Privileged Access Management

Privileged Access Management (PAM) is a critical cybersecurity discipline that focuses on controlling, monitoring, and securing access to essential systems and sensitive data by users and processes with elevated permissions. These privileged accounts, which include administrators and root users, can change configurations, access sensitive data, or control systems. If misused or compromised, attackers can disable security tools, create backdoors, and disrupt operations. PAM reduces these risks by structuring how privileged access is requested, approved, granted, and audited.

• Protects sensitive data and systems by ensuring deliberate, monitored, and time-limited elevation.

• Mitigates breach risks by vaulting secrets, enforcing multifactor authentication, and recording sessions.

• Enhances security posture and resilience, aligning with zero trust strategies.

• Accelerates compliance with regulations like SOX, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.

• Supports operational efficiency by standardizing privileged work requests and executions.

Privileged Access Management solutions apply layered controls to privileged identities and sessions. These systems discover and catalog privileged accounts, secure credentials in a vault, broker access through controlled workflows, and monitor activity to identify and mitigate risk. Key technologies include:

• Credential vaulting to minimize exposure of secrets.

• Password and key rotation to reduce reuse and risk of compromise.

• Privileged session management to broker and record elevated sessions.

• Approval workflows to require authorizations for high-risk actions.

• Adaptive authentication to apply multifactor authentication and risk signals.

• Establish least privilege by granting only the minimum access required for tasks.

• Conduct regular audits and continuous monitoring for anomalous behaviors.

• Implement multifactor authentication for all privileged access requests.

• Centralize credential management in a hardened vault with automated rotation.

• Adopt session management and control through secure gateways.

• Identifying and tracking privileged users across on-premises and cloud environments.

• Addressing insider threats and compromised credentials through phishing and other attacks.

• Meeting compliance and regulatory pressures without disrupting operations.

• Managing operational complexity with legacy systems and diverse tooling.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is closely related to PAM and plays a significant role in managing access. It involves assigning permissions to roles rather than individuals, ensuring that only authorized actions occur under well-defined conditions. This approach helps in codifying conditions for elevation and approvals that map precisely to job functions and risk thresholds.

• Human privileged accounts: System administrators, database administrators, and security analysts.

• Non-human privileged accounts: Machine identities such as service accounts and application accounts.

• Service and application accounts: Identities that run scheduled jobs and integrations.

• Define clear roles for policy, platform administration, approvals, and auditing.

• Standardize workflows for elevated tasks with cataloged access profiles.

• Measure and improve key indicators like rotation coverage and session recordings.

• Educate administrators and developers on least privilege principles and secure credential handling.

Privileged Access Management is essential for protecting critical functions, meeting regulatory expectations, and improving operational reliability. By implementing PAM solutions, organizations can ensure that elevated actions are deliberate, transparent, and limited to the minimum required.