This approach involves protecting activities performed before, during, and after privileged access.
With the constant advancement of technology, cybercriminals are also refining their methods and carrying out more sophisticated attacks. Many of these attacks involve the exploitation of privileged credentials used to access organizations’ data and resources. In this sense, it becomes useful to invest in Privileged Access Management (PAM), ensuring identity protection and cybersecurity. However, you may be wondering: how to implement the complete privileged access lifecycle and ensure identity-based security.
We have prepared this article to provide that answer. Here you can read about:
- What is Privileged Access Management?
- Why is it important?
- How to protect the privileged access lifecycle end-to-end?
- Conclusion
What is Privileged Access Management?
Privileged Access Management (PAM) consists of strategies adopted by companies of all sizes and sectors to prevent cyberattacks and unauthorized access to confidential data, which can cause harm to organizations. With privileged credentials related to machines and human users, administrators can make changes to applications, devices, and systems. In recent years, their use has significantly increased due to the adoption of new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and 5G internet. However, its use involves risks, as users can abuse their privileges, which should be restricted. Moreover, the dismissal of an employee requires caution: their permissions must be revoked promptly to prevent malicious activities against the organization. Another issue to consider is the use of privileged credentials by malicious attackers seeking to infiltrate systems to steal or destroy data.
PAM can help combat these threats by protecting administrative credentials used by leadership positions and IT administrators. According to Gartner, managing risks in privileged access is virtually impossible without specialized PAM solutions, which enable increased cybersecurity and visibility while reducing operational complexity. Through PAM, each user receives only the permissions necessary for their activities, reducing the attack surface and the potential destructiveness of an invasion. Moreover, PAM allows centralizing access management so that users don’t have to memorize multiple passwords or store them in risky ways. PAM also enables security managers to monitor the actions of privileged users in real-time, facilitating compliance with security standards and ensuring security, even in cloud-based environments. This solution also allows identifying unauthorized activities that could compromise the future of companies.
Why is Privileged Access Management important?
People pose significant threats to the digital security of companies, as organization employees can cause risks by abusing their privileges. Additionally, cybercriminals seek to infiltrate privileged accounts to steal valuable information. In this sense, PAM is important because it limits users’ access to what is necessary for their activities and allows information security personnel to identify malicious actions associated with the use of privileges to counteract them. There has been a recent increase in the number of machines and applications requiring privileged access, increasing the need to adopt PAM.
Solutions like cloud computing and the Internet of Things are particularly challenging to monitor, as they may require access to various parts of the network. Additionally, endpoints and workstations are also exploited by intruders who want to steal credentials and elevate privileges to move laterally through the network. However, PAM allows the removal of local administrative rights on workstations, reducing risks and ensuring compliance with cybersecurity standards.
How to Protect the Privileged Access (PAM) Lifecycle End-to-end?
To protect privileged access, it is important to adopt a three-step approach. This allows protecting the entire lifecycle, i.e., activities performed before, during, and after privileged access. However, we emphasize that before implementing specialized security solutions, it is necessary to determine processes related to privileged access and to train people. In this sense, our recommendations involve three steps. Check them out:
#Step 1 – Before Privileged Access
The first step is to map and identify all devices connected to the infrastructure and their credentials, which may require significant effort from those responsible for digital security in companies. This is because it is impossible to track what is not managed and manage what is not known. However, by discovering and managing these assets, it is possible to provide total visibility and reduce the gaps found by intruders to gain unauthorized access.
#Step 2 – During Privileged Access
In this second step, activities performed during privileged access are addressed, including their management according to the privileges of previously granted credentials. This way, actions performed during access are monitored by the security team, ensuring that, in the case of cyber incidents, they can be resolved and notified within the deadlines required by data protection laws, in addition to meeting audit criteria.
#Step 3 – After Privileged Access
The third step of the lifecycle is related to verifying all activities performed using privileged credentials, through specific tools. These resources allow the administrator to assess violations or abuses of privileges in actions performed in the previous steps and track these actions, facilitating incident response and audit processes.
Conclusion
In this article, you have learned that:
- Malicious agents exploit privileged credentials to steal or destroy data and resources from organizations;
- To ensure identity protection and cybersecurity, it is recommended to invest in PAM;
- PAM encompasses strategies adopted by companies to prevent cyberattacks and unauthorized access to confidential data, which can cause harm to organizations;
- The use of privileged credentials involves risks, as users can abuse their privileges;
- With the dismissal of an employee, it is necessary to revoke their privileges in advance to prevent retaliation;
- Hackers also leverage privileged credentials to access companies’ IT infrastructure;
- Through PAM, each user receives only the necessary permissions to perform their actions;
- PAM also allows security personnel to monitor the actions of privileged users in real-time;
- PAM enables the removal of local administrative rights on workstations, reducing risks and ensuring compliance with cybersecurity standards;
- To protect privileged access, a three-step approach should be adopted, covering activities performed before, during, and after privileged access.
Article written by the senhasegura team, learn more at www.senhasegura.com.