Mitigating Unauthorized Access in the Workplace

If you owned a high-performance sports car—something sleek, powerful, and built to perform—you wouldn’t hand the keys to just anyone.

Allowing unauthorized access in the workplace is much the same: it’s like letting a stranger take your prized car for a joyride. They can misuse its features, expose your data, compromise your security protocols, and walk away like nothing happened. And you're left to deal with the costly aftermath.

The Risk

Unauthorized access in the workplace extends far beyond the innocent curiosity of an employee glancing at sensitive files. It can snowball into full-blown security breaches, data theft, or intellectual property leaks. Then, before you know it, your data is up for grabs.

Once you lose control of sensitive data, you expose your business to costly lawsuits and regulatory penalties. The real damage done, though, is often to your reputation. Clients and partners trust you with their data—lose that trust, and you lose them.

Why It Matters

Protecting company assets is more than just checking a box; it’s a survival tactic. Security failures are business killers.

Your clients and partners expect airtight security. One breach, and their confidence in you evaporates. In today’s hyper-competitive market, that trust is your currency. Without it, your brand can spiral from leader to liability overnight.

Unauthorized Access Examples in 2024

Unauthorized access isn’t just a minor slip—it can spell serious trouble for even the biggest brands. These incidents are a wake-up call: they can happen to any organization, and the consequences are often severe.

To better understand the risks and pave the way for stronger security, let’s look at some unauthorized access incidents from 2024.

AT&T

The 2024 AT&T breach is a reminder that no company is immune to the consequences of workplace security failures, no matter its size.

In July 2024, AT&T disclosed a data breach that exposed the phone records of nearly all current and former AT&T customers in April 2024. The breach impacted not only AT&T customers, but also anyone they called or texted during the period when the logs were compromised.

Ticketmaster

In May 2024, Ticketmaster experienced a significant breach of sensitive customer data, including payment information and personal details. ShinyHunters, a cybercriminal group notorious for high-profile breaches and ransomware campaigns, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The aftermath left Ticketmaster facing costly legal battles, hefty fines, and a PR nightmare to rebuild its credibility.

Tile

Known for helping people track personal items and family members, Tile ended up in hot water when unauthorized access led to a breach of sensitive user data.

Hackers infiltrated their systems, exposing customers’ real-time location data and personal information.

Bank of America

A breach at Infosys McCamish exposed sensitive information for more than 57,000 deferred compensation customers of Bank of America. Names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers were all among the exposed data.

The ransomware group LockBit accessed this data through Infosys McCamish's system. Bank of America is offering two years of identity theft protection to those impacted.

Dell

Dell Technologies suffered two data breaches in September 2024, compromising data belonging to at least 10,000 employees.

A hacker known as “grep” claimed responsibility for the first breach by posting a sample of the stolen dataset on Breach Forums. The hacker offered the full release in exchange for one Breach Forums credit, valued at roughly US$0.30.

Preventing Unauthorized Access

To keep unauthorized access at bay, you need to arm your organization with smart prevention strategies. Let’s talk about some essential tactics—from strong access controls to savvy employee training—that can turn your workplace into a fortress against breaches.

Remote Access Security Best Practices

1. Practice better password management

Effective password management is the first line of defense against unauthorized access. Strong, unique passwords reduce vulnerabilities, while password managers automate the complexity—making security a breeze.

Default and weak passwords leave the door wide open for hackers. The 2019 SolarWinds hack, with an estimated cost approaching US$100 million, happened when the attackers gained access to the SolarWinds Orion platform with the password "solarwinds123".

If your team’s idea of a secure password isn't much better, it’s time to level up your password management game. Implement company-wide policies that mandate strong, complex passwords—think a cocktail of letters, numbers, and special characters.

2. Use multifactor authentication (MFA)

Although the vast majority of organizations with 1,000 or more employees now use MFA, it's still far from universal. Today, half or less of smaller organizations, and those in industries like transportation and storage, use MFA.

Modern hacking tools can crack most user-generated passwords in just a few seconds. By adding extra layers of security measures, such as one-time codes or biometric checks, MFA ensures that a password alone isn't enough to get past your defenses. MFA solutions are a simple way to double down on user authentication.

3. Deploy privileged access management (PAM)

PAM acts as a digital vault, protecting your organization’s most sensitive areas. It manages admin-level accounts with access to critical systems and data—often considered the "keys to the kingdom," making them prime targets for attackers.

PAM controls who can access these accounts, monitors their usage, and limits what actions can be performed. PAM isn’t a standalone solution but a crucial piece of your broader security puzzle. It complements other tools like firewalls, antivirus software, and data encryption to deliver complete protection.

4. Implement network segmentation and microsegmentation

Network segmentation and microsegmentation create distinct zones in your digital infrastructure. By breaking your environment into smaller, isolated parts, these strategies limit the spread of threats and ensure that even if one area is compromised, others remain secure.

Segmentation is a smart way to restrict movement within the network, keeping unauthorized users from wandering freely. Each segment is a checkpoint, making security tighter at every turn.

5. Conduct security awareness training

Users are among the weakest security links in most organizations. Security awareness training helps employees learn to spot threats and avoid risky behaviors, diverting most attacks before they snowball into something big.

Teaching them how to recognize phishing, use strong passwords, and avoid traps can turn users from weak points into security assets. Upgrading your workforce with cybersecurity instincts pays off in fewer breaches and smarter decisions across the board.

How Zscaler Can Help

Zscaler offers comprehensive solutions to strengthen workplace security against unauthorized access through its cloud native security platform.

Our zero trust architecture continuously verifies every user, device, and application before granting access to sensitive data. Advanced identity and access management features enforce stringent policies, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access critical resources.

Integrated MFA adds an essential layer of protection that reduces the risk of credential theft. Additionally, our robust threat detection and response capabilities continuously monitor network activity for anomalies, empowering organizations to respond swiftly to potential threats.

By enabling secure access to applications regardless of location, Zscaler can help your organization effectively manage privileged access and eliminate the risk of lateral movement, protecting sensitive information from unauthorized intrusions.

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