Privileged Access Management

Privileged access management (PAM) refers to maintaining and safeguarding accounts within a system with special access to sensitive data. Privileged users can take various forms, from trusted high-security company managers to IT contractors who can access necessary data. Delegating data management responsibilities to privileged accounts can be crucial to a company function, but multiple users with data modification capability can also increase the risk of privileged account login capabilities falling into the wrong hands.

In recent years, the "privileged account management" concept has broadened and is now more commonly referred to as "Privileged Access Management." This shift recognizes securing privileged account passwords to verify the identity of the user or service accessing the account is one part of the equation. Equally important is controlling what actions user or service can perform once access is granted, making this a critical aspect of any comprehensive PAM solution.

Hackers commonly target the application server by gaining access to privileged accounts. Without a plan to manage their security, access to server data from bad agents can slip under the radar. Unlike exterior threats, internal threats from privileged accounts can be difficult for malware inhibitors to detect. Due to privileged account threats, companies need a comprehensive, centralized way to observe and adjust privileged accounts—or to quickly disable them in the case of a suspected security breach.

The PAM tools in SolarWinds SEM can assess security threats by monitoring the server data audit for discrepancies and changes. On detecting unusual data points, the PAM tool can shut down suspicious privileged accounts and automatically remove privileged access. SolarWinds PAM tools can use alert systems to notify of potential compromise.

PAM solutions are important security mechanisms for organizations to defend against external and internal cyberthreats. PAM isn’t only responsive—it’s also preventative. An effective PAM program establishes a policy based on the “principle of least privilege.” This means admins only extend users the minimum privileges they need to do their jobs.

For instance, users may have read-only access to sensitive data or be unable to view sensitive data. Admins can use PAM software to help minimize cybersecurity risk by generating reports on the privileged programs accessed by each user in the system. Hence, if a privileged user isn’t using their privileged responsibilities, their privileged status can be downgraded or revoked.

Best practices for PAM include:

• Utilize IT security management tools
  Secure your environment against privileged account attacks. Malicious actors often exploit security vulnerabilities or use cyberattacks to gain user credentials, potentially allowing them to access valuable company information.

• Monitor privileged accounts continuously
  Continuous monitoring of who makes changes on the company server—covering everything from financial records to customer data—helps ensure privileged accounts operate as expected.

• Leverage PAM tools for activity monitoring
  PAM tools can send alerts when certain configurable thresholds, which may indicate security threats, are met.

• Maintain privilege-specific audit trails
  Compile privilege-specific audit trails to keep detailed records of privileged account activity.

SolarWinds SEM is an extensive security program that monitors and centralizes logs across your network, compiling audit trails on user activity and behavior to help flag suspicious patterns and prevent data breaches. The SolarWinds PAM tool is included in SEM and doesn’t require a separate installation. The PAM feature leverages in-depth, automated data monitoring to help you better detect security threats, with the ability to enable real-time responses to unusual behavior. Use SEM to gain insight into user groups and permissions to easily implement effective privileged account settings.

The SEM PAM feature enables admins to integrate with Active Directory easily, allowing them to set privileged user access and gain insights into current privilege account operations.

Configuring SEM to monitor and check for privileged accounts is simple. You can create rules for event, user-defined, directory service, time, and connector groups. You can easily add domain users or local users to a group and remove them quickly if needed.

Related Tools:

• SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted and SolarWinds Security Observability
• Access Rights Manager
• Patch Manager

Related Features:

• File Integrity Monitoring Software
• Firewall Security Audit Tool
• Firewall Security Management Software
• SQL Server Audits
• Information Security Risk Management
• Event Correlation Software