The cottage week. It was supposed to be the perfect getaway: the gentle steam of the wood-fired sauna, the stillness of the lake, and relaxed quality time with loved ones. But as early as the first evening, Markku noticed that the same laws apply at the cottage as in the digital world – if access management falters, chaos is guaranteed.
Saturday: Authentication Shipwreck
The first signs of trouble emerged on Saturday evening. Markku had just carried a bucket of water into the sauna when the door swung open and four Airbnb guests from the neighbouring cottage stepped in with broad smiles. “Authentische Sauna mit Einheimischen?” one of them asked cheerfully.
Markku was momentarily speechless. How did these people get in here? Due to the language barrier, his explanation of it being a “private sauna” didn’t hit the mark, and soon he found himself sitting on the benches with strangers, his personal space compromised.
Root Cause: Missing user verification.
Impact: Steam water consumption +300%, personal space 0%.
Sunday: Privilege Escalation
Sunday saw the next disaster. Markku’s daughter brought her boyfriend, Jonne, to the cottage. Wanting to make an impression, Jonne arrived with a large bag of groceries. On good terms, Jonne was handed the cottage keys – and he promptly used it to unlock the liquor cabinet as well.
“I’m basically the admin, since I’m handling the logistics,” Jonne stated confidently.
The next morning, Markku noticed that the cabinet’s contents no longer matched the previous inventory.
Root Cause: Excessively broad permissions granted to a temporary user.
Impact: Stock depleted, control lost.
Monday: Profile Data Deficiencies Exposed
On Monday evening, a cousin’s spouse arrived at the cottage and immediately began sneezing and blowing their nose uncontrollably in the hallway. Amidst the sneezing, the cause was revealed: the family’s Labrador, which had just started a freestyle wrestling match with the cats in the living room. It turned out the cousin’s spouse had been incorrectly marked in the profile as having “no specific allergies”.
Root Cause: Failure to update user data.
Impact: communication became more difficult, trust was undermined.
Tuesday: MFA Fails
Just when Markku thought the situation had stabilised, Uncle Reijo pulled into the driveway.
“I wouldn’t dream of bothering my own nephew,” he announced good-naturedly, carrying three days’ worth of supplies. Markku tried to recall if this had been agreed upon, but no messages could be found anywhere.
Reijo had bypassed all multi-factor checks by talking his way in and appealing to family ties.
Root Cause: Social engineering.
Impact: Food ran out, beds filled up.
Wednesday: Resource Management Collapse
The final straw came on Wednesday when three different groups arrived for their sauna slot at the same time. Everyone had written their names on the fridge door, but the paper slip system hadn’t stayed up to date. Eventually, the sauna slots were decided by a game of darts.
Root Cause: Resource management without a centralised booking system.
Impact: Total chaos.
Lesson of the Week
On his final evening, Markku sat on the pier and watched Mattsson from the neighbouring cottage grilling in peace with his friends. Over there, the sauna slots held firm, the guests were under control, and the food lasted the whole week.
“Mattsson… wasn’t he the founder of Trivore?” Markku pondered.
Perhaps next summer, it would be worth asking for tips from professionals who know how to keep access under control – whether at the cottage or at the office.
Choose Trivore when you want to ensure that access is managed.
Have a great summer, everyone! In the autumn, we’ll return to more serious IAM challenges.