What is Shared Account Restrictions?
Shared account restrictions refer to the security and compliance controls that prevent or limit the use of generic or shared user credentials, accounts accessed by more than one individual. These restrictions are designed to ensure that all user activity is attributable to a specific, identifiable individual, enabling accountability, auditability, and non-repudiation in secure environments.
Why is Shared Account Restrictions Important?
Shared accounts create significant security and compliance risks. When multiple users log in using the same credentials, it becomes impossible to trace specific actions back to an individual, making it difficult to investigate incidents or enforce accountability. In regulated environments, this lack of traceability is considered a violation of basic cybersecurity principles.
Frameworks such as NERC CIP-007, IEC 62443-2-1, NIST 800-53, TSA SD02E, and NIS2 explicitly require that:
- Access must be tied to individual user identities.
- All sessions must be logged and attributable.
- Shared or default credentials must be eliminated or strictly controlled.
Failure to implement shared account restrictions can result in audit failures, undetected misuse, and non-compliance with critical infrastructure protection standards. Restricting shared accounts also supports other compliance practices like separation of duties, access reviews, and privileged user auditing.
How Does Xona Help with Shared Account Restrictions?
Xona eliminates the need for users to log in with shared credentials by leveraging identity-based access control and credential vaulting and injection. This means users authenticate through their individual accounts, and Xona securely injects the necessary system credentials behind the scenes ensuring users never see or reuse privileged passwords.
All sessions are fully logged, recorded, and tied to individual identities, providing a clear, immutable audit trail. Administrative roles can be separated to control credential storage, injection, and oversight independently, further supporting regulatory mandates around least privilege and non-repudiation.
By removing the operational dependency on shared accounts while preserving access efficiency, Xona helps organizations meet compliance obligations across OT, IT, and hybrid environments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are shared accounts considered a cybersecurity risk?
Shared accounts obscure user accountability because multiple individuals access systems using the same credentials, making it impossible to determine who performed specific actions. This lack of traceability undermines incident investigations, non-repudiation, and internal controls, especially in regulated environments.
