A global fintech vendor processing over $2 billion in monthly transactions discovered a critical security flaw during their annual penetration test. Once authenticated, testers bypassed permission controls and moved laterally across customer instances, accessing sensitive financial data. This exposure represented not just a regulatory nightmare but an existential threat to their business model. Fortunately, through implementing just-in-time access protocols, they transformed this vulnerability into a competitive advantage.
How just-in-time access transformed fintech security posture
Just-in-time access fundamentally changed how the fintech company approached security architecture. Previously, their environment operated on persistent access privileges, where authenticated users maintained standing permissions to resources based on roles. This traditional approach, however, created an unnecessarily broad attack surface.
The implementation of just-in-time access eliminated standing privileges and instead provided temporary, context-aware permissions only when needed. For instance, database administrators received elevated privileges for specific maintenance windows rather than perpetual access. Additionally, these temporary permissions automatically expired after predefined periods.
Furthermore, the security team enforced strong authentication requirements before granting these temporary permissions. Consequently, this shift from “always-on” to “only-when-needed” access immediately reduced the attack surface by approximately 76% within the first quarter of deployment.
Moreover, the fintech company integrated just-in-time access with their existing identity management infrastructure, creating a seamless experience for legitimate users while significantly hardening security. Besides the technical benefits, this approach also satisfied regulatory requirements for access control in financial services.
The lateral movement threat in multi-tenant SaaS environments
Lateral movement represents one of the most dangerous threats to multi-tenant SaaS platforms. Once attackers compromise initial access, they typically attempt to expand their foothold horizontally across the environment. This expansion often occurs through credential harvesting, permission exploitation, or service account manipulation.
For SaaS providers serving financial institutions, these risks become especially acute. Specifically, the fintech company discovered three primary lateral movement paths during their security assessment:
- Service-to-service connections with excessive permissions
- Shared database instances with insufficient tenant isolation
- Administrative tools with broad cross-tenant capabilities
Their architecture initially allowed authenticated users to potentially traverse tenant boundaries through these paths. Subsequently, this created regulatory exposure under PCI-DSS, SOC2, and various financial services frameworks.
Yet, the most concerning aspect wasn’t the technical vulnerability itself but how long attackers could maintain this expanded access. Without just-in-time access controls, compromised credentials could provide persistent lateral movement capabilities for weeks or months before detection.
Attack vectors specific to fintech platforms
Fintech platforms face unique attack vectors due to their high-value data and regulatory requirements. For example, the company identified several finance-specific threats targeting their infrastructure.
Transaction processing APIs represented a primary target. These APIs, although authenticated, previously maintained persistent connections between services without time-bound restrictions. Consequently, compromised API credentials could enable lateral movement across the processing pipeline.
Payment workflow automation created another vulnerability point. The automated systems required elevated permissions to function, yet these permissions remained active continuously rather than activating only during processing windows. Therefore, compromising any component in this chain potentially exposed the entire workflow.
Data warehousing and analytics systems posed the third major risk. These systems aggregated financial information across tenants for business intelligence purposes. As a result, they created natural cross-tenant connections that attackers could potentially exploit.
Notably, each of these vectors presented opportunities for attackers to establish persistence and move laterally if initial access was obtained. However, implementing just-in-time access principles effectively mitigated these specific threats.
Implementing micro-segmentation architecture
The security team recognized that just-in-time access would require fundamental architectural changes. Therefore, they implemented a comprehensive micro-segmentation strategy to support their new access model.
Firstly, they divided their environment into distinct security domains based on data sensitivity and tenant boundaries. This segmentation created clear isolation between customer environments, preventing lateral movement even if attackers breached one segment.
Subsequently, they established strict traffic control policies between segments. All cross-segment communication required explicit validation against just-in-time access policies. For instance, when a support engineer needed access to troubleshoot a specific tenant issue, the system verified:
- The engineer’s identity and authorization level
- The specific reason for access
- The minimum required permissions
- A time-bound session with automatic expiration
Moreover, they implemented real-time monitoring at segment boundaries to detect any unusual cross-domain activity. This layered approach ensured that even if initial controls failed, secondary detection mechanisms would identify suspicious behavior.
Technical components and integration points
The micro-segmentation implementation required several technical components working in concert. For example, the fintech company deployed a network-level segmentation layer using NSX for their on-premises components and native cloud security groups for cloud resources.
According to Cloud Security Alliance best practices, they implemented identity-aware proxies at boundary points. These proxies validated both network-level access and identity context before allowing connections between segments.
For database segmentation, they moved from shared instances to tenant-specific schemas with row-level security. Additionally, they implemented data access proxies that enforced just-in-time access controls before executing queries. These proxies verified time-bound tokens issued by the central authorization service.
The integration with their CI/CD pipeline represented a particularly innovative approach. Development and deployment processes received temporary elevated permissions only during specific deployment windows. These permissions automatically revoked once deployment completed. As a result, they eliminated persistent privileged access in their development environment.
NIST guidelines for security control implementation informed their technical architecture. Yet they extended these baseline controls with additional layers specific to financial services requirements.
Privileged access management workflow redesign
Implementing just-in-time access necessitated a complete redesign of privileged access workflows. Previously, administrators and support personnel held standing privileges to perform their functions. This approach, while convenient, created unnecessary security exposure.
The new workflow centered around time-bound privilege elevation through a formal request system. Any privileged operation now required justification, approval, and automatic expiration. For instance, when database maintenance needed execution, administrators submitted requests specifying:
- Exact systems requiring access
- Specific privileges needed
- Duration of elevated access (typically 1-4 hours)
- Business justification and associated ticket
Furthermore, all privileged sessions underwent recording and analysis. This accountability measure not only improved security but also satisfied audit requirements for financial regulators. According to Gartner, this approach aligns with leading practices for privileged access management.
The workflow incorporated emergency access provisions for incidents requiring immediate response. However, even emergency access triggered additional monitoring and post-access reviews to prevent abuse.
Moreover, the security team implemented role-based restrictions on who could approve privileged access requests. This separation of duties prevented scenarios where privileged users could self-approve excessive access.
Measurable security KPIs and business outcomes
The fintech company tracked several key performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of their just-in-time access implementation. These metrics demonstrated significant security improvements while maintaining operational efficiency.
Within six months of implementation, they achieved:
- 82% reduction in standing privileges across the environment
- 76% reduction in potential lateral movement paths
- 94% decrease in the average time privileged credentials remained active
- 63% improvement in privileged session monitoring coverage
- 100% compliance with financial industry access control requirements
Beyond security metrics, the business realized several operational benefits. For example, incident investigation times decreased by 47% due to improved visibility into who accessed what resources and when. Support teams reported higher satisfaction with the new process despite the additional authentication steps.
Additionally, the fintech company leveraged their enhanced security posture as a market differentiator. They incorporated their just-in-time access architecture into security certifications and client-facing documentation. Subsequently, sales teams successfully used these security improvements to win contracts with security-conscious financial institutions.
The implementation also dramatically reduced the scope of their PCI compliance boundary. By implementing just-in-time access for payment processing systems, they limited persistent access to cardholder data environments. This architectural improvement simplified audits and reduced compliance costs.
The CISA zero trust maturity model provided a framework for measuring their progress. Through the implementation of just-in-time access, the organization advanced from “initial” to “advanced” maturity in access control dimensions.
Common Questions
How long did the implementation of just-in-time access take?
The complete implementation took approximately nine months. However, the company achieved significant security improvements within the first three months by focusing on their highest-risk environments first. They prioritized customer data environments and payment processing systems before expanding to internal administrative systems.
What technical challenges emerged during implementation?
Integration with legacy systems presented the greatest challenge. Some older applications didn’t support modern authentication protocols required for just-in-time access. The team addressed this by implementing proxies that translated between authentication systems while enforcing time-bound access controls.
How did the changes affect user experience?
Initial user resistance occurred, particularly among technical teams accustomed to persistent access. However, the team minimized friction by streamlining approval workflows and implementing single sign-on where possible. After adjustment, many users reported preferring the new system as it reduced their access-related security responsibilities.
What maintenance requirements does the just-in-time access system have?
The system requires regular reviews of access policies, typically quarterly. Additionally, integration with identity management systems needs updating whenever authentication infrastructure changes. The team allocated approximately 0.5 FTE for ongoing maintenance and improvements to the just-in-time access infrastructure.
Conclusion
The fintech company’s implementation of just-in-time access demonstrates how security improvements can transform from technical requirements into business advantages. By eliminating standing privileges and preventing lateral movement, they significantly reduced their attack surface while improving regulatory compliance.
Their approach—combining micro-segmentation, privileged access workflow redesign, and comprehensive monitoring—provides a blueprint for other organizations handling sensitive data. The measurable improvements in both security metrics and business outcomes validate the investment in architectural changes.
Most importantly, this case study illustrates that advanced security controls need not come at the expense of operational efficiency. Through careful design and implementation, just-in-time access can actually improve workflows while hardening security posture.
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