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  • “Trust Abuse: When Legitimate Access Becomes Malicious”

“Trust Abuse: When Legitimate Access Becomes Malicious”

December 03, 2025

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Third-Party Vendors Use Their Access Against You

Trusted partners get VPN, API, or backend access — often with minimal oversight. A breach on their side becomes your exposure. The weakest link is someone else’s network.

Contractors Retain Access After Projects End

Offboarding is inconsistent, especially for temp workers or freelancers. Credentials, email accounts, and internal access remain active. These ghost users are perfect footholds for attackers.

OAuth and App Connectors Abused for Persistence

Apps authorized via OAuth live outside password policies and MFA. Attackers authorize a malicious app once, and it keeps access forever. Most companies forget to audit these integrations.

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Remote Management Tools Turned Into Attack Platforms

RMM tools like TeamViewer or AnyDesk are exploited post-access. They offer GUI control, file transfer, and evasion of security tools. Legitimate software becomes adversary infrastructure.

Internal Users Abuse Privileged Trust

Employees copy sensitive files to personal drives or cloud accounts. Insider threats rarely use malware — just their own login. Policy violations often go undetected for months.

Token Abuse Extends Access Beyond Offboarding

APIs, automation scripts, and bots use tokens that don’t expire. These tokens survive password changes and account removals. Attackers harvest and reuse them long after exposure.

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