Detecting and Responding to Unauthorized Access: A Guide for Business Leaders

Unauthorized access to data, networks, devices, and applications poses a serious threat to organizations of all sizes. In this comprehensive blog post, we will explore what exactly constitutes unauthorized access, examine the risks it presents, outline strategies to prevent it, discuss ways of detecting unauthorized access when it does occur, and provide detailed guidance on responding appropriately.

This in-depth guide aims to help business leaders and security professionals better understand the multifaceted unauthorized access challenge and equip their organizations with actionable strategies to address it effectively. Drawing from key insights provided on the LK Technologies website, this Cincinnati-based IT services company helps hundreds of local organizations optimize and secure their technology infrastructure against threats like unauthorized access and data breaches.

What is Unauthorized Access?

At its core, unauthorized access refers to any time an individual accesses data, networks, endpoints, applications, or devices without explicit permission to do so. There are a few common ways unauthorized access can occur:

• Weak, default, or stolen login credentials that are easily guessed, cracked, or otherwise compromised
• Sophisticated phishing schemes that trick authorized users into unwittingly sharing their credentials
• Compromised accounts that have been fully or partially taken over by illegitimate actors
• The exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities that allow access to be gained without credentials
• Insider threats from disgruntled or negligent employees, abusing granted access

Regardless of how it occurs, detecting unauthorized access boils down to someone - whether an external actor or insider - gaining access that they are clearly not authorized to have. This differs from incidents where users unwittingly access resources outside of policy, as the access is intentionally unauthorized.

Risks and Impacts of Detecting Unauthorized Access

When an unauthorized outsider or insider gains access to systems or data, they can inflict damage and extract value in several ways:

• Directly stealing and exfiltrating sensitive data, files, credentials, or other valuable information
• Sabotaging systems, corrupting databases, and destroying data
• Using their elevated access to further compromise additional accounts, systems, and resources
• Covertly installing backdoors, malware, or other persistent threats for future access
• Misusing accessed resources for crypto mining, botnets, hosting malicious content, and more

These all carry inherent risks and costs to an organization. However, the damage often extends far beyond the initial breach incident through lost trust, reputation harm, notification costs, legal liabilities, and ongoing revenue impacts from business disruption.

For example, the 2021 SolarWinds supply chain attack allowed hackers to gain unauthorized access to numerous public and private sector organizations. The breach damage included:

• Compromise of sensitive US government data
• Backdoor malware installation for persistent access
• Costs exceeding $100 million across impacted organizations
• Significant brand damage for SolarWinds

This example highlights why detecting unauthorized access merits serious attention and investment from leadership.

5 Core Strategies for Preventing and Detecting Unauthorized Access

While no solution is completely foolproof, organizations can and should take proactive steps to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access. Here are 5 core strategies to consider:

1. Adopt a "Least Privilege" Approach

• Conduct regular access privilege audits across all systems, resources, and environments.
• Ensure users only have the bare minimum permissions needed to do their jobs.
• Revoking unnecessary access limits damage from compromised accounts

2. Enforce Strong Passwords and Multifactor Authentication

• Require and enforce complex passwords that are frequently changed
• Deploy multifactor authentication (MFA) to add extra identity verification
• Use password managers to generate and store strong credentials

3. Prioritize Timely Patching and Vulnerability Management

• Continuously scan for vulnerabilities across all assets
• Promptly test and install security patches, updates, and configuration changes
• This closes vulnerabilities before attackers can find and exploit them

4. Secure Physical and Remote Access

• Use locks, cameras, guards, and other controls to secure facilities
• Require VPNs for remote access with MFA-enforced
• Control access to Wi-Fi networks, ports, and other virtual entry points

5. Implement The Least Privilege for Applications

• Configure applications to only allow necessary permissions and resources
• Disable unnecessary features, integrations, and privileges
• This reduces damage if an application is compromised

Additional controls like microsegmentation, endpoint monitoring, and privileged access management add further protection. But these five strategies form a strong foundation for securing against risk and detecting unauthorized access.

Advanced Methods for Detecting Unauthorized Access

While prevention is ideal, detection is crucial for responding quickly to minimize damage when incidents inevitably occur. However, many conventional security tools struggle in reliably detecting unauthorized access for three key reasons:

Challenge	Explanation
Most Breaches Involve Insiders	External "intrusions" grab headlines but are rare. Estimates suggest insiders account for around two-thirds of breaches.
Access is Often Not Strictly Forced	Policies don't cover every edge case and scenario. Users often access unsecured data or systems without "breaking rules."
More Data Lacks Defined Permissions	New data is quickly created, copied, and shared - but often isn't properly classified and protected. Yet it still holds value and risks.

To overcome these challenges, leading organizations are adopting advanced solutions that provide complete visibility into all user activity and access permissions across the entire digital environment - on-premises, cloud, and remote.

This level of comprehensive visibility allows security teams to tune into subtle signals of risk, like unusual off-hour activity, access by recently departed employees, or high-volume data transfers. User behavior analytics can automatically flag high-risk anomalies for investigation.

Responding to Unauthorized Access Incidents

There is no one-size-fits-all response plan for unauthorized access incidents. The ideal response depends on thoroughly assessing what was accessed, by whom, how, and what they did after gaining access.

Comprehensive visibility into user activity provides security teams with the contextual intelligence needed to swiftly answer these key questions during triage and investigation. This speeds and focuses response coordination across HR, legal, IT, and other groups.

Based on the investigation findings, targeted responses can include:

• Immediately revoking compromised user access and resetting credentials
• Conducting forensic analysis to determine the scope and remediation needs
• Notifying impacted customers per breach notification laws
• Enabling enhanced monitoring to detect related suspicious activity
• Reinstalling wiped or altered data from backups
• Identifying needed policy and control improvements

The ability to rapidly gain insight and respond in a focused way helps contain damage, restore trust, and prevent future recurrence.

Conclusion and Key Takeaways

In summary, here are the key takeaways for business leaders looking to improve their unauthorized access risk posture:

• Unauthorized access remains an ever-present threat - but can be reduced through prevention and early detection.
• Prioritize the least privilege, strong access controls, and timely patching.
• Seek comprehensive visibility into all user activity to detect high-risk behavior.
• Prepare incident response plans to swiftly investigate, contain, and remediate breaches.
• Leverage expert guidance and technology from partners like LK Technologies.

As your trusted Cincinnati-based IT partner, LK Technologies is ready to help implement tailored solutions to the multifaceted unauthorized access challenge. Don't wait to get on top of insider threats and data breach risks - a proactive approach is key to protecting your organization.