Topic starter
24/10/2026 8:47 pm
TL;DR: Standing privilege is the main condition that lets limited compromise turn into broader administrative control across IT, OT and cloud, Xage Security reports. OT and cloud access need time-bound, identity-verified elevation so privileged tasks do not outlive their justification.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Xage Security: “Privilege Escalation Attacks: How to Stop Them With Zero Trust PAM”.
By the numbers:
- During Microsoft’s June 2024 Patch Tuesday, 49 vulnerabilities were addressed, with 49% classified as privilege escalation vulnerabilities.
- In August 2024, Microsoft disclosed updates for 85 vulnerabilities, with privilege escalation making up 37%.
Key questions
Q: When does privilege escalation become an operational resilience problem?
A: It becomes an operational resilience problem when elevated access can reach industrial systems, identity providers or cloud administration planes that support real business processes.
Q: What do security teams get wrong when they manage privileged cloud access with on-premises thinking?
A: A common mistake is treating cloud access like a fixed network problem instead of an identity problem.
Q: What fails when privileged access stays permanently enabled?
A: Standing privileged access creates a long abuse window, weakens accountability, and makes audit evidence stale before anyone reviews it.
Practitioner guidance
- Eliminate standing privileged access Inventory admin, contractor, service and support accounts that can still perform privileged actions outside a live task.
- Map OT privilege paths to business-critical assets Identify where legacy OT systems, identity providers and cloud control planes share the same elevation routes.
- Tighten third-party and contractor access lifecycles Require explicit expiry, offboarding and session-scoped access for vendors and temporary operators.
Bottom line: Standing privilege is the enabling condition that lets a limited compromise become broader administrative control across IT, OT and cloud.
Glossary terms: Privilege Escalation, Standing Privilege, Lateral Movement, Just-in-Time Access Request
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This topic was modified 6 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group
25/10/2026 11:13 am
Standing privilege is the real control failure behind many escalation chains. Attackers do not need to invent a new path when an elevated one already exists and remains available after the task ends. In mixed IT and OT estates, that persistent access becomes the easiest route from foothold to impact, which makes privilege lifecycle governance a core resilience issue.
A few things that frame the scale:
- 90% of IT leaders say properly managing NHIs is essential for a successful zero-trust implementation, according to the Ultimate Guide to NHIs.
- 73% of vaults are misconfigured, leading to unauthorised access and exposure of sensitive data, according to the Ultimate Guide to NHIs.
A question worth separating out:
Q: How should organisations govern contractors and vendors with workforce access?
A: They should govern contractors and vendors through the same lifecycle discipline used for employees, including inventory, expiry, recertification, and offboarding. If third-party access is not reviewed and revoked with the same rigor, it becomes a persistent attack path rather than a managed exception.
👉 Read our full editorial: Privilege escalation and standing access are driving OT risk
This post was modified 6 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group