk of plaintext passwords appearing in the code.
At the network access layer, the traditional control mechanism based on the IP whitelist is no longer applicable. Under the zero-trust architecture, Identity-Aware Access Control policies should replace static rules. Whether the user is within the internal network or outside, as long as it complies with the identity policy, the required resources can be accessed; otherwise, the request will be rejected. This type of strategy works together with Directory services (such as LDAP or Active Directory) and authorization systems (such as OAuth, SAML) to achieve refined and dynamic permission allocation.
At the technical architecture level, Micro-Segmentation and Software Defined Perimeter (SDP) provide important means to defend against identity threats. By dividing the network into more fine-grained logical paragraphs and combining identity policies with behavioral verification, even if an attacker steals a certain identity, they cannot easily move laterally to other areas. SDP further "invisibly" resources. Only authenticated identities can see the existence of specific services, greatly reducing the reconnaissance space for attackers.
Apart from technical means, user education is also a crucial link. Regularly conducting security awareness training to enable employees to identify common attacks, develop good password habits, and understand the importance of MFA, etc., can reduce the risk of credential leakage from the source. In addition, enterprises should formulate detailed security incident response plans. Once signs of identity theft are detected, they should be able to quickly block accounts, cut off connections, and restore systems, thereby minimizing losses.
Combined with the modern cloud computing environment, identity threat management should also be extended to multi-cloud and hybrid cloud architectures. The identity management methods of different cloud service providers vary, and a unified identity governance framework becomes the key. The use of Federated Identity, centralized Identity Provider (IdP), and single sign-on (SSO) mechanisms enables users to switch securely between different platforms while enhancing management efficiency. Enterprises should also control the authentication mechanism during the inter-program invocation process through API security policies to prevent token abuse or interface hijacking.
In conclusion, enterprises need to collaborate and build from multiple levels and dimensions. By strengthening identity verification, establishing behavior monitoring capabilities, implementing the principle of least privilege, establishing zero-trust networks, improving the management of privileged accounts, and enhancing users' security awareness, enterprises can effectively resist identity threats in an increasingly complex network environment and ensure the core security of data and services.
