Traditional privileged access management (PAM) solutions tend to be still very manual when it comes to managing user access and permissions. Because they are geared towards a human administrator or designed for the data center, they are unsuitable for complex and dynamic infrastructures hosted in the cloud. Executing large-scale cloud transformation initiatives that require a modern PAM approach with automated and contextual access controls cannot be accomplished with traditional, admin-centric, manual privileged access management solutions. With the increasing shift to the cloud, organizations need to redefine their PAM approach to continue to effectively manage and secure access to the cloud and the workloads that reside there.
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1. Smooth And Lossless Implementation Thanks To Extensive Integrations
Moving traditional PAM products to virtual machines in the cloud does not change the underlying architecture. Still, it requires a modern PAM-as-a-Service solution that can reduce the complexity of the cloud with cloud-native security controls. This is all the more important as the infrastructure in companies is constantly evolving and growing. New projects take place in the private cloud and public or virtual private clouds – each with its workloads with the same or different cloud providers.
A cloud-enabled platform can quickly integrate these into the existing PAM ecosystem with centralized policy management and fast access and authorization controls. Investing in a solution specially developed for hybrid IT models can quickly grow with the company makes sense. Contrary to what is sometimes assumed, using a new PAM solution does not have to mean that previous technology investments have become obsolete. Instead, a modern solution provides the necessary integrations with leading IT service management software to continue to benefit from legacy investments.
2. Greater Usability
One of the main reasons for the complete failure or annoying delays in implementing PAM projects is a poor user experience. If solutions are too complex to provide and operate, or if they mean additional time and resource-intensive work for the workforce, they will find it difficult to accept them. Corporate security ultimately suffers from this user-unfriendliness because employees will try to circumvent complex, user-unfriendly access controls. Modern SaaS PAM solutions are therefore characterized by uncomplicated deployment and automatic updates.
Also, they offer a holistic identity security platform for all applications and systems that can be easily accessed from anywhere. In this way, companies avoid a complicated and lengthy IT project to deploy PAM software and supporting infrastructure on-site and benefit from seamless access control. Because access to privileged accounts and data can be granted with maximum speed and accuracy according to a least-privilege principle, without interrupting work processes and restricting user productivity. Are IT teams able to
3. Increased Operational Efficiency
The management of authorizations in the cloud is a significant challenge simply because of its enormous scope. In addition, defining access policies, managing the access lifecycle, and auditing all privileged access in a multi-cloud environment is not easy. This complexity often leads to security gaps that play into the hands of cyber attackers.
With this in mind, organizations must rely on a PAM that allows them to centralize management of access control policies and provides a single user interface for access to all managed resources. This is the only way for IT and security teams to quickly access various accounts and manage access rights to streamline day-to-day operations and quickly address time-sensitive operations such as cyberattacks. The efficiency of controlling access to business-critical workloads in the cloud can thus be sustainably increased.
4. Fraud-Proof Of Identity Thanks To Adaptive MFA
To ensure robust, fraud-proof proof of identity, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is now essential. However, traditional MFA approaches relying solely on static and manually maintained rules fail because they never cover all requirements. Instead, the static approach forces each user to follow similar rules under all circumstances but does not allow for accurate measurement of risk.
Cloud-enabled PAM solutions support risk-based MFA by leveraging modern machine learning algorithms and behavioral analytics. This way, privileged behavior, i.e., everyday actions and tasks usually carried out within the system, is carefully analyzed, and abnormal or potentially harmful activities are identified simultaneously. An effective adaptive authentication method is device-, location- and user-behavior-dependent and adapts to the respective risk level, unlike one-size-fits-all standard authentications.
5. Simplified Proof Of Compliance Thanks To Continuous Monitoring
Security and compliance requirements apply equally to human and machine identities in the cloud and on-premises. However, compliance with them often poses challenges for those responsible. To consistently enforce access policies across the hybrid infrastructure, avoiding security breaches and thus being compliant, it is advisable to implement a proactive approach to identity management. In particular, this means not assuming that the cloud provider’s standard security controls fully protect the data in the cloud and help meet specific compliance requirements or legal regulations.
This is where compliance officers benefit from PAM solutions that ensure authenticated users have just-in-time access to critical data, servers, and applications and also offer end-to-end monitoring and reporting to quickly identify abuse of permissions to recognize and quickly repel attacks. Compliance can be demonstrated with a detailed audit log and video recordings capturing all privileged activities and meeting cyber insurance requirements.
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