The advent of non-human identities–encompassing service accounts, application IDs, machine identities, and more–has reshaped the cybersecurity landscape, introducing a new dimension of vulnerabilities and attack vectors. While helpful, these digital entities are an increasingly vulnerable spot where attackers focus resources. 

This article will cover this relatively new attack vector, how hackers leverage new technology to exploit these vectors, and what you can do to shore up your security. 

 

What Is Non-Human Access?

With the explosion of integrated apps, cloud platforms, and federated identity services, the notion of a “non-human” access entity is increasingly real. In cybersecurity and IT, non-human identities refer to digital entities that are not directly associated with individual human users but still require access and interaction with systems and networks. 

A good example is automated services on one platform to provide functionality from another. For example, you might be familiar with a platform like Github, where users can write and commit code changes for programming projects large and small. But what makes Github so powerful is that it integrates with hundreds of apps, software packages, and third-party platforms that support application hosting. 

To support these integrations, different credentials are passed between software and platforms, often without direct intervention of the user–these are instances of “non-human access.”

These identities are crucial for modern IT environments’ automated and programmatic functioning. The seven types of non-human identities typically include:

• Service Accounts are particular accounts of software applications or services used to interact with the operating system or other software. They often have elevated permissions and are used for automated processes.
• Application IDs: Unique identifiers for applications, often used to control access to resources like databases, web services, or APIs. They are crucial for application-to-application communication and access control.
• Bots and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Identities: These identities are used by automated scripts or bots, including those for RPA, to perform automated tasks. They might interact with web interfaces, APIs, or other systems.
• Machine Identities: These encompass certificates, SSH keys, and other cryptographic keys used to identify and authenticate machines, such as servers, on a network. They are crucial for secure machine-to-machine communications.
• API Keys: Special tokens used to authenticate and authorize API calls between software services. These keys are essential for controlling how external or internal services interact with an application’s API.
• Cloud Service Identities: Identities associated with cloud services and resources, like those used in AWS (Amazon Web Services), Azure, or Google Cloud. These identities allow for managing permissions and access within cloud environments.
• IoT Device Identities: Unique identifiers for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These identities help manage and control access and communication of a network’s vast array of connected IoT devices.

These non-human identities are critical in modern IT infrastructure’s automated and interconnected world. They require careful management and security considerations, as they can be potential vectors for cybersecurity threats if not properly secured and monitored. This includes implementing least privilege access, regular audits, and monitoring for anomalous activities.

 

What Is the Non-Human Access Attack Surface?

With the modern cyber landscape mapped onto these interconnected services and systems, it’s unsurprising that the attack surface is quite large and complex. It includes a multi-layered web of technologies that, at first glance, seem impossible to disentangle. 

Some of these attack vectors include:

• APIs: APIs are a significant target since they are often exposed to the internet, allowing automated tools to exploit vulnerabilities, perform unauthorized actions, or access sensitive data.
• Web Applications: Web applications are susceptible to automated attacks like SQL injection, XSS (Cross-Site Scripting), and CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) perpetrated by bots or scripts.
• Authentication Mechanisms: Weak or poorly implemented authentication systems are prone to brute force attacks, credential stuffing, and automated phishing attempts.
• Network Infrastructure: This includes routers, switches, and firewalls, which can be targeted by automated scanning tools looking for vulnerabilities or misconfigurations.
• Cloud Services: Publicly accessible cloud services and storage buckets can be probed and exploited by automated tools for data breaches or service disruptions.
• IoT Devices: Internet of Things devices often have weaker security and can be exploited en masse by automated scripts to create botnets or launch other attacks.
• Email Systems: Automated phishing campaigns and spam are significant threats, leveraging scale to reach a broad audience.
• Machine Learning and AI Systems: These can be targeted by automated tools that manipulate algorithms or poison data sets.
• Mobile Applications: Like web applications, automated scripts can probate mobile apps for vulnerabilities like insecure data storage or improper session handling.

 

What Are Some Methods Used to Manipulate Non-Human Access?

With such a broad and diverse attack surface, hackers can easily and quickly adapt new and existing cyber threats to manipulate different systems or exploit weak or unfortified connections between systems. Following that, the methods used to launch attacks against weak non-human access points are equally diverse. 

Some of the most common contemporary threats to systems via non-human access methodologies include:

• Botnets: Botnets are networks of infected computers or IoT devices controlled remotely by attackers. They can launch massive DDoS attacks, spread malware, or carry out credential-stuffing attacks. Tools like Mirai have shown how easily IoT devices can be co-opted into botnets.
• Automated Exploitation Frameworks: Tools like Metasploit or BeEF (Browser Exploitation Framework) automate detecting and exploiting vulnerabilities in systems and applications. These frameworks are regularly updated with the latest exploits, making them a powerful tool for attackers.
• Credential Stuffing Tools: Tools like Sentry MBA are used for credential stuffing attacks. They automate trying different username-password combinations (often obtained from previous data breaches) against various online services to gain unauthorized access.
• Phishing Kits: Automated phishing campaigns are executed using phishing kits, pre-packaged sets of phishing web pages and scripts. These kits make it easy for attackers to launch large-scale phishing operations, targeting numerous individuals or organizations.
• SQL Injection and XSS Tools: Tools like SQLMap automate detecting and exploiting SQL Injection vulnerabilities, while XSSer is designed for Cross-Site Scripting attacks. These tools can quickly scan and control web applications.
• Scanning and Reconnaissance Tools: Tools like Nmap and Shodan are used for network scanning and surveillance, enabling attackers to identify vulnerable systems and services that can be exploited.
• AI-Driven Malware: Advanced malware now incorporates AI and machine learning to evade detection, analyze system defenses, and adapt to different environments. This type of malware can autonomously decide the best strategy to spread, remain undetected, or execute its payload.
• API Attack Tools: Tools like Postman and custom scripts are often used to probe APIs for vulnerabilities such as insecure endpoints, inadequate rate limiting, and improper authentication.
• Automated Social Engineering Tools: These tools use AI to craft and send convincing phishing emails or messages at scale, often personalized based on the target’s publicly available information.
• Web Scraping and Data Harvesting Tools: Automated scripts and tools are used for scraping websites and harvesting data, which can be used for various malicious purposes, including competitive intelligence, fraud, or further attacks.

 

How Can You Protect Against Non-Human Access Attacks?

Protecting against attacks targeting non-human identities requires a comprehensive approach, focusing on technological solutions and organizational practices. Here are vital strategies organizations can implement:

• Robust Identity and Access Management (IAM): Implementing a powerful IAM framework is crucial. This includes managing and monitoring service accounts, API keys, and machine identities. Regularly reviewing and updating permissions and ensuring that principles of least privilege are applied can significantly reduce the attack surface.
• Use of Privileged Access Management (PAM) Tools: PAM tools help manage and monitor access to critical resources and systems, especially for accounts with elevated privileges. They can enforce strong password policies, provide multi-factor authentication, and provide detailed audit trails.
• Regular Audits and Credential Rotations: Regularly auditing non-human identities and their access levels helps identify potential vulnerabilities. Regularly rotating credentials like passwords and API keys are also essential to minimize risks.
• Network Segmentation: By segmenting the network, organizations can limit the movement of an attacker within the network, even if they compromise a non-human identity. Microsegmentation takes this further by tightly controlling communication between individual applications and services.
• Encryption and Secure Communication Protocols: Ensuring that data in transit and at rest is encrypted is vital. Using secure communication protocols for machine-to-machine communication can prevent interception and manipulation of data.
  
• Anomaly Detection and Behavior Analytics: Implementing systems that can detect unusual behaviors or access patterns associated with non-human identities can help in the early detection of attacks. Machine learning and AI can enhance these capabilities.
• Endpoint Security: Strengthening endpoint security helps protect the devices that non-human identities interact with. This includes regular updates, patch management, and anti-malware tools.
  
• API Security: Protecting APIs through gateways, implementing rate limiting, and regularly scanning for vulnerabilities is vital to safeguarding this attack vector.
• IoT Security: For IoT device identities, implementing strong authentication mechanisms, regular firmware updates, and network segmentation can mitigate risks.
• Employee Training and Awareness: Educating employees about the risks associated with non-human identities and the best management practices is crucial for maintaining a solid security posture.
• Disaster Recovery and Incident Response Planning: Having robust plans for responding to security incidents, including those involving non-human identities, helps minimize damage and recover swiftly.

 

Beef Up Your Security Across Apps and Platforms with Lazarus Alliance

Non-human threats are growing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t leverage the best tools, technologies, and platforms to run your business. Just trust a partner like Lazarus Alliance to ensure your security is enough to meet modern-day challenges. 

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