Understanding Ghost Cyber Attacks.

Weekly executive insight from Shiv Singh, CISSP , CEO of LINEARSTACK .

Ghost users, or "ghost accounts," are active accounts on a corporate network associated with former employees. Even though these employees have left the company, these accounts remain accessible, creating security and operational difficulties that organisations must deal with.

Upgrading and improving your organization's identity management system and process is crucial in preventing ghost account attacks against the organization's critical assets. If an account becomes inactive, it becomes less noticeable if it gets hacked. A hacker could have network access for an extended period before detection.

Critical systems, remote access, and sensitive data are all at risk from a ghost account attack.

What Systems are at Risk from Ghost Attacks?

Threat actors leveraging ghost accounts for unauthorized access make tracking the actual culprits near impossible. Disguised as corporate users, hackers can impersonate someone within the organization who, under normal circumstances, can access critical infrastructure. Leaving ghost accounts active will become accessible by hackers allowing them to gain access to the sensitive systems while bypassing many internal adaptive controls and filtering.

CISOs and CIOs need to understand these lingering accounts' security and operational risks. Hackers can use their access via the ghost accounts to implant RATs, Trojan Horses, and other malware attacks, leading to a ransomware attack if their access becomes shut off. These cyber criminal tools would become an even more significant threat if the previous ghost account had permission to download and activate these tools.

How Can Companies Protect Against Ghost Cyber Attackers?

There are several strategies organisations should enable to help prevent ghost attacks from becoming a current and future problem.

A:) Hire a third-party penetration testing team to perform a series of vulnerability attacks looking for ghost accounts capable of exploiting internal and external systems.

B:) Ensure all identity management solutions allow for automation removal of access to all accounts within a specific inactivity date.

C:) Ensure corporate IT, human capital management, and security operations leverage automation to restrict or block access once an employee, contractor, or vendor is no longer required to access corporate systems or networks.

Multi-factor authentication, updating the organisation password changing policy, implementing limited access to systems when an employee goes on vacation, and deploying zero-trust access reduces the risk and exposure from ghost account attacks.

Ghost Account Attacks Are Preventative.

Organisations should take proactive steps to address the problem of ghost users. IT teams focusing strongly on security should prioritize deactivating accounts promptly when an employee leaves. Implementing effective communication channels and streamlined processes is essential to ensure a timely response.

Maintaining a secure corporate network involves addressing ghost users and implementing strategic measures. Organisations can strengthen their cybersecurity defenses, protect sensitive data, and prevent potential breaches by understanding the risks and challenges and implementing effective strategies.

#prevention #CIO #CISO #XDR #Compliance #regulation #Incidentresponse #SecOps #NDR #securityawarness #emailsecurity #DLP #encryption #artificialintellignce #machinelearning

?

?