8.2 Privileged Access Rights

The allocation and use of privileged access rights should be restricted and managed.

In information security, privileged access rights refer to the authorization and permissions that allow certain users or systems to perform certain actions or access certain information on a network or system.

These privileged users or systems have more access and control than regular users, and as such, their actions and access must be closely monitored and controlled to minimize the risk of unauthorised access or misuse. Examples of privileged access rights include:

• Administrator accounts on a computer or network.
• Root access on a UNIX or Linux system, Windows, and cloud platforms.
• Access to sensitive data such as financial information or personal information.
• The ability to install software, make configuration changes, or access sensitive system files.
It is important to limit the number of individuals who have privileged access rights and to regularly review and revoke access as needed. Additionally, it is important to implement strong authentication and access controls to ensure that only authorised individuals can access privileged resources and that all privileged access attempts are logged and audited.Implementing privileged access management (PAM) solutions is also a good practice to monitor and control privileged access, it includes features such as multi-factor authentication, real-time monitoring, session management, and automated access provisioning.