Cybersecurity Glossary
Service Account
A login used by software rather than a person, often with wide rights and a password nobody has changed.
What Service Account means
Backups, integrations, scanners and scripts all need to authenticate, so they get an account. Because a person is not logging in, nobody notices when the password ages, the owner leaves or the rights grow. Service accounts are frequently excluded from multi factor authentication because it would break the automation.
Why Service Account matters for small businesses and nonprofits
In small environments these accounts often hold the highest rights in the estate and the weakest protection. They are also the least documented, so when one breaks nobody knows what depends on it.
What to do about Service Account
- Write down every service account, what it does and who owns it, then delete the ones nobody can explain
- Give each one only the rights its task needs, not administrator by default
- Use managed identities or certificates instead of a stored password where the platform allows it
Not sure where you stand on this?
We review your current setup against the basics, tell you plainly what is covered and what is not, and give you a ranked list with effort and cost. No jargon and no scare tactics.
A login used by software rather than a person, often with wide rights and a password nobody has changed.