Privileged Account Security Handled with PAM

Privileged access management (PAM) is the solution your organization needs to manage all accounts and ensure privileged account security.

Privileged Account Security Handled with PAM

The continual increase in cyber-attacks across all sectors has prompted many enterprises to boost security. While many organizations focus on external threats like email phishing and ransomware, privileged account threats are also a serious problem.

According to Forrester Research, 80% of all security breaches involve privileged credentials. These breaches could originate from an internal user with malicious intentions or an external user who stole the credentials. Organizations need to have a robust privileged access management (PAM) solution in place to prevent these security breaches.

80% of all security breaches involve privileged credentials.

What are Privileged Accounts?

Privileged accounts are the powerful admin accounts that exist within an organization that have the non-restrictive access to maintain the IT infrastructure. The accounts may be owned by internal teams or external teams hired to monitor and maintain IT systems and equipment. Access to these accounts allow users to manage and deploy everything IT related in the organization including but not limited to:

• Operating systems
• Network devices
• Applications
• Industrial control systems
• IoT devices

Privileged account credentials are extremely valuable to cybercriminals who use them to gain access and manipulate systems as internal actors.

Due to their unparalleled level of access, credentials for these accounts are extremely valuable to cyber-criminals. This is why maintaining privileged account security is an important component of overall protection for your organization.

Challenges in Privileged Account Security

Many elements of enterprise organizations are constantly changing and evolving. Between new devices, applications, technology, and employees, the security landscape is always shifting. Everything must be highly monitored to comply with regulations, but this can be difficult to manage with so many accounts.

For many organizations, the easiest way to ensure users have access to the systems they need is to freely give privileged access as reasonably requested. Unfortunately, they rarely have systems in place to:

• Revoke privileged access when no longer required
• Restrict the activities of the privileged users to appropriate activities
• Record the activities of the privileged users to hold them accountable
• Prevent sharing and/or theft of the credentials

This leaves your organization vulnerable. Hence the 80% figure cited above.

When organizations have too many privileged accounts they leave their organization vulnerable to attack.

Organizations need a system that enables them to:

• Grant appropriate system access to users as needed
• Quickly grant and revoke access as responsibilities change or employees leave
• Ensure that passwords are safely protected in a vault
• Fully audit all account activity
• Centrally manage access across multiple systems

Privileged Access Management

Privileged Access Management (PAM) is the solution your organization needs to manage all accounts and ensure privileged account security. By having a centralized system with customizable permissions for every user, your IT team can easily manage privileged accounts to provide the minimum access required to get the job done.

PAM is typically comprised of three main components:

• Session Manager: track the actions of all privileged users in your organization. Having an unalterable audit trail makes it easier for organizations to meet compliance regulations and improves behavior by the simple virtue of employees knowing it’s in place.
• Password Vault: keep all passwords in one secure location that prevents end-users from having access to root passwords, helping further protect your organization in case credentials are stolen.
• Access Manager: ensures privileged account security by providing a single point of access for accounts. Super admins have the ability to add, modify, or delete users quickly based on changes in responsibilities or employment.

PAM makes it easy to ensure privileged account security.

PAM helps defend your organization against internal and external threats. By using PAM to centralize your privileged account security operations, you can further protect your organization from damaging data breaches.

The WALLIX Solution

WALLIX’s comprehensive Privileged Account Management solution provides your enterprise with the security tools you need to ensure privileged account security. Our straightforward architecture integrates with your existing security solutions, is adaptable, and deploys quickly. The intuitive UI makes it easy for administrators to monitor activity and look out for potential threats. Unalterable audit trails monitor account activity for future review and use in compliance reporting.

Easily monitor, manage, and audit all accounts with WALLIX.

Your WALLIX PAM solution helps you, monitor, manage, and audit all accounts throughout your organization’s extensive IT infrastructure. Protect your organization from threats with advanced privileged account security from WALLIX.

Contact us for more information about our solution or to schedule a demo!