While there's an ever-increasing incidence of cyber threats, today, most organizations embrace the Zero Trust security framework, hoping that no user, device, or system operating inside or outside the network is trusted by default. However, one of the crucial foundational pillars of establishing Zero Trust is Privileged Access Management, also known as PAM. It can be considered as a significant security control that regulates and monitors access to some of the most sensitive resources of an organization.
The Growing Need for Zero Trust
As remote working
and cloud-based services are growing fast, the need to rethink traditional perimeter-based security models is also happening. According to Gartner,
within three years, nearly 60% of all enterprises will replace their
traditional VPNs with Zero Trust architecture. This model is based on the
principle of "never trust, always verify," meaning that authentication,
authorization, and continuous verification must happen on each user's or
device's identity before access to sensitive resources can be granted.
Actually, privileged
accounts—administrator-level accounts with higher privilege levels—are one
of the primary attack vectors for cybercriminals. In fact, according to
Forrester Research, 80% of security breaches include privileged credentials;
thus, a ready-made target for malicious actors exists within privileged
accounts. PAM plays an important role here in the zero-trust paradigm.
What is Privileged Access Management (PAM)?
Privilege access
management is a collection of tools and best practices designed for securing,
controlling, and monitoring privileged access to critical systems. Solutions to
privileged access management ensure that users with elevated rights of
access-that is, IT executives, administrators, IT staff gain access to
only what's absolutely needed for them to do their job and for as little time
as necessary. It also provides real-time monitoring and recording of privileged
sessions to detect suspicious activity so that an effective response can be
framed.
How PAM Supports Zero Trust
1.
Granular
Access Control: PAM limits the scope of access for privileged users. For instance,
enforcing the principle of least privilege will ensure that users only have
access to exactly what is required in their roles, which limits the attack
surface and reduces damage whenever an account is compromised.
2.
Multi-factor
Authentication (MFA): The PAM solution includes multi-factor authentication, meaning that
users are required to prove their identity so they can access the privileges.
This makes it even more difficult for the attacker to mimic privileged users
and conceal their activities in the event of stolen credentials.
3.
Session
Monitoring and Auditing: Privileged sessions should be monitored in real-time; therefore, if any unusual activity occurs, which is considered to be a
breach of security, then it's essential to know them right away. PAM allows the
organization to audit every action that users undertake, keeping a record of it
and thus, holding them accountable.
4.
Just-in-Time
(JIT) Access: PAM can provide access of users to privileged accounts, only for a
time-bound period, which greatly reduces the window of opportunities given for
unauthorized access. Aligns with zero trust philosophy: reducing persistent
accesses to critical systems
5.
Automated
Threat Detection: Automated detection of threat through PAM solutions by continuous
monitoring of privileged access behavior, so they can automatically flag and
respond to such activities, like login times, anomalies, location-based
anomalies, or unauthorized attempts at accessing certain systems.
The Statistics Behind Privileged Access Risks
·
In Verizon's Data Breach Investigations Report for 2023, 61% of all
breaches involve credentials, and privileged accounts remain the most targeted
for hackers.
·
Centrify’s PAM survey shows that 74% of organizations using PAM have
experienced decreases in security incidents related to unauthorized access.
·
Cybercrime damages will reach $10.5 trillion globally in the year 2025,
Cybersecurity Ventures stated, and privileged credential protection is key to
preventing such costs.
PAM: A Crucial Layer in Zero Trust Adoption
Even with the best
strategies for Zero Trust, organizations can immediately fall without proper
management of privileged accounts. PAM ensures that only the right people have
access to critical systems-and even those right people are continuously
verified. As organizations invest in modern security architectures,
implementing PAM is no longer optional but necessary.
Integrating PAM into
a Zero Trust framework helps alleviate pressures for businesses battling
insider threats, compromised accounts, and credential abuse, leaving that much
more challenging work to would-be attackers within the exploitation of
privileged access. The result is a more secure, resilient infrastructure better
equipped to face the evolving nature of threats.
How Privileged Access Management Helps State
and Local Agencies
Presently, state and
local agencies are constantly under growing cyber threats, especially those of
privileged accounts. Privileged Access Management is one of the strongest
controls against insider threats, to secure remote access and, therefore, would
imply compliance with FISMA or HIPAA regulation. PAM repels ransomware attacks
by maintaining strict controls over who has access to privileged accounts.
Also, there is activity monitoring. Multi-factor authentication is integrated.
This is directly applied to the Zero Trust policy and further strengthens the
security of critical infrastructure.
This cost-effective answer boosts security
with a reduced risk of operation.
How Government Agencies Enforce Privileged
Access Management
Privileged Access
Management in government agencies is enforced through several key strategies
that enhance security and protect sensitive data. They use RBAC and, based on
the least privilege principle, make sure that user IDs can access only
those systems and data necessary for their respective roles. Agencies require
Multi-Factor Authentication for all privileged accounts. Multiple verification
steps must be completed before accessing information. Furthermore, PAM tools
are used for continuous session monitoring and recording, thus enabling the detection of real-time suspicious activities and keeping a full audit trail.
Agencies also follow the Just-in-Time (JIT) Access approach, which provides
temporary access to privileged accounts for limited periods. This is because an
agency can avoid unauthorized access by revoking privileges after use. Regular
audits and compliance checks are conducted to verify compliance with security
regulations and whether or not there is a possibility of security
vulnerabilities. Using the above approaches, government agencies can
effectively grant privileges to administer and establish access controls.
Therefore, the risk of a breach of sensitive information will be minimal, and
adherence to compliance will be guaranteed.
Conclusion
As threats continue
to evolve, forward-thinking organizations are looking to a new security model:
Zero Trust. With this architecture, Privileged Access Management remains
critical to ensure that an organization's most sensitive information and
systems are protected. It does this by controlling monitoring and securing
privileged accounts, which would improve security posture, reduce attack
surface, and execute the core components of the principles of Zero Trust.
Privileged access
management solutions by ESDS are built with compatibility in mind for use in
conjunction with Zero Trust architectures and provide advanced features of
granular access control, session monitoring, and multi-factor authentication.
Therefore, with ESDS PAM, organizations can reduce the risk from privileged
accounts by making access safe and monitored for only authorized users who
access critical systems.
However,
organizations that aren’t using PAM as part of their Zero Trust strategy expose
themselves to substantial risk since the number of cyber-attacks on privileged
credentials is increasing. The statistics above illustrate the way in which
proper use of PAM - especially by providing solutions such as ESDS's Privileged
Access Management - can make all the difference in reinforcing security and
making Zero Trust a plausible and practicable strategy for long-term defense.
Visit us: https://www.esds.co.in/privileged-access-management
For more information, contact Team ESDS
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