What is PAM?
Priviliged Access Management (PAM) is a security solution that protects organizations from cyber threats by monitoring, detecting and preventing unauthorized access to key systems. PAM combines people, processes and technology to provide visibility into who has access and what they are doing. By limiting the number of users with management privileges, PAM improves security and helps prevent data breaches.
How does it work?
A PAM solution manages comprehensive access to systems by providing features such as automated password management and multiple authentication. Administrators can easily manage accounts, monitor sessions and generate reports to detect anomalies.
Key applications of PAM include preventing reference theft and meeting compliance requirements by ensuring minimum access rights to sensitive data. PAM automates account management, monitors access activities and secures external access, including third-party access. It is also applicable to IoT, cloud environments and DevOps.
PAM provides protection against abuse of extended access with solutions such as just-in-time access, secure remote access via encrypted gateways, session monitoring, suspicious activity analysis and detailed access logs for auditing, including integrated password protection for DevOps.
The importance of PAM
People are the weakest link when it comes to system security, and authorized accounts pose a significant risk to your organization. PAM gives teams the ability to detect malicious activity and take immediate action. It ensures that employees have access only to what they need.
Furthermore, PAM minimizes the risk of security breaches and mitigates their impact if a breach does occur. It reduces threat access points, protects against malware attacks by managing privileges, and supports an audit-friendly environment with detailed activity logs for monitoring suspicious activity.
Best Practices
These tips will help improve security and reduce risk within your organization when implementing a PAM solution:
1. Require multiple verification: Add an extra layer of security by requiring multiple verification at sign-in. This increases protection by asking users for additional identity verification via another authenticated device.
2. Automate your security: Reduce human error and improve efficiency by automating your security processes. For example, automate limiting privileges and preventing unauthorized actions as soon as a threat is detected.
3. Remove unnecessary endpoint users: Identify and remove unnecessary users from local administrator groups on IT workstations. This prevents threat actors from moving through workstations and increasing their privileges.
4. Set baselines and monitor anomalies: Monitor activities with extended access to detect unusual behaviors that could compromise your system. Setting baselines for acceptable activities helps identify anomalies.
5. Provide just-in-time access: Use minimal privileges and increase them only when needed. Segment systems and networks based on trust levels, needs and privileges.
6. Avoid permanent expanded access: Use temporary just-in-time and just-enough access rather than permanent expanded access. This ensures that users have access only when needed and for the time required.
7. Use activity-based access management: Grant access to resources only based on actual usage and previous user activity. This reduces the gap between granted and used privileges.
These practices help improve security and reduce risk within your organization when implementing a PAM solution.
Technology alone is not enough to protect your organization from cyber attacks. It takes a solution that takes into account your people, processes and technology.
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