A revolving door of contractors can pose a security risk if you don’t properly manage permissions. Contract engineering teams consist of workers who only work for a short time, and in a situation where you’re cycling numerous employees in and out during a season, there may be potential for breaches and malware.
Contractors coming from everywhere and going anywhere have access to highly valuable information and systems. This leaves your company vulnerable to breaches not only during their employment, but even after they leave.
For example, in 2017, an ex-employee of Tesla hacked the company's confidential and trade secret information, transferring the data to third parties by placing software on the computer system that would continue to run even when the employee left the company.
Safety measures must be taken seriously, and the first step is implementing an access management system that includes tools like PKI certificates, Cloud LDAP and RADIUS, single sign-on (SSO), and so on. This helps you track and monitor members of your team as they come and go.
If you don’t know where to start with privileged access management (PAM) tools, here is a helpful guide to help you hit the ground running with better security practices:
Just-in-Time (JIT) Access
Just-in-Time (JIT) access is where a user is granted access to networks on an as-needed basis. As an admin, you can give the privilege to a user for a predetermined time before they come to work on a shared account.
This helps to reduce the risk of breaches, as privileges that last longer than intended can leave your servers vulnerable to hackers and/or employees with malicious intent. Ensure safety by eliminating standing access to users before they come on.
You can do this through an all-in-one PAM platform like Foxpass, which has powerful, user-friendly access management tools you can easily implement in your infrastructure.
PKI Digital Certificates/SCEP
Digital certificates are the surest way to ensure safe user authentication into an account, service, or device. PKI Digital Certificates allow an admin to provide access to others through encryption and sign data.
This system allows a user to access an account, device, or service without needing a username or password to a shared account. This way, after someone leaves the company, you keep track of who is on your web pages, VPNs, Wi-Fi®, and other forms of multi-factored authentication systems.
Advanced RADIUS
Cloud-hosted RADIUS is a system that can give users temporary access through personalized login credentials that connect to a shared company network. Compared to sharing the same username and password for each user to gain internet access, where anyone can share the password with anyone else, you can keep track of who is on your shared account. For a team of seasoned contractors, you can also configure their account logins to no longer have access to the Wi-Fi® network when they leave.
Single Sign-on for Products using SAML
Another solution is Single Sign-On (SSO). This feature allows an employee to sign in to their accounts at the click of a button, no longer needing a username and password. Foxpass’s SSO gives you the power to grant and take away employees’ access to shared accounts. These accounts include providers like AWS and Github and automatically log in to all accounts via SSO.
This tool also allows you to take away permissions from an engineer's login after they leave, or even when they’re done with the account while still in their work period.
Session Recording
Session recordings allow the admin to look back at a session, see what went wrong with the code, and make the changes necessary. This helps not only debugging but also monitoring the users online.
You can replay recorded SSH sessions from your users at any time, and admins can search by keyword or timestamp. Not only can you tell who changed the code, in cases where a code has been compromised, but it also lets you change the code involved in real-time.
Bottom Line
Whether you’re a growing, big, or mid-sized company, unpredictability grows as your network of employees fluctuates throughout the seasons. The financial and reputational cost of a breach may take your company years to recover from. With access management like Foxpass, however, you can ensure that your accounts and networks remain safe.
We provide quality products like SSO, session recording, RADIUS, and digital certificate systems at an affordable price. You can check out our features page to learn more or talk to a representative at help@foxpass.com.
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