'Read only' access turns into admin privileges
If the U.S. Treasury Department initially provided read-only access but individuals somehow escalated their privileges to administrative access, this suggests a serious security breach. There are several possible explanations for how this could have happened: 1. Exploiting Vulnerabilities in Software or Systems Attackers may have exploited unpatched security flaws in the system (e.g., zero-day vulnerabilities) to escalate their privileges. If the Treasury Department was using outdated or misconfigured systems, hackers might have taken advantage of those weaknesses. 2. Privilege Escalation Attacks Vertical Privilege Escalation: The attacker finds a way to move from a lower-level account (read-only) to an admin account. Horizontal Privilege Escalation: The attacker gains control of another user's account with higher privileges. Common methods include: Exploiting misconfigured permissions in the system. Finding and using leaked credentials (e.g., through phishing, social engineering, ...