What is Break-Glass Access?

In critical moments when normal access protocols fail, organizations need a secure way to grant system access without disruption. When deploying an access management solution, like a privileged access management (PAM) tool, businesses require a backup mechanism to ensure access during emergencies. This emergency access, known as break-glass access, allows authorized users to bypass standard authentication without compromising security.

This article examines what break-glass access is and why it matters.

What is Break-Glass Access?

Break-glass access is a procedure used in critical emergencies when a user with insufficient access is granted elevated privileges to bypass standard authentication. The user gains temporary access to highly sensitive accounts or systems to perform urgent tasks that are not part of their day-to-day operations. This mechanism prevents system downtime and mitigates risks during critical incidents.

Break-glass access is granted through a dedicated break-glass account, which is highly privileged and provides access to root accounts or critical systems. These accounts are well monitored, documented, and tested to prevent misuse. Their credentials are quickly available to avoid delays, and access is time-limited to restrict usage strictly to necessary emergency actions.

Break-glass access is a controlled and monitored feature, not a workaround for poor access management. The importance of break-glass access lies in its ability to address key challenges:

• Avoiding disruptions in critical operations: Ensures access when authentication systems fail or privileged accounts become inaccessible.

• Supporting incident response: Enables security teams to act swiftly during cyberattacks or system failures.

• Meeting compliance requirements: Aligns with frameworks like ISO 27001, NIST, and HIPAA, which require controlled emergency access.

• Preventing lockout risks: Safeguards against privileged account lockouts that could cause service outages or security gaps.

• Protecting sensitive data: Ensures emergency access is securely managed to prevent unauthorized exposure.

Organizations across industries rely on break-glass access to maintain security and operational stability. Multi-cloud and hybrid IT environments also implement break-glass mechanisms to manage distributed access failures.

Common Scenarios Requiring Break-Glass Access

Break-glass access is essential for maintaining operational continuity when standard authentication methods fail or when immediate access is required. It acts as a safeguard, ensuring critical systems remain accessible during unexpected interruptions. Understanding these scenarios highlights the importance of having a robust emergency access mechanism in place.

Authentication failures and system lockouts are among the most common reasons for break-glass access. Incorrect credentials, expired passwords, or authentication service disruptions can lock out users, administrators, or privileged accounts. These incidents can halt operations, cause downtime, and disrupt productivity, making a secure fallback mechanism necessary.

Cybersecurity incidents, such as ransomware attacks or insider threats, also require break-glass access. Organizations may need immediate access to contain breaches, audit compromised credentials, or restore operations. If an identity provider (IdP) is breached, standard authentication methods may become inaccessible, making emergency access the only way to regain control.

Failures in multi-factor authentication (MFA) further highlight the necessity of break-glass access. Lost authentication devices, outages in third-party MFA services, or misconfigured policies can lock out critical users. For example, a senior executive unable to access financial systems due to an MFA provider outage could face serious operational consequences.

Emergency break-glass access should only be used when normal procedures fail or are unavailable, such as privileged access management (PAM) tool outages, authentication failures due to server downtime, network outages preventing MFA verification, cyberattacks removing access to accounts, or locked passwords after too many failed login attempts. Ensuring break-glass access is secure, controlled, and limited to emergencies helps organizations maintain security and business continuity in critical situations.

Challenges and Security Risks of Traditional Break-Glass Access

Traditional break-glass access relies on static, pre-configured credentials like hardcoded passwords or shared administrative accounts, creating significant security risks. These credentials can be exploited by insider threats, easily targeted by attackers if not regularly rotated, and lack accountability, making it difficult to trace misuse. Storing them insecurely, such as in spreadsheets or emails, further increases the risk of compromise.

Attackers commonly exploit static credentials using phishing or credential dumps, leading to unauthorized access. The lack of dynamic security controls makes emergency credentials vulnerable to misuse, increasing the organization's attack surface.

Compliance and auditability present additional challenges for traditional break-glass access. Industry standards require strict oversight of privileged access, which many legacy systems fail to provide. Organizations struggle to meet compliance standards without detailed logging, real-time monitoring, or role-based controls, increasing the risk of security breaches and audit failures.

Relying solely on Privileged Access Management (PAM) systems for break-glass access creates a single point of failure. Emergency access may become completely unavailable if the PAM tool experiences an outage, software bug, or misconfiguration. Organizations must implement redundant access mechanisms to avoid operational disruptions during critical incidents.

Modern solutions address these risks through encryption-based authentication, distributed access models, and redundancy strategies. These enhancements reduce dependence on a single system while ensuring secure, controlled, and auditable emergency access even during technical failures.

Modern Approaches to Secure Break-Glass Access

1. Just-in-Time (JIT) Access and Role-Based Controls

Just-in-Time (JIT) access ensures that privileged access in emergencies is secure, efficient, and temporary. Unlike traditional methods that maintain standing privileged accounts, JIT grants access only when necessary, reducing security risks. This eliminates permanent privileged credentials, which are prime targets for attackers.

JIT access is dynamically provisioned based on real-time approval, predefined policies, and security conditions. The system evaluates a user’s role, request context, and access necessity before granting temporary privileges. This ensures that break-glass access aligns with strict security requirements while preventing unnecessary exposure.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) further strengthens security by enforcing least privilege access. Users receive only the minimum necessary permissions for a specific task, reducing the risk of unauthorized access. For example, a database administrator troubleshooting an issue would gain access only to the relevant database, not unrelated systems.

A key feature of JIT access is its time-limited nature, preventing prolonged or unintended use. Access is automatically revoked after a set period, minimizing risks of misuse. JIT access and RBAC also support zero-trust security models and regulatory standards, ensuring compliance with strict access control measures.

2. Passwordless Authentication with Ephemeral Credentials

Passwordless authentication with ephemeral credentials significantly enhances break-glass access security. Traditional password-based methods create vulnerabilities such as credential theft, insider misuse, and operational burdens from managing and rotating passwords. Replacing static credentials with short-lived authentication certificates eliminates the need for stored emergency passwords and reduces the attack surface.

Ephemeral credentials automatically expire after a set duration, preventing unauthorized reuse. This mitigates risks like credential leaks, insider attacks, and phishing attempts, as there are no permanent credentials to exploit. Their time-limited nature ensures secure, controlled access without increasing long-term exposure.

In cloud and hybrid IT environments, passwordless authentication integrates seamlessly. It enhances security across multi-cloud platforms and remote access systems, ensuring streamlined and protected emergency access. Since many critical operations require temporary access, ephemeral credentials align with the dynamic nature of cloud environments.

Operationally, this approach simplifies break-glass access management by eliminating manual password rotations. IT teams can focus on higher-value tasks instead of securing and resetting emergency passwords. By reducing complexity and minimizing human error, ephemeral credentials make break-glass access more secure, efficient, and resilient.

3. Encryption-Based Access Without Permanent Secrets

Encryption-based access without permanent secrets enhances break-glass security by eliminating static credentials, a common vulnerability in emergency access. This approach uses asymmetric encryption and cryptographic key pairs to ensure that sensitive access credentials remain concealed and protected. Unlike traditional methods that rely on password vaults or PAM tools, encryption-based access remains functional even if these tools fail, providing a reliable safety net during emergencies.

Access is granted through public and private keys, where only authorized individuals can decrypt the necessary credentials. Predefined policies, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and role-based permissions, govern the decryption process, ensuring emergency credentials cannot be exploited. This eliminates risks associated with static passwords, often misused, leaked, or improperly stored in traditional break-glass methods.

Encryption-based break-glass procedures are secure, auditable, and compliant with leading security standards. Since all access remains encrypted and tightly controlled, organizations can log and monitor every action taken during emergency access. This ensures accountability, regulatory adherence, and alignment with frameworks like NIST, ISO 27001, and zero trust principles, strengthening security and operational resilience.

4. Real-Time Monitoring and Auditing for Compliance

Without proper oversight, break-glass mechanisms can become security liabilities rather than safeguards. Every break-glass access event must be logged and monitored to detect unauthorized or excessive access attempts. Real-time tracking of emergency access ensures accountability, reinforces organizational trust, and reduces the risk of privilege abuse during sensitive operations, as security teams can intervene immediately if suspicious activity is detected.

Detailed records of who accessed what, when, and why are crucial for transparency and accountability. Clear visibility allows for efficient incident investigations and enforcement of stricter controls when necessary. Comprehensive tracking discourages improper use and ensures emergency access remains a last resort.

Real-time systems can send automatic alerts and notifications to security teams. Immediate alerts enable faster responses to potential threats, preventing unauthorized access from escalating. If a user gains break-glass access to critical systems, verification can be prompted instantly.

Integration with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems strengthens security monitoring and compliance. Centralizing break-glass access data with other security events provides a comprehensive security view. Recorded sessions and audit logs support regulatory frameworks like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX), ensuring compliance and reinforcing stakeholder trust.

Strengthen Your Emergency Protocols with SSH’s Zero Trust Suite

Break-glass access ensures critical system availability during emergencies but must balance accessibility and security to minimize risks. Modern solutions like Just-in-Time (JIT) access, passwordless authentication, and encryption-based access provide safer, more efficient alternatives to traditional methods that rely on static credentials. Implementing real-time monitoring and auditing enhances oversight, ensuring secure, controlled, and accountable emergency access.

To effectively manage break-glass access within a Zero Trust framework, organizations can utilize solutions like SSH's Zero Trust Suite. This modular suite enables secure management of access, secrets, and shared credentials while protecting sensitive files during transmission and storage. By adopting advanced tools like these, businesses can ensure that emergency access protocols remain secure, controlled, and compliant with industry standards.

Ready to fortify your organization's emergency access procedures? Experience our tool’s capabilities firsthand by booking a personalized demo today.

FAQ

What is break-glass access?

Break-glass access is an emergency mechanism that allows authorized personnel to bypass standard authentication controls to access critical systems or data during urgent situations. It ensures business continuity when regular access fails due to system outages, security incidents, or authentication issues, minimizing downtime and security risks.

Why is break-glass access important in IT and security?

Break-glass access is vital for ensuring operational continuity and security in emergencies. It provides rapid access when authentication systems fail, supports incident response during cyberattacks, and helps organizations comply with regulatory requirements by ensuring controlled emergency access without compromising security.

What are common scenarios requiring break-glass access?

Break-glass access is needed when authentication failures lock out critical users, during cyberattacks requiring immediate response, when multi-factor authentication (MFA) systems fail, or during system maintenance and recovery efforts. These scenarios demand a secure and controlled mechanism to restore access quickly.

What are the risks associated with traditional break-glass access methods?

Traditional break-glass access methods rely on static credentials, increasing the risk of unauthorized access, credential leaks, and compliance violations. Without proper monitoring and expiration controls, these accounts can be misused or exploited, making them a security liability instead of a safeguard.

How can organizations implement secure break-glass access?

Organizations can enhance break-glass access security by adopting just-in-time access, passwordless authentication with ephemeral credentials, encryption-based authentication, and real-time monitoring. These methods eliminate static credentials, provide time-limited access, and ensure auditability for compliance and security.