Kevin Korte

What Are Zombie Accounts?

Zombie accounts are user accounts that remain active in a system even though the account owner is no longer using them. These can be accounts left behind when employees leave a company, contractors finish contracts, or customers abandon services. Often, these accounts are forgotten and neglected, leaving them unsecured and vulnerable.

Cybercriminals love zombie accounts because they provide an easy entry point into networks. Since no one monitors or disables them, attackers can easily hijack them to insert malware or steal sensitive data. Studies show that nearly half of organizations have zombie accounts, which significantly increase the attack surface. Inactive accounts can have extensive privileges if left unchecked, posing a cyber threat in the shadows.

The Risks Zombie Accounts Pose

Zombie accounts present multiple risks to companies and individuals. From a cybersecurity perspective, these are the backdoors mentioned above that hackers can exploit to launch attacks. If attackers gain control over a zombie account, they can access confidential data or exploit connections to other systems. Additionally, proper vigilance, such as strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, is essential to keep the “digital ghouls” at bay. Being alert in cyberspace is the best way to avoid becoming a victim of these spooky threats. Yet, if no one is responsible for the accounts, no one will take the necessary steps.

Zombie accounts also increase the financial and compliance risks for organizations. Many cloud services charge per-user licenses, so dormant accounts can lead to unnecessary costs. Beyond financial costs, zombie accounts can cause organizations to fail security audits and violate data privacy regulations.

Ignoring zombie accounts is like leaving front doors unlocked and hoping no intruders show up. It’s a dangerous gamble in today’s threat landscape.

Halloween Meets Cybersecurity: A Spooky Parallel

Beyond the defense, zombie accounts also complicate the response to an ongoing attack. Just like Halloween costumes hide true identities, zombie accounts disguise the attacker as someone else. After all, even in a modest-sized organization, the IT managers won’t remember every name that comes through the log file. Thus, intrusion monitoring introduces a significant margin of error.

Worse, if an incident happens, it becomes more difficult to track the attacker, as most pathways will appear legitimate. Thus, instead of errors, warnings, and incident messages, the team will need to filter through millions of innocent log entries to find compromised usernames.

Cleaning Up Zombie Accounts

The first step to fighting zombie accounts is regular account reviews and cleanups. Organizations should conduct monthly or quarterly access audits to identify inactive users. Collaborating with human resources helps identify accounts linked to former employees.

Companies should also establish strict account deactivation workflows tied to employee offboarding. Automated tools can notify when accounts show no sign-in activity for a set period. Security training empowers staff to recognize the risks posed by zombie accounts and report suspicious activity. Additionally, enforcing strong password policies and multi-factor authentication reduces the chances of attackers exploiting dormant accounts.

Open-Source Identity Management to the Rescue

Yet taking these steps manually is a daunting, error-prone task. Thus, the most effective way to combat zombie accounts is through integrated identity and access management (IAM) solutions, particularly open-source options. These tools centralize user account management across an organization’s systems, providing visibility and control.

Leading open-source IAM platforms like UCS offer centralized administration for account provisioning, de-provisioning, and access reviews. They support major identity standards and can enforce policies such as multi-factor authentication and passwordless login. Integration with HR systems and automated workflows helps swiftly deactivate accounts linked to departing users.

Using open-source identity management tools offers advantages such as transparency, customization, and cost savings versus proprietary alternatives. These solutions empower organizations to keep their systems free of zombie accounts, thereby improving their security posture and compliance.

Keep The Zombies to Halloween

For businesses and individuals alike, treating zombie accounts as a serious security threat is crucial. As we acknowledge Cybersecurity Awareness Month alongside the tradition of Halloween, the message is clear: don’t let zombie accounts haunt your digital life. Regular account audits, strong security policies, and integrated open-source identity management solutions are the best defenses against these invisible cyber threats.