# NIST800 53 AC-2(7) — Privileged User Accounts

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/a_gen_nist80053_ac27_a2d2cbd168-nist800-53-ac-27-privileged-user-accounts
- Section: [Solutions](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions) › [NIST](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/62000112528) › [Access Control](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/folders/f_gen_62000112528_accesscontrol)
- Last updated: 2026-05-30
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

NIST800 53 · Control AC-2(7) · Priority: critical · Component: Access Control

### What this control covers

Organizations must establish and administer privileged user accounts based on role-based or attribute-based access schemes. Privileged roles should be monitored, including changes to roles or attributes, and access must be revoked when roles or attributes are no longer appropriate. Privileged roles include responsibilities such as key management, account management, and system administration. This control supports the Governance capability within the Access Control family.

### Why it matters

Identity is the new perimeter — most breaches start with a stolen credential or over-privileged account, so this control is one of the single highest-leverage items you can implement.

### How to implement

#### AWS

Use **IAM Identity Center** (formerly AWS SSO) as the single source of truth for human access; back it with your corporate IdP via SAML/SCIM. Avoid IAM users for people — they don't get MFA-by-default, rotation, or session lifetimes. For workloads, use **IAM Roles** (assumed by EC2/Lambda/EKS service accounts via IRSA) and never long-lived access keys. Run [IAM Access Analyzer](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access-analyzer.html) weekly to surface unused access and external-account exposure.

#### Azure

Centralize identity on **Microsoft Entra ID** (formerly Azure AD). Require **Conditional Access** policies: MFA for all admin roles, block legacy auth, location/device gating. Use **Privileged Identity Management (PIM)** to make admin roles just-in-time and time-bound. For Azure resources, prefer **Managed Identities** over service principals with secrets.

#### GCP

Use **Cloud Identity** (or Workspace) as the IdP and **IAM** for resource access. Grant roles at the lowest scope (project > folder > org) using **Workload Identity Federation** for CI/CD and **service accounts** for workloads — never download service-account keys when avoidable. Enable **Policy Intelligence** recommenders to right-size privileges and detect dormant identities.

#### Google Workspace

Enforce **2-Step Verification** (preferably hardware keys for admins) for the entire org, set session length to ≤ 12 hours, and disable less-secure-app access. Use **Context-Aware Access** levels to restrict admin sign-in by IP/device posture. Provision and de-provision users via **SCIM** from your HRIS so leavers lose access on day one.

#### GitHub

Require **SSO + SCIM** from your IdP on the organisation; enforce **2FA** org-wide and use **fine-grained PATs** (or, better, GitHub Apps) instead of classic tokens. Restrict **outside collaborators**, require signed commits on protected branches, and use **OIDC** from Actions to short-lived AWS/GCP/Azure credentials rather than stored secrets.

#### Zoho Mail

Make **two-factor authentication** mandatory for all users (TOTP, OneAuth, or YubiKey) in _Admin Console → Security_. Configure **SAML SSO** against your IdP and disable password-based logins for admins. Use **role-based privileges** (Admin / Spam Moderator / Mail Account Admin) and review the _Login history_ report monthly for anomalies.

### Evidence to collect

-   `identity_scan` — See the iCompaas Evidence library for the canonical source for this evidence type.

Identity analytics (Okta, SailPoint, Access Analyzer) demonstrates least-privilege. Focus: Privileged User Accounts.

### Quick checklist

-   Account — Management / Accounts
-   Access — Management / Accounts
-   Review — Management / Accounts
-   Attribute — Management / Accounts
-   Access Control — Management / Accounts
-   No — Management / Accounts

### Related articles on this site

-   [Ensure Access Review is Set Up for External Users in Azure AD Privileged Identity Management (PIM](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000229788-ensure-access-review-is-set-up-for-external-users-in-azure-ad-privileged-identity-management-pim)
-   [Enable Role Based Access Control for Azure Key Vault](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000229880-enable-role-based-access-control-for-azure-key-vault)
-   [EFS Access Points Should Enforce a User Identity](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000233320-efs-access-points-should-enforce-a-user-identity)
-   [Ensure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for Azure Key Vault is Enabled (Automated)](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000234052-ensure-role-based-access-control-rbac-for-azure-key-vault-is-enabled-automated-)

## Related compliance guidance

- [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: a practical implementation guide for cloud teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5): How the 800-53 catalogue, baselines and the Risk Management Framework fit together, and which controls take the most work in the cloud.
- [NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC: a practical guide to protecting CUI in the cloud](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3): If the driver is a DoD or federal contract handling CUI, 800-171 (and CMMC) is the scope you actually need.