least privilege
3 articles with this tag
Cloud storage public exposure: when data can leak even with Block Public Access enabled
Bucket leaks come from configuration, not attack. The line that matters in the docs: block public access settings do not alter existing policies or ACLs — the public settings remain underneath the block, and removing the block restores public access. So the goal is not "blocking is enabled" but "nothing is public even with blocking off". Apply it at the account level, because a bucket policy can grant someone the ability to turn a bucket-level block off. And "public" is defined more broadly than people assume.
Benesse Data Leak (2014) — Why an Insider Couldn't Be Stopped, and the Least-Privilege Defense
A dispatched systems engineer at an outsourced group company used legitimately granted database access to copy customer data in bulk, transfer it to a personal smartphone, and sell it to data brokers. The monitoring software blocked writes to USB storage but did not block transfer to a smartphone (MTP). Up to ~35 million records leaked. Defend by minimizing privilege (least privilege / need-to-know), closing every exfiltration path with DLP, detecting bulk access, and extending oversight all the way to contractors and sub-contractors.
SSH key least privilege: keep production root keys off ephemeral environments that can be compromised
Registering a root key into production from an ephemeral, compromisable environment (GPU pod, CI runner, throwaway VM) means that the moment the environment is compromised, an attacker gets root on production. Fix: no root keys on ephemeral environments; remove keys when unused; if needed again, use a non-root user plus a command-restricted key that limits the key to one operation. Treat a reused key as your most critical asset, and never build a setup where one leaked key opens every server.