How external attackers and malicious insiders exploit standing privileges in the cloud
CyberArk, Monday, August 18th, 2025
For many of us, the term 'cloud security breach' conjures meticulous attack plans executed by sophisticated criminal syndicates.
But in reality, 'attacks' can be far more mundane: maybe some forgotten credentials, a few default permissions, or a user whose cleanup to-do list never got done.
At the center of these incidents are standing privileges: long-lived access rights originally granted for legitimate tasks. Developers, data scientists, third parties, and other users frequently request elevated access to cloud resources across multi-cloud environments. But when the task is completed, those privileges often remain-and can become a welcome mat for bad actors.