Identity Stored in Plaintext

Risk Category

Storage

Risk Description

Storing NHIs in plaintext offers no encryption to guard credentials, significantly raising the risk of attack. Learn best practices to reduce this danger now.

Why It’s a Risk

Storing credentials in plaintext makes it easy for attackers to access sensitive information, leading to unauthorized access, data breaches, or service disruptions. Plaintext storage leaves no encryption layer to protect credentials, increasing the risk of exploitation.

Medium, particularly in older systems or environments without strict encryption policies.

High to critical, as plaintext identities are easily compromised, leading to data breaches or unauthorized access.

Mitigation Strategy

Detect and encrypt all identities stored in plaintext, ensuring that all credentials are moved to secure storage solutions. Implement strict access controls and enforce Zero Trust validation of every consumer to prevent unauthorized use of exposed identities.

Playbooks in Clutch

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