Privileged Access
Management refers to a category of tools that help protect, administer, track,
and monitor privileged access to sensitive assets.
In order to
accomplish these objectives, PAM solutions usually take passwords from
privileged accounts – i.e., admin accounts – and position them in a secure
registry (a vault) that isolates the use of privileged accounts to minimize the
risk of stealing those credentials. Once within the registry, system admins can
view their credentials only via the PAM program— at this point they are
authorized and signed in to their respective accounts.
Through
consolidating classified credentials at one location, PrivilegedAccess Management can provide them with a high degree of protection,
regulate who accesses them, record all accesses, and immediately track down any
suspicious behavior.
PAM can have following sub-categories
- Shared access password
manager (SAPM)
- Superuser password manager
(SUPM)
- Privileged session manager
(PSM)
- Application access password
manager (AAPM)
PAM password
repositories (SAPM) leverage direct control over administrators and password
management, as well as thorough tracking of the privileged access paths that
lead to the sensitive systems.
Passwords can obey
a realistic authentication scheme, and can even be disposed of. Session brokers
or PSMs take Privileged Access Management to a new high,
ensuring that admins never see credentials; their robust proxy servers like
jump servers often track active sessions, allowing analysts to interrupt them
if they notice anything suspicious.
In a similar way,
Application Access Password Managers (AAPMs) may release JIT credentials
for application-to-application interaction, and can even change launch scripts
to substitute hard-coded passwords with an application program interface calls
to password vault.
PAM Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
The time has come
for businesses operating a PAM system to choose the right framework to
leverage the solutions that will keep sensitive accounts secured. Consequently,
a Multi factor Authentication (MFA) is now a requisite.
Selecting a
high-assurance, login credentials-free solution offers more than just a
reliable authentication scheme; It diminishes the password-related risks such
as help desk requests and password resets as well.
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