August 26, 2026
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As the number of employees in a company grows, access management becomes a challenge.
Who can view which file?
Who can access which system?
Who can access customer information?
Answers to these questions are usually provided during the hiring and onboarding process a process that is often brief. An account is created for the employee, access permissions for necessary folders are granted, and business proceeds as usual. The problem is that these access privileges are rarely reviewed later.
An employee might take on multiple roles throughout their career, move to a completely different team, or retain access to systems related to tasks they no longer perform. Consequently, they end up with far more privileges than they actually need.
In the cybersecurity world, this situation is commonly referred to as "excessive access."
You can think of this situation like the key system in an office.
It is perfectly natural for an accounting employee to have access to financial archives. However, that same person likely does not need to access the server room, human resources files, or the customer support system.
The more keys that are distributed, the greater the risk of misuse.
However, this does not necessarily imply the presence of a malicious employee.
Sometimes, an account can be compromised. Someone might send a document to the wrong recipient. Or, an employee might accidentally perform an incorrect action in an area where they have access privileges.
Having a single account with access to more areas than necessary creates a problem.
This is where the "Least Privilege" principle comes into play as a fundamental approach. This principle dictates that a user be granted only the minimum level of access authority necessary to perform their specific job duties.
For instance, customer support staff need to view order history; however, downloading customers' full identity documents or modifying the payment system likely falls outside their job descriptions.
Similarly, a marketing employee might need access to campaign data but should not have access to payroll records. The goal here is not to hinder the employee, but to mitigate risk.
In the event of an account compromise, the areas visible to the attacker remain limited.
Instead of granting individuals access to resources on a case-by-case basis, companies can manage access according to the role a person holds. This method is known as Role-Based Access Control, or RBAC for short.
For example:
Users can only access data and systems predetermined by their roles. New hires are assigned an appropriate role. In the event of a departmental transfer, a new role is assigned, and the previous one is revoked.
This method prevents access rights from being granted haphazardly or on a purely individual basis.
However, there is an important caveat: RBAC alone is not sufficient. Over time, the scope of roles can expand excessively; therefore, they require regular review.
Revoking access at every point where it was granted
One of the most common issues is that access granted within a company is never revoked.
For example, an employee who moves to a new team might continue to have access to folders belonging to previous projects. Temporarily granted privileged access can become permanent. Alternatively, the account of an employee who has left the company might not be closed immediately.
Therefore, we need to conduct access reviews.
Managers might occasionally ask the following questions:
Does this person still have a legitimate need for access to this system?
Is this access a right required by the nature of their job?
Has the authorised timeframe for this access expired?
Although these checks may seem minor, they prevent significant risks.
Equal access is an illusion.
Merely being able to view a customer list is vastly different from being able to modify system settings.
Consequently, rather than focusing solely on the question "Do they have access?", companies must also ask, "What can they actually do?"
Can the user only view data?
Can they download files?
Can they delete data? Can they create new users?
This is particularly critical when it comes to granting administrative rights. If an administrator account is compromised, an attacker gains a much wider scope of action.
Not every employee should have access to all data.
While granting access offers convenience, it can easily turn into a security vulnerability if left unmanaged.
Key ways to mitigate this risk include the principle of least privilege, role-based access, and regular privilege reviews.
The goal is not to make employees' work more complicated; rather, it is to ensure they hold keys only to the doors they need to open.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only; it does not constitute legal, technical, business, or security-related advice.
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