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Introduction:
For decades, digital security hinged on a single moment of truth: the login screen. If you had the password, you were in. Today, that binary view is a primary attack vector. Modern cybersecurity recognizes identity not as a static key, but as a dynamic, multi-dimensional object that must be evaluated continuously. This shift moves us from simple access control to real-time identity intelligence, fundamentally re-architecting how we defend networks, data, and critical infrastructure.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the six core dimensions of modern identity beyond the username/password.
- Learn to map these identity dimensions to specific security controls and configurations.
- Gain practical skills to implement continuous trust verification using open-source tools and command-line utilities.
You Should Know:
- Deconstructing the Identity Object: From Static to Dynamic
The provided text breaks identity into six components. In practice, this means moving from a binary “grant/deny” to a risk-based score. A user (Identity Profile) may have the correct password (Credentials) and be a manager (Role), but if they are logging in from a new device with an outdated patch (Posture) at 3 AM (Risk), their access should be restricted. We are no longer authenticating a user; we are calculating the trustworthiness of an entire session.
2. Auditing the Identity Profile with CLI Tools
Before implementing controls, you must inventory your existing identities. On a Windows Domain, you can audit user properties beyond just names:
[bash]
Get detailed user properties including department and manager (Identity Profile)
Get-ADUser -Identity jdoe -Properties Department, , Manager, LastLogonDate
List all users with servicePrincipalName (potential service account risk)
Get-ADUser -Filter -Properties ServicePrincipalName | Where-Object { $_.ServicePrincipalName -ne $null } | Select-Object Name, ServicePrincipalName
On Linux, examine the `/etc/passwd` file for human vs. service accounts:
Bash
List users with interactive shells (traditional user accounts)
grep -E ‘/bin/bash|/bin/sh|/bin/zsh’ /etc/passwd
Find orphaned UIDs (files owned by deleted users)
find / -nouser -o -nogroup -ls 2>/dev/null
- Hardening Credentials and Enforcing Privilege
The “Credentials” and “Privilege” dimensions require strict hygiene. Implement Just-in-Time (JIT) administration to replace standing privileges. For Linux `sudo` rights, move from persistent access to ephemeral roles using tools like `sudo` rules with time stamps.
Bash
View current sudo access for a user
sudo -l -U usernameExample /etc/sudoers.d/jit-admin entry for a support role
Grant full admin rights but only for a specific command and without password caching
%support-team ALL=(ALL) /usr/bin/apt, /usr/bin/systemctl restart nginx
Defaults:%support-team timestamp_timeout=0 JIT: Forces password prompt for every use
For Windows, use PowerShell to audit privileged groups and remove inactive members:
PowerShell
List members of high-value groups (Privilege)
Get-ADGroupMember -Identity “Domain Admins” | Get-ADUser -Properties LastLogonDate
Check for users with privileged roles in Azure AD (if using MS Graph)
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes “RoleManagement.Read.All”
Get-MgRoleManagementDirectoryRoleAssignment -All | Where-Object {$_.PrincipalId -eq “user-id-here”}
- Implementing Posture Checks with Open Policy Agent (OPA)
“Posture” refers to the health of the device/identity. Before granting access to a sensitive app, the identity provider must verify the device. While commercial solutions exist, you can simulate this logic using Open Policy Agent (OPA) to create a policy that checks device attributes.
First, install OPA:
Bash
wget https://openpolicyagent.org/downloads/latest/opa_linux_amd64_static -O opa
chmod 755 opa
sudo mv opa /usr/local/bin/
Create a policy file posture.rego:
Code
package device_posture
import future.keywords.if
default allow = false
Allow if device is encrypted and OS is up-to-date
allow if {
input.encryption_enabled == true
input.os_patch_level == “up-to-date”
input.firewall_active == true
}
Test the policy with an input JSON file input.json:
Bash
Input representing a compliant device
echo ‘{“encryption_enabled”: true, “os_patch_level”: “up-to-date”, “firewall_active”: true}’ > input.json
Evaluate
opa eval –data posture.rego –input input.json “data.device_posture.allow”
- Calculating Risk in Real-Time with Suricata and Zeek
Risk is the culmination of signals. For network-based identity risk, we can analyze traffic anomalies associated with a user’s authenticated session. Using Zeek (formerly Bro), you can extract HTTP logs to see what a specific IP (user) is doing.
Bash
After running Zeek, check http.log for unusual user-agent strings
cat http.log | zeek-cut ts uid id.orig_h host uri user_agent | grep -i “powershell” Look for PowerShell downloading filesUsing Suricata to alert on suspicious SMB traffic (lateral movement)
Rule example in /etc/suricata/rules/local.rules
alert smb any any -> any any (msg:”Possible Pass-the-Hash via SMB2″; content:”|ff|SMB|2|”; flow:to_server,established; metadata: service identity-risk; sid:1000002; rev:1;)
This allows a Security Operations Center (SOC) to see that while “User A” is authenticated (Credentials valid), their network behavior (Risk) suggests compromise.
- Tying It Together: A Bash Script for Session Context
To truly understand the multi-dimensional identity, you need a holistic view. Here’s a conceptual script that gathers context for a given user session on a Linux host, mimicking an “identity intelligence” agent:
Bash
!/bin/bash
user_context_audit.sh – Gather identity dimensions for a session
USER_NAME=$1
SESSION_PID=$$ Use the current shell’s PID for demonstration
echo ” Identity Intelligence Snapshot for User: $USER_NAME ”
echo “”
Dimension 1: Credentials (Last password change)
echo “[bash] Credentials:”
chage -l $USER_NAME | grep “Last password change”
Dimension 2: Identity Profile (User account info)
echo “”
echo “[bash] Identity Profile:”
getent passwd $USER_NAME
groups $USER_NAME
Dimension 3: Roles & Entitlements (File access example)
echo “”
echo “[bash] Roles & Entitlements (Files owned in /etc):”
find /etc -user $USER_NAME -ls 2>/dev/null | head -5
Dimension 4: Privilege (Current sudo rules)
echo “”
echo “[bash] Privilege (Sudo Rules):”
sudo -l -U $USER_NAME 2>/dev/null | grep -v “not allowed to run sudo” | head -5
Dimension 5: Posture (Processes running)
echo “”
echo “[bash] Posture (Processes running by user):”
ps aux –forest | grep ^$USER_NAME | head -10
Dimension 6: Risk (Recent failed SSH attempts)
echo “”
echo “[bash] Risk (Failed SSH logins for this user):”
journalctl _COMM=sshd | grep “Failed password for $USER_NAME” | tail -5
echo ” End of Snapshot ”
What Undercode Say:
– Identity is the New Perimeter: The traditional network perimeter is gone. The “six dimensions” framework provides a checklist for building a micro-perimeter around every access request. Security strategies must prioritize integrating these data points into a single policy engine.
– Automation is Non-Negotiable: Manually checking posture, roles, and risk for every session is impossible. The shift requires heavy investment in orchestration and tools like OPA, custom scripts, or SIEM integrations to calculate trust scores in milliseconds, turning raw data into a “grant/deny” decision.
Prediction:
The next evolution will be the commoditization of identity threat detection and response (ITDR). Just as EDR protects endpoints, ITDR platforms will become standard, continuously monitoring these six identity dimensions to automatically revoke sessions, force re-authentication, or trigger playbooks when the calculated risk score exceeds a threshold. This will merge IAM and SOC functions into a single, continuous defense loop, rendering the static password obsolete for any high-value target.
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Reported By: Micheal Smith – Hackers Feeds
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