least privilege
3 articles with this tag
Public buckets — "block public access is on" does not mean the hole is gone
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 block covers the hole, it does not close it, and removing it 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.
Don't give root keys to environments that can be compromised: SSH key least privilege
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, production is taken with root. 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. A reused key is your most critical asset — never build a 'one leak, everything' setup.