What is Privileged Access Management (PAM)?

When working to build an IAM program, it’s important to understand the areas within it. In this post, we will discuss the evolution of PAM – from its origins as basic user access management to its current form as a critical security component.  We’ll cover key milestones in PAM development, the major players who have contributed to its growth, and the primary use cases for PAM.

At its core, Privileged Access Management is all about ensuring that access to privileged accounts is strictly controlled and audited.  PAM is a set of cybersecurity practices designed to protect sensitive data, systems, and resources by controlling and monitoring access to privileged accounts.

Privileged accounts are accounts that have elevated access, such as administrator accounts, that enable users to perform critical functions within an organization’s IT infrastructure. They are also sometimes accounts that have access to sensitive data. It is up to each organization to determine the scope of the term “Privileged” in many cases.

PAM has become a critical security component for organizations of all sizes and industries, due to the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks that target privileged accounts.

A History of Privileged Access Management

PAM can be traced back to the early days of computing, where the primary focus was on basic user access management. This involved controlling access to user accounts, setting password policies, and defining user roles and permissions. However, as technology evolved, so did the threats to cybersecurity.

In the early 2000s, PAM emerged as a specialized field within cybersecurity that focused on managing access to privileged accounts. This was driven by a growing awareness of the risks associated with privileged accounts, such as the potential for insider threats, credential theft, and cyber-attacks that exploit privileged access to steal sensitive data or disrupt critical systems.

Over the years, PAM has evolved to become a more comprehensive set of cybersecurity practices that encompass a wide range of tools and technologies, including privileged access management solutions, access control policies, multi-factor authentication, and privileged session monitoring.

The Key Milestones in PAM

One of the key milestones in the development of PAM was the release of the first version of the OpenSSH server in 1999, which included support for privilege separation. This enabled the SSH daemon to drop its root privileges and run as an unprivileged user, which significantly reduced the risk of privilege escalation attacks.

Another significant milestone was the release of the first commercial PAM solution by CyberArk in 1999. This solution provided centralized management of privileged accounts, automated password management, and granular access controls, which set the standard for modern PAM solutions.

The introduction of multi-factor authentication (MFA) to PAM was a major development, as it added an additional layer of security to the authentication process overall. Today, MFA is widely used in PAM solutions to ensure that users are who they claim to be, by requiring them to provide two or more factors of authentication, such as a password and a biometric identifier.

Two Different Approaches to PAM

There are two different approaches to managing privileged access in an organization:

PASM:
Privileged Access Security Management is a comprehensive approach to managing privileged access that involves a variety of tools and techniques, including password vaulting, session recording, and access controls. Toolsets/solutions are typically designed to ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive systems and data and that their activity is closely monitored and audited.

FYI: In some circles, Privileged Access Security Management is referred to as Privileged Account & Session Management, but here we’ll stick with the more commonly used PASM.

PEDM:
Privileged Elevation and Delegation Management is normally a more limited approach to managing privileged access focusing on elevating privileges for users who need them to perform specific tasks and delegating those privileges in a controlled manner. PEDM solutions are typically designed to help organizations avoid the need to provide users with permanent administrative privileges, which can increase the risk of security breaches.

While both approaches are designed to improve security by managing privileged access, they differ in several key ways.

PASM solutions tend to be more comprehensive and include a wider range of features, such as session recording and access controls.

PEDM solutions are more focused on elevating and delegating privileges in a controlled manner. Additionally, PEDM solutions may be more appropriate for organizations that need to balance security with the need to enable employees to perform their jobs efficiently.

Some organizations may find that a PASM solution provides the most comprehensive protection for their sensitive systems and data, while others may prefer a PEDM solution that balances security with the need for flexibility and efficiency.

You can find more detail on PASM vs PEDM here: CyberArk vs BeyondTrust – Two Different Approaches to PAM

This article will mainly lean into Privileged Access Security Management (PASM)

The Key Use Cases For Privileged Access Management

The primary use case for PAM is to protect the sensitive data, systems, and resources of an organization by controlling and monitoring access to privileged accounts. PAM can be used to manage access to a variety of privileged accounts, including administrator accounts, service accounts, and application accounts.

PAM can also be used to comply with regulatory requirements, such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR, which require organizations to implement controls that protect sensitive data and systems from unauthorized access.

Access Control:
One of the primary use cases for PAM is to control access to privileged accounts. PAM solutions can help ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive data, systems, and resources. This can be achieved by implementing role-based access control, which defines the roles and responsibilities of each user, and provides them with access to only the resources they need to perform their job functions.

Password Management:
PAM can also be used to manage passwords for privileged accounts. PAM solutions can help ensure that passwords are strong, unique, and rotated regularly. This can reduce the risk of credential theft, which is a common method used by cyber criminals to gain access to privileged accounts.

Audit and Compliance:
PAM can help organizations comply with regulatory requirements, such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR, by providing centralized management and auditing of privileged accounts. PAM solutions can help organizations track all privileged account activity, monitor for unauthorized access, and generate reports that demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements.

Session Monitoring:
PAM solutions can monitor and record privileged account sessions in real-time. This provides organizations with a complete audit trail of all privileged account activity, which can be used to investigate security incidents, identify insider threats, and meet compliance requirements.

How PAM Works In Practice

The following is an overview of how PAM generally works at a high-level and a typical process flow a user might interact with a PAM system on a day-to-day basis.

It’s important to note that the specific policies and processes for privileged access management will more than likely vary depending on the organization and the resources being accessed.

PAM solutions use a combination of technologies to ensure that privileged access is securely managed. These technologies include password vaults, MFA, session recording, and role-based access controls.

Password vaults are used to store and manage passwords associated with privileged accounts. These vaults are typically encrypted and accessible only by authorized users. Configurations can be made to automatically rotate passwords at set intervals to prevent unauthorized access.

MFA is used to provide an additional layer of security beyond a password. MFA typically involves something the user knows (like a password) and something they have (like a mobile device). This can make it more difficult for a bad actor to gain access to a privileged account.

Session recording is used to capture and record all activity associated with privileged accounts. This includes all keystrokes, commands, and activity within the session. The recordings can be used for auditing purposes and to help detect and respond to security incidents.

Role-based access controls are used to restrict access to sensitive resources based on a user’s job function and level of privilege. This ensures that users only have access to the resources they need to perform their job functions, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

Overview Of How PAM Works

Identification:
The first step in PAM is to identify all privileged accounts across an organization. This includes accounts with administrative access to servers, databases, applications, and other sensitive resources.

Authentication:
Once privileged accounts are identified, they must be authenticated using strong passwords and/or multi-factor authentication (MFA) to ensure that only authorized users can access them.

Authorization:
After authentication, access must be granted based on the user’s job function and level of privilege. Access should be granted on a need-to-know basis, and only for the minimum amount of time necessary.

Monitoring:
Once access is granted, PAM solutions must monitor and record all activity associated with the privileged account. This includes logins, logouts, changes to configurations, and any other activity that might be considered suspicious.

Revocation:
When a user no longer requires privileged access, their access must be revoked immediately to ensure that they cannot access sensitive resources in the future.

Average Day-To-Day Usage of Privileged Access Management

The day-to-day use of PAM will depend on the specific policies and processes established by the organization. However, here’s an overview of a typical process flow for how a user might use PAM on a daily basis:

Requesting access:
When a user needs privileged access to a specific resource, they should first check with their manager to confirm that access is required for their job function. If access is required, the user would submit a request through the PAM system. The request should include the name of the resource and the level of access required.

Approval:
The request would then be sent to an approver for review. The approver would ensure that the request is justified and that the user requires access to perform their job function. If the request is approved, the approver would authorize the access and notify the user.

Authentication:
To access the resource, the user would authenticate themselves through the PAM system. This might involve providing a username and password or using multi-factor authentication (MFA) to verify their identity.

Accessing The Resource:
Once the user is authenticated, they would be granted access to the resource. The level of access would be based on the authorization provided by the approver in step 2.

Monitoring:
While the user is accessing the resource, their activity would be monitored by the PAM system. This includes logging all activity associated with the user’s session, including keystrokes, commands, and other activities within the session.

Revocation:
When the user no longer requires access to the resource, their access would be revoked through the PAM system. This ensures that the user can no longer access the resource in the future.

Major Players in the PAM Ecosystem

Today, there are many players in the PAM market, including CyberArk, Delinea, BeyondTrust, Centrify, and IBM. These vendors offer a range of PAM solutions, from basic access control tools to comprehensive platforms that include privileged session monitoring, threat analytics, and automation capabilities.

CyberArk is a leading PAM vendor that provides solutions for managing privileged accounts, credentials, and secrets. Their solutions include Privileged Account Security, Endpoint Privilege Manager, and Application Access Manager. CyberArk’s solutions are designed to help organizations control and monitor access to privileged accounts, detect and respond to security threats, and enforce least privilege policies. CyberArk has a strong customer base in the financial services, healthcare, and government sectors.

BeyondTrust is a PAM vendor that provides solutions for managing privileged access, passwords, and sessions. Their solutions include Privileged Access Management, Remote Support, and Vulnerability Management. BeyondTrust’s solutions are designed to help organizations reduce the risk of a cyber attack by controlling and monitoring access to privileged accounts, enforcing least privilege policies, and detecting and responding to security threats. BeyondTrust has a strong customer base in the energy, financial services, and government sectors.

Delinea is a PAM vendor that provides solutions for managing privileged access, secrets, and sessions. Their solutions include Secret Server, Privilege Manager, and Account Lifecycle Manager. Delinea’s solutions are designed to help organizations protect their sensitive data, systems, and resources by controlling and monitoring access to privileged accounts, enforcing least privilege policies, and automating the management of privileged accounts. Delinea has a strong customer base in the healthcare, financial services, and government sectors. With The merger with Centrify there are additional opportunities to manage privileged access, identities, and endpoints. Their solutions include Privileged Access Service, Identity Service, and Endpoint Services. Centrify’s solutions are designed to help organizations reduce the risk of a cyber-attack by controlling and monitoring access to privileged accounts, enforcing least privilege policies, and securing endpoints. Centrify had a strong customer base in the energy, financial services, and healthcare sectors.

One Identity is a PAM vendor that provides solutions for managing privileged access, identities, and authentication. Their solutions include Privileged Access Management, Identity and Access Management, and Authentication Services. One Identity’s solutions are designed to help organizations reduce the risk of a cyber attack by controlling and monitoring access to privileged accounts, enforcing least privilege policies, and managing identities and authentication. One Identity has a strong customer base in the healthcare, financial services, and government sectors.

Organizations should evaluate their PAM needs and select a solution that meets their specific requirements, including controlling and monitoring access to privileged accounts, detecting and responding to security threats, enforcing least privilege policies, and demonstrating compliance with regulatory requirements. By implementing a PAM solution, organizations can improve their overall cybersecurity posture and reduce the likelihood of a cyber-attack occurring.

Real-World Examples of PAM

Financial Services:
A financial services company may use PAM to manage access to its trading platforms, which are critical to its business operations. PAM can help ensure that only authorized users can access these platforms, and that their activity is monitored and audited in real-time.

Healthcare:
A healthcare organization may use PAM to manage access to electronic health records (EHRs), which contain sensitive patient data. PAM can help ensure that only authorized users can access EHRs, and that their activity is audited and monitored for potential security incidents.

Government:
A government agency may use PAM to manage access to classified information and systems. PAM can help ensure that only authorized users can access these resources, and that their activity is monitored and audited to detect and prevent insider threats.

Cyber Security Insurance:
Cyber security insurance is a type of insurance that helps organizations manage the financial risk of a cyber-attack. Reducing Cyber Insurance Premiums with PAM Organizations that implement PAM solutions can reduce their cyber insurance premiums by demonstrating to insurers that they have taken proactive steps to reduce the risk of a cyber-attack. PAM solutions can help organizations reduce the risk of a cyber-attack in the following ways:

Controlling Access to Sensitive Data and Systems
PAM solutions can help organizations control and monitor access to sensitive data and systems by limiting access to only those individuals who require it. By limiting access to privileged accounts, organizations can reduce the risk of a cyber-attack occurring.

Detecting and Responding to Security Threats
PAM solutions can help organizations detect and respond to security threats by providing real-time monitoring of privileged account activity. This can help organizations identify abnormal behavior, such as an administrator accessing a resource they do not typically access or at an unusual time of day. By detecting and responding to security threats in real-time, organizations can reduce the likelihood of a cyber attack occurring.

Auditing and Reporting
PAM solutions can help organizations demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements by providing detailed audit trails and reports on privileged account activity. Insurers may require organizations to demonstrate that they have implemented controls, such as PAM, to reduce the risk of a cyber attack occurring.

The Future Of Privileged Access Management 

Privileged Access Management (PAM) has become a critical security component for organizations of all sizes and industries due to the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks that target privileged accounts. PAM is designed to protect the sensitive data, systems, and resources of an organization by controlling and monitoring access to privileged accounts. The following discusses the emerging trends and technologies that are likely to shape the future of PAM.

Cloud-Based PAM
As organizations continue to adopt cloud services, PAM solutions will need to be able to manage access to privileged accounts across cloud and on-premises environments. This will require PAM solutions to support multi-cloud environments, provide secure remote access, and integrate with cloud-native security tools.

One of the challenges of cloud-based PAM is the need to manage and monitor access to cloud-based resources from external networks. PAM solutions will need to provide secure remote access that is compliant with security regulations, such as PCI DSS and HIPAA. PAM solutions will also need to integrate with cloud-native security tools, such as cloud access security brokers (CASBs), to ensure that privileged account access is monitored and audited in real-time.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
PAM solutions will increasingly leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect and respond to security threats. This will enable PAM solutions to identify abnormal behavior, automate threat response, and improve the accuracy of risk assessments.

AI and ML can be used to identify patterns of behavior that indicate a security threat, such as an employee accessing sensitive data outside of their normal work hours or from an unusual location. PAM solutions can use this information to trigger alerts or automatically revoke access to the privileged account.

AI and ML can also be used to improve risk assessments by analyzing data from multiple sources, such as logs, user behavior, and network traffic. PAM solutions can use this data to identify areas of high risk and prioritize remediation efforts.

Zero Trust
The zero trust security model, which assumes that all users and devices are untrusted until proven otherwise, is becoming increasingly popular. PAM solutions will need to support zero trust environments by providing granular access control, multi-factor authentication, and continuous monitoring.

One of the challenges of zero trust environments is the need to provide continuous monitoring of privileged accounts, even when the user has already been authenticated. PAM solutions will need to provide real-time monitoring of privileged account activity and be able to identify anomalous behavior, such as an administrator accessing a resource they do not typically access or an unusual time of day.

The future of PAM is likely to be shaped by emerging trends and technologies such as cloud-based PAM, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the zero trust security model. These emerging trends and technologies will enable PAM solutions to provide more robust and effective security for privileged accounts and improve the overall security posture of organizations. As the threat landscape continues to evolve, PAM will remain a critical component of any organization’s cybersecurity strategy.

Resources and Next Steps

PAM is a critical cybersecurity practice that helps organizations protect sensitive data and resources. By controlling and monitoring access to privileged accounts, organizations can reduce the risk of a cyber-attack, data breach, or insider threat.

VENDOR SELECTION
The PAM market is dominated by a few major players and it can be hard to determine which platform fits your needs best. There are many factors to consider, including the long term costs, impact on staffing, and the ability to integrate with your current ecosystem.

Looking at the future, emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are likely to play a role in the evolution of PAM. AI and ML can help detect anomalies and patterns in user behavior and reduce the workload of security analysts.

PAM is a critical cybersecurity practice that helps organizations protect sensitive data and resources. By controlling and monitoring access to privileged accounts, organizations can reduce the risk of a cyber-attack, data breach, or insider threat.

You can learn more about the PAM services our team provides here: https://www.integralpartnersllc.com/iam-services/privileged-access-management/

You can learn more about what services our IAM Advisory team provides here: https://www.integralpartnersllc.com/iam-services/advisory-services/