Do smaller organizations need PAM?

Yes. Attackers target privileged accounts regardless of size. Start by vaulting top-tier accounts and enforcing MFA.

How does PAM align with Zero Trust?

Zero Trust removes implicit trust. PAM enforces just-in-time elevation and continuous verification of privileged actions.

Which accounts should be secured first?

Domain admins, cloud root/owner accounts, and network device administrators, followed by database and application admins.

Privileged Access Management (PAM): Controlling Your Organization’s Master Keys

Q: Is a password vault enough?

A vault is foundational but incomplete without session monitoring, audit trails, and least-privilege enforcement.

Q: How quickly can PAM reduce risk?

Immediate gains come from vaulting and MFA on critical accounts; just-in-time access further reduces the attack surface.

Every login is a potential entry point. Without identity controls, Zero Trust falls apart. And among all accounts, privileged identities are the riskiest: domain admins, root accounts, SaaS super-admins. They are the digital master keys.

Industry research confirms the risk: over 80% of breaches involve stolen or misused credentials, and privileged ones deliver the highest impact. A compromised admin can disable monitoring, exfiltrate data, and launch ransomware within minutes.

Privileged Access Management (PAM) provides the framework, processes, and tools to secure these accounts. It is one of the core building blocks of a modern IAM program and often a compliance requirement under HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS.

What Are Privileged Accounts?

Privileged access extends beyond “IT admins.” In practice, organizations should consider the following as privileged identities:

Local administrators: control over endpoints and servers
Domain administrators: full Active Directory or Entra ID access
System and service accounts: often hard-coded into applications
Emergency or “break-glass” accounts: kept for outages
Cloud root accounts: AWS, Azure, or GCP owner-level access
SaaS administrators: Office 365, Salesforce, HR and finance systems

The scope is broad. Every one of these accounts can bypass standard security controls.

Why PAM is a Priority

Security impact: Privileged accounts allow lateral movement, persistence, and full data compromise.
Compliance impact: Most major regulations require documented control of privileged access.
Business impact: A privileged breach can halt operations and trigger fines or reputational damage.

Case Study: The Colonial Pipeline attack began with a single compromised account without MFA. While not a domain admin, the lack of PAM discipline amplified the consequences.

Four Core Pillars of PAM

1. Discover and Inventory

You can’t secure what you don’t see.

Run discovery across on-prem, cloud, and SaaS systems
Identify default, shared, and hard-coded credentials
Classify accounts by sensitivity for prioritization

2. Secure and Protect (Vaulting)

Remove static, shared passwords from daily use.

Store privileged credentials in an encrypted vault
Automate password rotation on each use
Apply MFA for all admin checkouts

3. Control and Monitor

Record and supervise all privileged activity.

Route sessions through a proxy for RDP, SSH, and web consoles
Capture video and keystroke logs for auditability
Intervene in real time if sessions appear malicious

4. Enforce Least Privilege (Just-in-Time Access)

Standing admin rights are high risk.

Grant elevation only when required, for minutes or hours
Integrate access approvals into ITSM workflows
Automatically revoke privileges after use

Implementation Roadmap

PAM is rarely deployed overnight. A phased approach is more sustainable:

Quick Wins: vault root and domain admin accounts; enforce MFA
Expand Control: onboard server, database, and SaaS admins; start session monitoring
Mature Program: enable just-in-time elevation; integrate PAM logs into SIEM for continuous monitoring

Choosing a PAM Solution

Look for features aligned with Zero Trust and compliance:

Secure vaulting with automatic credential rotation
Session monitoring and recording for RDP/SSH/web sessions
Just-in-time workflows integrated with ITSM
Directory and SIEM integrations
Deployment flexibility: on-prem, cloud-native, or hybrid

Compliance Alignment

GDPR: accountability for personal data access
HIPAA: audit trails for healthcare records
PCI DSS: strict controls over accounts with cardholder data access
SOX: separation of duties for financial systems

PAM helps demonstrate compliance by showing control, monitoring, and accountability over privileged accounts.

Bottom Line

PAM is not only a security best practice but a regulatory and business safeguard. By discovering accounts, vaulting credentials, monitoring activity, and enforcing least privilege, organizations reduce risk dramatically.

Every control should reduce both risk and friction. PAM, when done right, does exactly that.

FAQ: Privileged Access Management

Q1. Do smaller organizations really need PAM?
Yes. Even with a handful of admins, attackers target privileged accounts first. Lightweight PAM options are available for SMBs.

Q2. How does PAM relate to Zero Trust?
Zero Trust removes implicit trust. PAM enforces this by eliminating standing admin rights and requiring continuous verification.

Q3. Is a password vault enough?
A vault is the foundation but not the whole strategy. Monitoring sessions and enforcing least privilege are equally important.

Q4. Which accounts should I secure first?
Start with domain admins, root accounts, and cloud owner accounts. Then expand to application and database admins.

Q5. How quickly can PAM reduce risk?
Vaulting and enforcing MFA on top-tier accounts provides immediate protection. Expanding into just-in-time access strengthens long-term posture.

Continue your IAM mastery with our guides on Least Privilege and SSO.
Back to IAM Guides

No post found!