Just-in-Time Access
ELI5 - The Vibe Check
Just-in-time access means nobody walks around with permanent admin keys in their pocket all day, every day. Instead, you request access right when you need it, get it approved, use it for an hour, and then it evaporates on its own. It's the difference between everyone on staff carrying a master key forever versus asking the front desk to buzz you into one room for twenty minutes.
Real Talk
Just-in-time access grants elevated or sensitive permissions only for a limited window and a specific task, typically through an approval workflow, rather than as a standing, always-on privilege. It shrinks the attack surface of privileged accounts by minimizing how long credentials remain valid and exploitable.
When You'll Hear This
"Prod database access is JIT now, you request it and it expires in 60 minutes." / "We replaced standing admin roles with just-in-time access requests through the access broker."
Related Terms
Credential Rotation
Credential Rotation is the practice of regularly changing ALL your secrets — database passwords, API keys, certificates, tokens.
IAM (Identity and Access Management)
IAM is the permission system for AWS. It controls who (users, roles, services) can do what (read S3, start EC2, invoke Lambda) on which resources.
Principle of Least Privilege
Principle of Least Privilege means everyone and everything gets only the MINIMUM access needed to do their job. The intern doesn't get admin access.
Service Account
A service account is a special non-human account that your app or service uses to authenticate with cloud APIs.
Zero Trust
Zero trust means 'never trust, always verify' — even if a request comes from inside your network.