Why just-in-time access is the smartest upgrade you can make to your identity security program

In May 2023, German publication Handelsblatt alerted Tesla that it was in possession of confidential internal data belonging to the company. Tesla’s data privacy officer, Steven Elentukh, later confirmed that two former employees had improperly accessed and leaked this data, violating the company’s internal security and privacy protocols. 

The breach resulted in the unauthorized disclosure of over 23,000 internal files, amounting to nearly 100 GB of sensitive information. These records reportedly included personal identifiable information (PII) of employees, customers' financial details, proprietary production data, and records of user complaints about Tesla’s electric vehicles. 

Altogether, the personal data of approximately 75,000 individuals was compromised, putting Tesla at risk of incurring GDPR penalties that could reach up to $3.3 billion. Researchers who analysed the situation suggested that access privileges may not have been revoked after the employees left the company.

For a long time, access control in most organizations has followed a familiar playbook: provision users with permissions when they join, maybe adjust them once or twice, and hope someone remembers to clean them up when they leave. 

It’s how traditional identity and access management (IAM) systems have operated for decades. But in today’s fast-moving, cloud-connected, AI-accelerated world, that model just doesn’t work: it’s outdated, risky, expensive, and a compliance headache waiting to happen.

That’s where just-in-time (JIT) access comes in. And if you haven’t already started exploring it, now’s a good time to put it on your radar, because the returns go far beyond security.

What is just-in-time access, really?

At its core, JIT access is a smarter, more secure way to handle permissions. Instead of assigning always-on access to users or systems, JIT flips the model: no one gets access until they actually need it, and when they do, it’s time-bound, narrowly scoped, and automatically revoked.

Contrary to the perception, JIT access is not about reducing privileges. The focus is on the reducing the time window during which a privilege can be exploited. Whether you’re talking about a developer who needs temporary admin access to troubleshoot a bug or an automation bot that interacts with sensitive data for five minutes during a deployment, JIT ensures that access appears when needed and disappears when it’s not.

Unosecur builds this capability directly into its identity threat detection and response (ITDR) platform, giving your security team the power to enforce least privilege dynamically, without slowing your business down.

How does just-in-time differ from traditional access control?

Traditional IAM systems are static by design. Once access is granted -- whether manually or through group-based roles -- it typically remains until someone notices a problem or until a quarterly review prompts cleanup. In the meantime, that standing access represents an open door that attackers, insiders, or even misconfigured applications can exploit.

JIT removes that standing risk. Instead of permanent permissions, it grants access on request, for a purpose, for a set period. It's a fundamental shift: from access that lives in the background to access that appears only in the foreground, when business demands it.

‍

Technically, implementing JIT involves integrating with your cloud IAM stack -- AWS IAM, Azure Entra ID, GitHub, Vaults, and more -- and layering in automated policy enforcement. 

This includes approval workflows, time-boxing, logging, and identity behavior monitoring. With Unosecur, all of that is handled through a unified identity fabric that ties together human and non-human identities, so no access slips through the cracks.

Why does the business need it now?

Let’s talk about the real reason JIT is gaining traction: business value.

First, it reduces your attack surface dramatically. When credentials are only active for minutes instead of months, attackers have far fewer opportunities to exploit them. Whether it's a forgotten token in GitHub or an over-provisioned API in a production system, JIT ensures that those risky gaps don’t stay open long enough to cause damage.

Second, JIT streamlines your compliance posture. Regulations like ISO 27001, SOC 2, and GDPR require proof of least privilege and auditability. JIT delivers both. Every access request is logged, time-bound, and reviewed. When auditors ask who accessed what and why, you’ve got the answer.

Third -- and this is often overlooked -- it reduces cost. Overprivileged access often translates into overuse of high-tier services, unnecessary licensing, and ballooning cloud bills. A SaaS startup that forgot to scale down EC2 instances after a traffic spike, had their monthly budget ballooning from $500 to $5,000. JIT could be the reason that never happens to you.

So where do you start?

Start by identifying where standing access exists in your environment. Think GitHub, Jenkins, Kubernetes, vaults, SaaS tools, etc. Identities live and permissions accumulate in all these environments. Ask yourself which of these privileges really need to be persistent. Odds are, most of them don’t.

From there, look into platforms like Unosecur that specialize in real-time identity threat detection and response. Our solution offers JIT enforcement across human and non-human identities, combines policy automation with audit readiness, and integrates with your cloud-native stack without friction.

In a world where attackers don’t need to break in any more, your access model matters more than ever. With just-in-time access, you’re not just improving security. You’re building a leaner, smarter, and more resilient organization.

‍