21 Feb Why is it important to prioritize Privileged Access Management?
What is privileged access? In general, access refers to permission to use or access a file or image. A common user will have limited access, whereas, the administrator will have the highest access to the files.
Privileged accounts let professionals manage apps, software, and hardware. It has access to the company’s sensitive information. Leakage of such data would lead to incidences such as revenue loss or lack of confidential attributes.
Privileged access management (PAM) assists organizations to hinder access to accounts to lower the risk of sensitive information being stolen. It can reduce the exposure of enterprise to these risks. It can improve IT reliability and reducing the cost.
Importance of Prioritizing Privileged Access Management
Privileged accounts are usually under threat of cyber-attacks since it holds valuable information. Every time the user attempts to log in, authentication should be done. The access credentials are streamlined inside a shielded repository to avoid looting of login credentials. The importance of prioritizing PAM owes to the following reasons.
1. Secure Passwords
A privileged account is a door to a company’s valuable assets and hence it demands a high level of security. Multi-factor authentication protects the login attributes of privileged accounts. The admin or user’s identity verify to authenticate more than one independent credential. Adding layers of security to the credentials in the form of OTP, biometrics, response questions, etc., make it highly difficult for hackers to access the data.
2. Monitor Access
Only specific people have privileged access to the account. As a result, you can detect any unauthorized access. It gives a clear picture of who can access and who can’t, leading to the simple monitoring process. PAM also aids in detecting and alerting on malicious activity which helps in enhancing the overall cybersecurity.
3. Usage Tracker
Privileged Access Management keeps track of users who access the accounts. It’s possible to record any request for password change or update along with the user’s details. It can generate an extended report of the users along with the number of times they logged in to any application. This gives an organization a clarity on usage and security of the account.
4. Extend Privileged Access
Limiting access to the administrative account creates a big security gap and cybercriminals generally target the endpoint. By extending the access to an organization’s endpoints, the risk of eliminating the local administrative privileges, blocking login credential theft attempts and software attacks can be reduced.
Bottom Line
Having more users, apps and devices in the organizations add headache to the security team. They struggle to keep their privileged accounts and credentials visible in the cloud. Many consider privileged access as the last option of security, but it should be given high priority.
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