Privileged Accounts and Hidden Threats: Why Privileged Access Security Should Be a Top Priority
Privileged accounts are well-known entry points for potential security issues. However, many businesses prioritize controlling privileged access over securing the accounts and individuals who have it. This emphasis may be related to the ongoing issues of Privileged Access Management (PAM) deployments. However, when the threat landscape shifts, so should organizational priorities. To keep trust from becoming a liability, the next stage in ensuring privileged access must become a top priority.
In this article, we'll look at why controlling privileged access alone is insufficient, as well as providing actionable insights to help you develop a security-first privileged access approach.
The Evolution of PAM
Privileged Access Management (PAM) has long been a key component of protecting an organization's privileged users and important resources. PAM's primary purpose is to manage, monitor, and secure privileged accounts, which frequently have enhanced access to important systems and data. These accounts, often owned by administrators, serve as the keys to an organization's most precious assets. Proper management is critical for preventing unauthorized access, data breaches, and insider threats.
PAM has grown into a complex system that integrates with other security technologies and includes capabilities such as automated processes, password vaulting, session monitoring, and threat detection. This change is in response to escalating regulatory expectations, increasingly complex IT ecosystems, and an increase in the frequency of advanced cyber attacks.
Despite its achievements, PAM has limitations that prevent it from fully addressing modern security concerns.
Why Managing Privileged Access Is Not Enough
As cyber attacks become more complex, relying exclusively on PAM to protect privileged accounts is inadequate. Traditional PAM systems concentrate on regulating and monitoring access, but they frequently overlook advanced strategies such as lateral movement, credential theft, and privilege escalation. Many of the precautions put in place by PAM can be bypassed using these approaches.
Organizations must transition from managing access to securing their own privileged accounts. This transformation necessitates full visibility, ongoing monitoring, risk-based access controls, and real-time threat response.
PAM solutions solve concerns such as password vulnerabilities and access mismanagement, but they frequently suffer with advanced persistent threats (APTs) and zero-day assaults. Organizations may address crucial gaps and protect sensitive systems from increasingly sophisticated adversaries by strengthening PAM with robust security measures at all stages.
Real-time enforcement is the future of privileged access security
A security-first approach to privileged access goes beyond PAM's usual constraints, emphasizing proactive security rather than reactive management. Organizations can effectively manage difficulties such as manual workflows, limited threat visibility, and uneven policy enforcement by implementing continuous monitoring, automated detection, and real-time responses.
This strategy not only reduces advanced attacks like as credential theft and lateral movement, but it also assures that privileged accounts are actively safeguarded.
Key Features of a Secure Privileged Access Strategy:
To develop a strong privileged access strategy, consider solutions that have the following capabilities:
- Identification and classification of privileged accounts
- Automating the detection and classification of privileged accounts provides complete visibility and monitoring. It also assists in identifying regular accounts that are being misused for privileged duties, allowing for quick intervention.
- Enforcement of Security Controls
- Applying strong security controls, such as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and access limitations, prevents unwanted access and improves privileged account security.
- Real-time Monitoring
- Continuous monitoring of privileged activity enables the detection of abnormalities and the rapid response to suspicious conduct, preventing breaches before they escalate.
- Time-Limited Policies
- Implementing Zero Standing rights (ZSP) and Just-In-Time (JIT) access ensures that rights are issued only when they are required, lowering the danger of persistent access and the attack surface.
A Security-First Approach to Privileged Access
Organizations must shift from controlling access to emphasizing security by implementing real-time enforcement and preventative measures. Strategies such as continuous monitoring, automated controls, and time-sensitive access regulations decrease risk and remove security holes, resulting in a more secure and resilient environment.
By prioritizing security in privileged access policies, organizations may better safeguard their vital assets and establish defenses against today's ever-changing threats.
Related Solutions: Privileged Access Management (PAM)
Source: The Hacker News
