Privileged access management (PAM) solutions help protect systems and data from cyberattacks by controlling access to privileged accounts.
Privileged access management (PAM) solutions are not a new technology, but that is no reason to underestimate their importance or how they have improved. He Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report 2023 found that the main cyber attack vector is the use of stolen credentials at more than 44%, indicating privileged access security It should be a top priority for any organization.
The risks of privileged accounts
It’s alarming, but true, that many organizations have more usernames and passwords for privileged accounts than for individual employees. Whether administrator, emergency, domain, application, or service accounts, your usernames and passwords are too often shared across teams or departments.
If a hacker manages to steal these types of privileged credentials, the consequences could be much greater than when a basic account is compromised. The bad actor will not only be able to enter systems and applications, but they will also be able to change, add or delete users and settings. They could even create backdoors to your network.
Users with excessive privileges also represent a significant risk. Giving employees more access than they need for their work creates more points of vulnerability. Overprivileged access can be exploited by phishing hackers or employees themselves. Even an “innocent” mistake made by a well-intentioned but highly privileged employee can lead to disaster.
Manual security strategies are not enough
Many organizations attempt to manage privileged accounts with manual processes and the enforcement of strict password policies. Maybe they do this using a spreadsheet or a basic password manager. Either way, this approach will soon prove unwieldy. It’s also common for resource-constrained IT teams to neglect updating password managers or spreadsheets after employees leave the organization. Leaving a former employee’s credentials active is like leaving a window open to their data.
Even when strictly enforced, password policies alone are not enough to combat cybercriminals in today’s digital environment. A password can never be long or complex enough to be secure if account information is shared. Additionally, a password policy cannot provide an audit trail of who accesses what and when. If a security issue arises, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to determine the source.
Protect accounts with privileged access management
A quality PAM solution allows organizations to easily control all account access and permissions, mitigating cyber risk through the following capabilities:
Authorize access to the system
While it’s great to block unauthorized access to servers, systems, and devices, it’s even more important to maintain control of authorized access. Your PAM solution should allow you to set granular controls to define which accounts can access what and when, so that users only have the degree of privilege they need for their role.
Discovering accounts
The ability to find privileged accounts within the network ensures your IT team is always aware of users, devices, default accounts, local administrators, and more. This type of awareness can prevent accounts from being neglected or overlooked due to manual processes.
Keep credentials hidden
A PAM solution can ensure that there is no direct access to the account, so that privileged credentials remain hidden. With privileged credentials stored in an encrypted vault, access can be shared without users knowing the actual credentials. And if you don’t know something, you can’t be tricked into revealing it.
Rotating passwords
Periodically changing passwords for privileged accounts by automating the creation of new passwords means that even if a password is stolen, it won’t work for long. And since all current privileged account information goes through an encrypted password vault, there is much less chance of the credentials being stolen in the first place.
Just in time access
When users need elevated privileges to complete a specific task, they do not necessarily need to retain that level of access indefinitely. It is safer to elevate privileges temporarily, so that the increased risk ends when the task completes.
Monitoring, logging and auditing
Ideally, users should only receive managed and permission-controlled access through a PAM solution with audit logging capabilities. This allows organizations to monitor, record and audit user behavior to detect unusual activity in real time and take action before it becomes a security issue. Maintaining an unalterable record of all events and activities also facilitates investigations in the event of a security issue and helps organizations comply with cybersecurity regulations.
Centralized management
The ability to manage a PAM solution from a central platform simplifies and streamlines management, upgrades, audits, and more. It also means you can quickly make changes that will instantly affect users, so you can take immediate action when preventive measures are necessary.
Don’t let resource limitations undermine cybersecurity
Not only is it risky to take shortcuts on security measures that could save you millions of dollars; after all, The average global cost of a data breach was 7.2 million Australian dollars in 2024. – but modern PAM solutions are more effective and affordable than their predecessors. Additionally, streamlining access management and automating previously manual processes frees up additional IT resources and helps prevent burnout.
Today’s PAM solutions are easy to deploy, cloud-ready, and can significantly reduce cyber risk immediately after installation. Visit the Imprivata website to learn how our privileged access security solutions can help protect your systems and data.
