What is Privileged Account Management?

Privileged account management(PAM) is a cybersecurity practice that includes securing, monitoring, and managing the business's privileged accounts. These accounts have elevated access rights that help users perform functions like configuring systems and accessing sensitive data.

Unlike standard user accounts, privileged accounts provide broad and unrestricted access to various systems which makes them a prime target for cyberattacks and insider threats. An advanced privileged account management solution consists of strict access controls, limits unnecessary privileges, and tracks each action these accounts perform to ensure security and compliance.

Types of Privileged Accounts

Privileged accounts are in different forms where each account contains unique access rights and related risks. Here is the table with the common types of privileged accounts and vulnerabilities.

Now that we understand what privileged accounts are and their types, let’s check out why is it important for enterprises.

Why is Privileged Account Management Important for Enterprises?

Privileged accounts are important in handling IT infrastructure by offering elevated access to critical systems and data. But that same level of access also makes them a prime target for cyberattacks. Attacking a single privileged account gives attackers full control of the key assets. Moreover, if the control and monitoring of privileged access are lapse, then insider threats also act as a risk factor.

Poorly managed privileges will result in data leakage and system failure. Privileged Account Management reduces these risks by implementing access controls. Also, ensuring that only authorized users have access to assets and provides visibility into all privileged account activities to prevent misuse.

A complete PAM solution is imperative to help enterprises achieve such levels of security around privileged access. Securden Unified PAM is an all-in-one PAM solution that enables IT administrators to store, share, rotate and manage the entire life cycles of privileged credentials. It also provides secure remote access capabilities with complete session control as well as privilege management on user endpoints with granular application control. All these capabilities are packaged in a single installer making the deployment and implementation process unbelievably easy.

6 Key Business Benefits of Privileged Account Management

Here are all the benefits of privileged account management for any business.

1. Centralizes Control and Management of Privileged Accounts

Managing multiple privileged accounts within systems becomes complex and inefficient at times. Cloud PAM centralizes the control of privileged accounts in a single platform. This streamlines access management and reduces administrative overhead. Such a centralized approach ensures consistent security policies across the business. Centralized control with Securden’s vault ensures secure storage of all credentials across cloud and on-premise systems

2. Enhances Security and Reduce Risk Exposure Across Systems

Privileged accounts are often a popular target of cyber attacks. Privileged account management reduces risk by implementing the principle of least privilege to ensure users have required access only. Also, automated password rotation and credential vaulting minimize the risk of credential theft.

3. Improves Regulatory Compliance and Audit Readiness

Since industries like finance, healthcare, and government must adhere to strict regulations, privileged account management helps companies comply with GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001. It provides detailed audit logs, access control reports, and automated compliance checks.

4. Monitors Activity in Real-Time and Responds to Security Incidents

Privileged account management solutions provide real-time monitoring of privileged account activities, which helps businesses detect and respond to suspicious behavior in less time. Having such an approach allows firms to mitigate security breaches before escalation.

5. Protects from Insider Threats and Privilege Abuse

Insider threats are one of the leading concerns for many businesses. PAM limits the potential for privilege abuse by tracking and logging the privileged account activities. With this level of oversight, the chances of unauthorized actions are reduced, and accountability increases.

6. Increases Visibility and Accountability of User Actions

With privileged account management, businesses have full visibility into who accessed what, when, and why. Such a transparent approach helps identify unusual patterns, offers detailed audit trails for forensic analysis, and holds users accountable for their actions.

How Does Privileged Account Management Work?

Here is the process that privileged account management follows to secure and manage privileged accounts.

Step 1: Secure Privileged Credentials in a Vault

Privileged account credentials are stored in a centralized, encrypted vault. This eliminates the need for users to write down passwords or share them in an insecure manner. A password vault is often coupled with password rotation capabilities that periodically rotates passwords in order to maintain their integrity.

Step 2: Enforce Access Controls and Least Privilege

Access to privileged accounts is granted based on the principle of least privilege. PAM enforces strict access policies that allow privileged users to access only the required resources as per their roles. This step minimizes the attack surface and prevents unauthorized access.

Step 3: Authenticate Users with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Before accessing privileged accounts, users verify their identity with multi-factor authentication (MFA). This ensures an additional security layer where only unauthorized individuals get access even if credentials are compromised.

Step 4: Grant Just-In-Time (JIT) Access

Privileged account management provides just-in-time access for tasks that require elevated privileges. Access is granted only during the time of execution. After the execution of the task, access is automatically revoked, thus reducing a malicious action or long-term exposure.

Step 5: Monitor and Record Privileged Sessions

Privileged account management constantly monitors and records all the sessions. Real-time activity logs capture every performed action to provide a detailed audit trail for compliance and forensic analysis. If unusual behavior is detected, PAM triggers alerts or terminates the sessions.

Step 6: Review and Audit Privileged Activities

Regular audits of privileged account activities are conducted to identify any anomalies or policy violations. PAM generates detailed reports that help businesses assess their security posture, ensure compliance, and refine access policies as required.

Best Practices for Effective Privileged Account Management

Here are some of the best practices of effective privileged account management.

1. Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Role-based access control ensures that privileged access is granted according to the job roles of users. Minimizing the risk of unauthorized access and reducing the damage from insider threats becomes easier by restructuring the access to sensitive systems and data.

In a privileged access management solution like Securden, RBAC allows businesses to assign specific access permission to users. Users are initially given the "User" role, which can be customized or changed. RBAC helps implement separation of duties which limits access to critical data. Admin privileges are protected, and role downgrades are restricted if users manage important accounts.

2. Enforce Strong Password Policies

Weak passwords are a major security vulnerability. Integrating strong password policies with specific complexity requirements and regular password changes helps protect privileged accounts more effectively. Securden Unified PAM comes with a built-in password manager tool that generates strong passwords for critical accounts, enables secure sharing and facilitates end-to-end management of privileged passwords.

3. Regularly Review Privileged Access

Make sure to periodically review privileged access to identify unnecessary or outdated access rights. This approach ensures that employees, contractors, or third parties retain only the permissions they require for their current role which reduces the attack surface.

4. Monitor and Log Privileged Account Activities

Ensure you constantly monitor privileged account activities to detect unusual behavior or potential breaches. Activities like login attempts, file access, configuration changes, and privilege escalations must be logged in detail. Regular monitoring and logging allow for accurate audits and enable a swift response to suspicious activities.

5. Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring two or more forms of verification before access to privileged accounts. This step reduces the chances of unauthorized access even if the password is compromised.

6. Limit Access to Sensitive Systems

Grant access to high-risk systems only when necessary. By integrating the principle of lease privilege (PoLP), minimizing the number of individuals who have access to systems and data becomes easier. Also, it reduces the potential for misuse or accidental exposure.

7. Integrate Just-In-Time (JIT) Access

Just-in-time access offers temporary elevated access to users when needed for specific tasks. Once the task is finished the access is revoked. This process helps reduce the exposure of privileged accounts and ensures that access is granted when it's necessary.

8. Automate and Integrate Security Policies

Automation helps implement PAM policies constantly and reduces the likelihood of human errors. You can ensure that security policies are applied smoothly within the entire network by integrating PAM solutions with your company’s existing security infrastructure.

9. Conduct Regular Security Awareness Training

Educating employees about the risks linked with privileged accounts and the importance of privileged accounts management is required. Carrying out regular security awareness training ensures that privileged users understand security protocols and the consequences of misusing privileged access.

Why Securden is the Right Choice for Privileged Account Management

Privileged Account Management protects sensitive systems and reduces the risk of unauthorized access. As businesses continue to face growing cybersecurity threats, the PAM solution helps manage and control access to privileged accounts, preventing abuse and securing infrastructure.

Securden Unified PAM offers complete PAM capabilities that enterprises require. Right from password management, to secure remote access, privileged session management, just-in-time controls, and endpoint privilege management, Securden encompasses all enterprise-grade capabilities as a single package. Without undergoing complex implementation procedures and rigorous set up process, you can get started with your enterprise privileged account management in a hassle-free manner. Securden also helps organizations boost their overall security and improve their compliance posture. Here’s a quick gist of privileged account management capabilities offered by Securden:

• Discover and map privileged accounts across all servers, databases, and network devices.
• Manage and securely share passwords, SSH keys, TOTPs, and cloud/domain accounts.
• Elevate privileges for Just-In-Time (JIT) access to applications, assets, and credentials.
• Easy compliance reporting for regulations like NIST, GDPR, CMMC, HIPAA, NIS2 and others.
• Monitor privileged sessions in real-time, with video recording of all activities.
• Audit privileged actions and generate customizable reports for compliance.
• Continuous discovery of forgotten accounts.

If you are also looking for a reliable privileged account management solution for your business, then try Securden. Book your demo and protect your critical assets.

FAQs on Privileged Account Management

1. Is Privileged Access Management (PAM) and privileged account management the same?

Both Privileged Access Management (PAM) and privileged account management are closely related but not identical. While both solutions deal with managing privileged access, privileged access management focuses on controlling and monitoring access to sensitive systems and data. On the other side, privileged account management particularly deals with managing privileged accounts that have access rights to systems.

2. What makes a privileged account different from a regular account?

A privileged account comes with elevated permissions. It grants access to sensitive data and systems that regular accounts do not. Some examples include admin accounts, root accounts, and service accounts. These accounts make system-wide changes, install software, or access confidential information which makes them a target for cyberattacks if not managed properly.

3. Which features are included in privileged account management software?

Here are the features that are included in the privileged account management software.

• Password Vaulting: To securely store and manage privileged credentials.
• Access Control: To define who can access specific privileged accounts.
• Just-In-Time (JIT) Access: To elevate privileges when needed.
• Real-time Session Monitoring: To observe actions taken during privileged sessions.
• Audit Logging and Reporting: To track and demonstrate compliance with security regulations.

4. How frequently should privileged accounts be reviewed or updated?

Privileged accounts are reviewed and updated regularly, which is ideally at least once every 3-6 months. However, the frequency varies based on the company’s security policies, the number of privileged accounts, and changes in staff roles. Regular reviews help ensure authorized personnel have just enough access and that privileges are in line with current job responsibilities.

5. Which are the top privileged account management tools?

Here are the top privileged account management tools to look for.

• Securden: All-in-one Platform for privileged access governance.
• CyberArk: Known for credential vaulting and session recording.
• BeyondTrust:Combines PAM with vulnerability management.
• Thycotic: Focuses on password management and access control.
• Delinea: Offers strong PAM capabilities with automation.