Ghost Accounts: The Cybersecurity risk of Inactive Digital Identities

In the ever-growing digital landscape, accounts outlive the people who created them. Millions of online accounts, including cloud drives, social media profiles, and email boxes are left untouched long after their owners have died or stopped using them. These so called “ghost accounts” are cybersecurity timebombs, not just digital documents.

What are Ghost Accounts? 

 

Ghost accounts refer to user accounts that are no longer managed or monitored. They may belong to: 

  1. Former employees 
  2. Deceased individuals 
  3. Forgotten online services 
  4. Dormant app registrations or test accounts 

These accounts are prime targets for attackers because despite being inactive, they frequently still have access to private data or permissions. 

 

 

Why are they Cybersecurity threat? 

 

  1. They’re simple to ignore: Inactive accounts do not trigger alarms. Attackers love it when no one logs in or checks their activity. During security audits, these accounts often go unnoticed. 
  2. Weak or outdated credentials: Ghost accounts usually use outdated passwords are not protected by multi-factor authentication (MFA) and may rely on outdated security practices. 
  3. They often enjoy the privileges: Critical infrastructure may still be accessible through forgotten doors, such as an old admin account belonging to former employees who could still have access to critical infrastructure leaving the system vulnerable. 
  4. No monitoring or logging: Since ghost accounts are inactive, their activity isn’t expected so any unauthorized access may go unnoticed.  

 

 

Some real-world examples

 

  1. Yahoo Breach (2013-14): Attackers use dormant accounts and poor password hygiene to breach over 3 million accounts. 
  2. Capital One (2019): Misconfigured and forgotten AWS credentials allowed massive data theft. 

 

 

How to protect against them? 

 

Organizations should put a few crucial tactics into practice to lessen the risks that ghost accounts present. To prevent unused identities from remaining active indefinitely, lifecycle policies have the ability to automatically deactivate accounts after a predetermined amount of inactivity. Additionally, since credentials eventually become invalid by nature, using expiring access tokens and secrets helps limit long-term exposure. Enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all accounts, even those that are not in use, is also essential. This will provide an additional layer of security if credentials are compromised. Lastly, in order to maintain a secure and minimal access environment, organizations should implement continuous identity governance practices, auditing and clearing out unused permissions and old accounts on a regular basis. 

 

 

Conclusion

 

Ghost accounts are a metaphor for the cybersecurity debts of the digital age in a world where data is immortal. Although they are discreet, quiet, and frequently overlooked, they are excellent entry points for an attacker. Finding and removing ghost accounts ought to be a key component of your defense plan, regardless of whether you’re in charge of your personal digital estate or business infrastructure. 

Avoid making forgotten accounts your weakest point. Your security team shouldn’t be haunted by the dead.

Related Resources

Articles Blogs Data Privacy and Protection Getting To Know Data Privacy in India: What new laws mean for you
Getting To Know Data Privacy in India: What new laws mean for you

In today’s world, personal data is perhaps one of the most valuable assets. Whether we make an online purchase, use mobile wallets, or chat on social media, our personal information is being constantly collected, and processed. For India, which has one of the fastest-growing internet user bases, protecting this data is more critical than ever. To address growing privacy concerns, the Indian government has introduced new laws aimed at giving people more control over their data and making companies responsible for how they manage it.

Articles Blogs
Dark Web: What is it and how Cybercriminals operate there

The majority of people only see a small portion of the vast internet. Beneath the surface lies the Dark Web — a hidden section of the internet that isn’t indexed by search engines and can only be accessed with specialized tools. The dark web is a well-known center for cybercrime, despite having some valid privacy-related applications. Understanding the dark web is crucial in today’s cybersecurity landscape.

Articles Blogs Data Privacy and Protection Security Awareness and Training Why does cybersecurity face a threat from quantum computing
Why does cybersecurity face a threat from quantum computing?

Is there a computer that can perform tasks that are beyond the capabilities of a typical computer? Quantum computers are the name given to these unique computers. Because they employ tiny devices known as “qubits” rather than standard “bits,” they function differently from the computers we use daily. Although quantum computing is now a reality rather than just science fiction, there are significant risks associated with this technology, particularly concerning cybersecurity.

Articles Best Practices Identity and Access Management MFA
Enhancing Digital Security with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

In today’s interconnected world, the importance of safeguarding our digital presence cannot be overstated. Cybersecurity threats are evolving rapidly, and hackers are constantly devising new methods to gain unauthorized access to our sensitive information. As a result, the need for robust authentication methods has never been greater. Enter Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), a powerful tool that adds an extra layer of security to our online accounts and digital interactions.