Privileged Access Management (PAM) is used to protect sensitive accounts, secure critical systems, and enforce strict access controls. Organizations in all industries and of all sizes can make use of PAM to protect their most sensitive systems, accounts, and data from cyber threats, insider risks, and human errors.
PAM solutions will allow admins to better control account security through providing just-in-time access, credential vaulting, password management, multifactor authentication, session monitoring, remote access, and compliance audit reporting. By applying PAM, organizations can minimize security risks, prevent insider threats, and ensure robust access control to their critical systems.
What Is PAM?
Privileged Access Management (PAM) is the process of assigning, monitoring, and securing access to critical business systems and applications. PAM is an extension of Identity and Access Management (IAM), but with a focus on specificity. Some accounts need specific levels of access to allow the users to carry our their jobs. This may provide them with access to sensitive information, or allow them more ability to edit documents or details. Common users who require privileged access can include administrators, root users, and service accounts.
Any account that has elevated privileges will pose more of a risk if it is successfully compromised. Not only would an attacker be able to carry out any of the activities that the account is permitted, but they may be able to adjust the privileges of other accounts, expanding the scope of the attack laterally. To that end, privileged accounts need to have robust and comprehensive security protections in place.
By limiting this privileged access to the accounts that need it, you can focus your efforts in protecting the right accounts. You should enforce least privilege principles, implement multi-factor authentication (MFA), and monitoring privileged activities to detect and prevent unauthorized access.
Through proper management and securing of privileged access, organizations can reduce insider threats, prevent cyberattacks, ensure compliance, and strengthen their overall cybersecurity posture.
From An End User’s Perspective
With PAM in place, the end user’s perspective would look something like this:
- Gain access to only the permissions required to perform a job function; nothing more and nothing less
- If an end user needs access to a sensitive resource, they can request it from their IT team with just-in-time access
- User accounts can be easily provisioned, deprovisioned, and managed using PAM tools
- If an end user no longer works for an organization, privileges on their account can be revoked, reducing the risk of these flying under the radar
From an end-user perspective, PAM may initially seem obtrusive as it is essentially an added layer of security that introduces extra steps. However, it ultimately enhances security, accountability, and ease of access to critical systems.
From An Administrator’s Perspective
With PAM in place, the administrative perspective looks like:
- Enforcing the principle of least privilege
- Assigned special privileges to users automatically and then revoke them when they are no longer needed, saving IT teams time and energy
- Admins can require MFA to access sensitive resources
- In the event of an audit, IT teams can be prepared to demonstrate compliance using logs and reports of privileged activity
From an administrator’s perspective, PAM is a critical security measure. Administrators use PAM to grant, manage, and revoke privileged access to reduce risks associated with compromised credentials or insider threats. Through features such as just-in-time access, session recording, automated password vaulting, and MFA, administrators can enhance visibility, ensure compliance, and improve security.
From An Attacker’s Perspective
With PAM in place, the perspective of the would-be attacker looks like:
- Accounts with elevated privileges are far more difficult for attackers to compromise
- Attempts to attack an organization or abuse privileged accounts becomes visible quickly to the organization’s security team
- If accounts lack extra privileges, this also means that attackers have fewer points of entry / ways to pivot
From an attacker’s perspective, PAM is a significant barrier that makes it harder to exploit privileged accounts, which are often the most valuable targets in a cyberattack. PAM solutions introduce obstacles and also help security teams detect and respond to suspicious activities before an attack can progress.
Essentially, a well-implemented PAM implementation increases the difficulty, risk, and time required to carry out a successful attack, forcing them to look for easier targets.
Conclusion
Privileged Access Management is used to secure, control, and monitor privileged accounts with elevated access to critical systems, applications, and sensitive data. These accounts are at higher risk of more targeted, tailored attacks, so PAM is an effective means of preventing unauthorized access, mitigating insider threats, and reducing the risk of cyberattacks by enforcing strict access controls. By implementing PAM, organizations can strengthen their security posture, meet compliance requirements, and significantly reduce the risk of breaches associated with compromised privileged accounts.
For more information on what PAM is, how it works, or the top PAM solutions, take a look at the following articles:
- The Top Privileged Access Management (PAM) Solutions
- Privileged Access Management (PAM) Buyers’ Guide 2025
- What Is PAM And Why Does Your Business Need It?
- How To Choose A PAM Solution
- 10 Questions To Ask Every PAM Provider
