Term · 10. Account Types
Shared Account
Definition
Account credentials shared by multiple users — historically common for break-glass scenarios or systems without per-user accounts. Major audit and accountability problem: cannot determine who performed which action. Required by some legacy systems but actively eliminated in modern IAM programs.
- Application
- MidPoint: Shared account is an account used by several entities, such as an account used by several people.
- Standards & regulations
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- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 «Examples of system account types include individual, shared, group, system, guest, anonymous, and temporary accounts.[AC-2]»
- Sources
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- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 (csrc.nist.gov) primary source
Related terms
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Emergency Account
Highly-privileged account reserved for emergency use — disaster recovery, lockout recovery, after-hours critical inciden …
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Privileged Account (PA)
Account with elevated rights to administer systems, modify configurations, access sensitive data, or bypass standard con …
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Access Management (AM)
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Bastion Host
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CIAM (CIAM)
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Digital Identity (DI)
Set of attributes, credentials, and identifiers that uniquely represent a person or non-human entity in digital systems. …