WikiLeaks and WikiWar and More Misuses of Privilege

So I can't resist one more post on this WikiLeak phenomena that still seems to be blazing through the blogosphere and mainstream media. I've seen it described as everything from a Wiki-War to Wiki-Gaga, and yet most writers are still forgoing that if you give someone permission to do something, they will inevitably do it. In this case, I am referring to the information technology (IT) privileges granted to individuals and associated technologies to monitor and control what these people are doing. Or the lack thereof.

In a previous blog titled WikiLeaks: The Disease or the Symptom, we discussed that by implementing a least privilege solution you are taking the first step towards better information technology management and a method of policing corporate governance. The root cause (excuse the pun) should ultimately be recognized as the misuse of privilege.

Implementing a privilege identity management solution can allow you to:

1. Eliminate admin rights across servers, desktops, network devices, virtual and cloud environments to prevent anyone from having omnipotent access to those resources.
2. Control levels of privilege for those resources to ensure the elimination of the misuse of privilege.
3. Log all events and administrator activities so that in the event of a breach or a misuse of privilege, you can remediate that breach.
4. As today's t-shirt points out, you can focus on the variables that positively effect your business growth instead of being at war with your user community or wind up in the press.