The danger of shared accounts, why this is truly unacceptable in 2025

Shared accounts have been the easy solution for years: one login for a team, a shared admin account for IT, or a universal account for an external party. It was cheap, practical and seemed harmless for a long time.

But organisations have changed. Security requirements have been tightened, data flows have become more complex, and the pressure on compliance is higher than ever. In this reality, shared accounts are not only outdated, but even a direct risk.

1. Missing accountability: you don't know who does what

A shared account always means the same problem: you lose sight of individual actions. Whether it's deleting data, changing settings, or sharing access with others, it's impossible to determine who's responsible.

From an Identity & Access Management perspective, this is one of the biggest shortcomings. Auditors immediately assess this as inadequate, and in the event of a security incident, a reliable basis for investigation is lacking. It's comparable to a building where everyone has the same key; you can never trace who opened which door.

2. One password as a single point of failure

Shared accounts almost always revolve around one password used by multiple people. And that creates a vulnerable point that's difficult to manage. Passwords are stored in places they shouldn't be, shared in internal chats, or remain unchanged for years.

As soon as that one password is compromised through phishing, a leak or simply a human error, the entire environment is exposed. The impact is greater, broader, and often harder to contain than with individual accounts.

3. Offboarding becomes complex and prone to errors

When an employee leaves, you want to immediately and fully revoke the right access. With individual accounts, this is a streamlined process: you close one identity and done.

With shared accounts, this doesn't work. The password must be changed, all involved employees must be informed, and all linked systems must be reconfigured. It leads to delays, frustration, and sometimes even operational disruptions. Moreover, in some cases, ex-employees unintentionally retain access, and that's precisely the kind of risk organisations want to avoid.

4. Shared accounts block automation and modern security models

Organisations increasingly want to work with automated workflows, role-based permissions and zero-trust principles. These models are entirely dependent on individual identities.

A shared account simply doesn't fit into this landscape. You can't apply automatic provisioning or deprovisioning, can't perform individual risk analysis, and can't generate detailed logging. It limits the organisation in scalability and maturity of security.

5. It's no longer acceptable from a compliance and customer perspective

As of 2025, customers, partners, and auditors expect organisations to have their IAM landscape properly arranged. Shared accounts are seen as a clear sign of insufficient security maturity.

In a time when reputational damage after a data breach has direct consequences for trust, turnover, and growth, this is a risk organisations can no longer afford.

How it should be done: one identity per person

At Joinly, we adhere to a simple principle:
Every user has their own identity, with unique rights and responsibilities.

That means:

• individual accounts for every employee

• roles and permissions based on function and department

• automatic allocation and revocation of access

• full auditability

• minimal rights according to the least-privilege principle

This ensures you always know who has access, why that access was granted, and when it should be adjusted.

How Joinly supports this

Joinly is developed to make IAM understandable and manageable without compromising safety.

With Joinly:

• employees automatically receive the correct access based on their role

• shared accounts disappear entirely from the organisation

• you can trace all actions back to one user

• manage access rights quickly and centrally

• offboarding is a matter of seconds

• you have reliable, complete audit logs

In short: overview, control, and peace of mind in your security landscape.

Finally: shared accounts are not a small detail, but a structural risk

Organisations still using shared accounts in 2025 are not only lagging behind; they are increasing their vulnerability. The shift to individual identity management is no longer optional but necessary.

Joinly helps organisations daily in this transition from fragmented access management to a future-proof, secure, and fully automated IAM landscape.

Want to know what this looks like for your organisation?
Feel free to contact us. We are happy to think along with you.