How Escalating Privileges Can Shake Your Enterprise Security

Your enterprise’s security can be compromised in ways you might not expect. One of the most significant threats to your IT infrastructure is privilege escalation. Understanding privilege escalation attacks and how to prevent them is crucial to enhancing your cybersecurity defenses. 

In this article, we explain how privilege escalation works and what hidden risks are associated with it. We also provide effective strategies for minimizing privilege elevation risks by malicious actors.

What is a privilege escalation attack?

No organization can do without privileged users. Privileged access rights are typically given to administrators, helpdesk personnel, and supervisors who manage, configure, and maintain critical IT systems and applications.

Elevated privileges are necessary for many roles within an organization, but they also present significant security risks, one of which is privilege escalation.

Privilege escalation refers to gaining elevated access rights illicitly. Escalation of privileges is often performed by malicious insiders or cyber attackers who exploit vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in an application or system to acquire elevated access rights.

Privilege escalation attack types

There are two main types of privilege escalation attacks: horizontal and vertical. Below, we describe the differences between them.

Horizontal privilege escalation

Horizontal privilege escalation occurs when a malicious actor does not aim to elevate their access level but instead seeks to move laterally within the same level of access permissions. This typically occurs when a user, who already has legitimate access to certain resources, leverages vulnerabilities or misconfigurations to gain access to other user accounts that share the same privilege level.

For example, suppose an employee with access to your customer database discovers a flaw in the system that allows them to compromise another employee’s account with the same level of access. While the attacker doesn’t gain elevated privileges, they can now access information that was intended only for the other employee. By exploiting horizontal privilege escalation, an attacker can piece together sensitive information from different accounts, potentially leading to a broader data breach.

Vertical privilege escalation

On the other hand, vertical privilege escalation occurs when an attacker successfully elevates their access level, gaining privileges typically reserved for higher-level accounts, such as administrative accounts. Once administrative access is obtained, the attacker can execute a wide range of malicious actions, such as installing malware, deleting critical files, or altering system configurations. Such elevation of privileges can lead to complete system compromise, data theft, or disruption of services. 

Understanding how these attacks are carried out is crucial in preventing them. 

How privilege escalation occurs

The most common attack vectors for privilege escalation include: 

Malware

Attackers can utilize malware to elevate their access rights within targeted systems. These attacks begin with obtaining basic user access. The attackers then deploy malware that inserts malicious code into critical processes to increase the control and privileges within the system.

Credential theft

Malicious actors can exploit poorly secured user credentials to gain unauthorized access and initiate privilege escalation. Attackers who manage to obtain user credentials can then elevate privileges for these users and perform malicious activities under the guise of legitimate access. 

Software vulnerabilities

Attackers can exploit software vulnerabilities that might not have been addressed by security patches. If hackers find such vulnerabilities, they can leverage them to get access to your systems and move from a regular user role into an administrator role.

System misconfigurations

Misconfigurations in system settings and security protocols are another prevalent attack vector. These can include unnecessary permissions, improper implementation of access controls, or the use of default credentials. Attackers can exploit misconfigurations to gain unauthorized access to your system and move around within it.

Social engineering 

Unlike technical vulnerabilities, social engineering relies on manipulating human behavior. A typical scenario might involve coaxing users into revealing credentials and performing malicious actions that lead to privilege escalation.

Insider threats

Insider threats originate from within your organization. Just like with credential theft, insider threats are difficult to detect because they are often seen as completely legitimate activities. Employees with legitimate access to sensitive systems might misuse or abuse their privileges with the aim of industrial espionage, fraud, sabotage, theft, etc. 

Risks associated with privilege escalation

Regardless of how an escalation attack is carried out, it can result in numerous negative consequences for organizations. 

• Data compromise. Unsanctioned elevation of privileges leads to cybersecurity incidents involving the loss, leakage, or compromise of personal employee or customer data, financial records, and confidential business information.
• System disruption. Privilege-related attacks can result in downtime, disruption of business processes, and costly recovery efforts. In some cases, attackers may even destroy entire systems, causing irreversible damage.
• Financial loss. Organizations may also face serious financial losses from fraud or fines for non-compliance when sensitive data is breached as a result of privilege escalation attacks.
• Regulatory non-сompliance. Unauthorized access to sensitive data can lead to violations of laws, standards, and regulations, such as the GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOX, etc.
• Reputational damage. The negative consequences mentioned above may harm an organization’s reputation, resulting in customer attrition, damage to brand image, and difficulties in attracting partners.
• Risk of further attacks. Privilege escalation can open doors to more severe attacks on your critical systems, especially if malicious actors manage to get access to accounts with the highest set of permissions. Intruders can then use them to launch subsequent attacks.

Ultimately, the risks associated with privilege escalation can have profound and far-reaching consequences for organizations.

Real-life examples of privilege escalation attacks

Below, we take a look at some recent examples of privilege escalation that impacted global organizations. By learning from past incidents, organizations can better protect themselves against privilege escalation attacks.

Case 1: Okta breach

The breach at Okta in 2023 highlights the dangers of privilege escalation through compromised employee accounts, which can lead to the exploitation of customer data.

Case 2: Akira attack

This attack demonstrates the speed and sophistication of modern ransomware groups, emphasizing the importance of patching vulnerabilities and securing sensitive files to prevent privilege escalation.

Case 3: MOVEit elevation of privilege vulnerability

The 2024 MOVEit vulnerability highlights the critical nature of proper authentication mechanisms in software, where a single flaw can lead to full system compromise, endangering sensitive data and critical operations.

These examples highlight how seemingly minor vulnerabilities can be exploited to gain significant control, making it clear why an effective cybersecurity strategy is essential. 

Effective ways to detect and prevent privilege escalation attacks

Implementing robust security measures to detect and prevent privilege escalation attacks is vital to maintaining the integrity of your systems and data. Here are some effective ways to protect your organization against privilege escalation:

1. Manage access permissions granularly

Detecting and preventing privilege escalation attacks calls for a strategic approach to managing privileged access. Apply the principle of least privilege and zero trust security principles. By verifying user identities and ensuring that users have only the minimal access necessary to perform their tasks, the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive systems is significantly lower. 

You can also implement the just-in-time approach, ensuring that privileged access is provided only to authorized users with a valid reason for a certain amount of time. Another essential step within this practice is conducting regular user access reviews to avoid privilege creep. 

2. Implement strong authentication

Implement reliable authentication and authorization mechanisms. You can apply effective password management practices like mandating a certain password length and complexity, rotating passwords, and limiting the number of failed login attempts. Make sure to check the requirements for password management in standards like NIST 800-63.

You should also strengthen your verification procedures with multi-factor authentication (MFA) for both regular and privileged users. Implementing MFA adds an extra layer of protection by requiring users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to your systems. This reduces the risk of unauthorized access, even if credentials are compromised.

3. Сonduct vulnerability scans

Regularly scan your systems and applications for vulnerabilities to identify and mitigate potential security gaps before they can be exploited by attackers. You can additionally arrange specific testing for privilege escalation to check how easy or complicated it is to gain elevated privileges in your system.

It’s also vital to keep all your systems and software up-to-date with the latest patches to reduce the chances of attackers exploiting known security flaws.

4. Create an incident response plan

Having a comprehensive incident response plan is essential for addressing privilege escalation attacks and mitigating their impact. Establish clear guidelines for identifying, reporting, and responding to privilege escalation attempts. You should also regularly educate your IT staff and employees on the proper protocols for reporting and responding to unusual activity.

5. Monitor user activity 

Deploy dedicated software to track and record the activity of regular and privileged users. Continuously monitor systems for unusual user behavior that could indicate a privilege escalation attack. Configure alerts to detect any suspicious activities related to privileged accounts, like changes in user roles or access levels.

Regularly review system logs for signs of privilege escalation, such as failed login attempts, unexpected account modifications, or unusual command executions. Consider choosing a monitoring tool that gathers information in a protected format so you can provide evidence for forensic investigations.

How Syteca can help prevent privilege escalation attacks

Syteca is a robust cybersecurity platform that can help you prevent privilege escalation attacks by combining privileged account management, continuous monitoring, as well as proactive alerting and incident response functionalities.

Privileged access management (PAM)

Syteca allows you to enforce strict controls on who and when can access sensitive data and systems. With Syteca’s PAM, you can:

• Specify endpoints that can be accessed by particular users.
• Automatically generate, encrypt, and manage the credentials for accounts.
• Approve access for specific users upon request. 
• Grant users privileged access to your critical resources based on the time they need to perform their tasks.
• Enforce two-factor authentication to verify user identities.

Syteca also lets you secure privileged accounts with one-time passwords (OTPs) for single use, ensuring that even if credentials are compromised, they can’t be reused.

And thanks to the password checkout feature, you can allow only one user to access privileged credentials at a time. 

User activity monitoring

Syteca enables you to continuously monitor the activities of users across both physical and virtual environments. This includes tracking how users interact with your data, their login activity, command executions (for Linux), and other actions. With Syteca’s user activity monitoring, you can:

• Monitor user activity, including detailed session metadata like app names, visited URLs, and typed keystrokes.
• Record on-screen user activities in a lightweight format.
• Review records of user activity or watch the session in real time to check how a specific user handles your data and systems.

With that, Syteca maintains comprehensive audit logs that include all user actions, which can be used for compliance reporting and forensic analysis.

Alerting and incident response

Syteca allows you to spot any suspicious activities in real time thanks to user activity alerts. Syteca offers both predefined and custom alerts. 

Upon detecting a potential privilege escalation attempt such as failed logins or logins at unusual times, Syteca allows you to:

• Send a warning message to let the user know they’re violating security policies. 
• Block the user and terminate the session.

Such functionality enables quick incident response, allowing for the timely containment and mitigation of privilege escalation attacks. 

Conclusion

By leveraging the best cybersecurity practices outlined in this article, you can significantly reduce the risk of privilege escalation attacks within your organization. Syteca empowers your security team with the solutions needed to prevent such attacks and mitigate any potential damage.

With robust privileged access management and user activity monitoring capabilities, the Syteca platform offers a comprehensive approach to addressing privilege escalation attacks and other cybersecurity risks.