PAM stands for Privileged Access Management and is a system that manages and controls users' access to privileged accounts and resources. It provides an added layer of security by ensuring user authentication and authorization, as well as access logging and monitoring.
Why is it needed?
PAM is critical to organizations’ security and compliance. It helps prevent unauthorized access to privileged accounts and resources, ensures user identity and access are compliant with internal policies and external regulations, and creates audit trails for accountability.
Here are some specific benefits of using a PAM solution:
• Prevents insider threats: By controlling who has access to privileged accounts and resources, PAM mitigates the risk of insider threats, such as data theft or sabotage.
• Protects sensitive data: PAM gives organizations the ability to implement access policies based on user roles and permissions, making sure only authorized individuals are allowed to access sensitive data.
• Improves compliance: With PAM, organizations can prove that access to sensitive data is granted only to authorized users, and that access activities are properly logged and monitored.
• Streamlines management: PAM solutions automate tedious manual processes such as tracking and revoking users’ access rights, creating a streamlined privileged account management process.
For more information, you can check out this article for a detailed overview of PAM: https://www.cyberark.com/resource-center/whitepaper/understanding-privileged-access-management/
