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Every day there is more news related to security incidents, affecting organizations of all types and segments. With the greater sophistication of attacks and even considering a cyber warfare context, the trend is that the number of security incidents will increase even more.

Many of these cyberattacks have various privileged credentials scattered throughout the infrastructure as an attack vector. According to Verizon, in its Data Breach Investigation Report 2021, 61% of data breaches surveyed involved privileged credentials.

Privileged credentials, administrative accounts, or superusers are some of the terms known to refer to credentials that allow administrative access, configuration, maintenance, and application of security measures in the environment by human users. It is worth remembering that in addition to credentials related to human users, there are also privileged credentials related to machines and applications, known as service accounts. Therefore, it is not by chance that privileged credentials are also considered the “Keys to the Kingdom”, precisely because of the high level of access they offer in applications and systems. And we’re not just talking about the IT environment: credentials in a finance department’s ERP system, with permission to transfer funds from companies’ bank accounts, for example, can be considered privileged and must be adequately protected against malicious or unauthorized agents and actions, which can bring great financial losses to the corporation.

Security regulations such as PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, SOX, and NIST require IT administrators to assess the privileges granted through privileged credentials. Data protection laws such as the LGPD, GDPR, and CCPA establish heavy sanctions for organizations that fail to adequately protect the personal data of their customers, suppliers, partners, and even employees.

Thus, managing the lifecycle of privileged credentials, as well as identifying, monitoring, and managing the activities carried out through them, is essential, not only to reduce cybersecurity risks and achieve compliance with security policies and data protection laws but to also ensure business continuity.

Therefore, to address this problem, there is Privileged Access Management – PAM. According to Gartner, the PAM solution involves policies, strategies, and technologies with the purpose of controlling, monitoring, and protecting from privileged access to critical resources. In addition, PAM strategies assist in the implementation of information security best practices, such as the Principle of Least Privilege, providing users with only the necessary permissions to carry out their activities. According to Gartner, by 2022, 70% of organizations will implement PAM practices for all their use cases, an increase of 40% compared to today.

Whether the company is a startup or a multinational conglomerate, the implementation of controls by PAM protects organizations against cyber threats and operational errors, in addition to bringing better efficiency in the execution of their daily activities.

Now you ask:
How and where do I start implementing the PAM solution in my organization?

To answer that question, here are 5 essential steps for your organization to manage privileged credentials and achieve compliance like a pro!

Discover privileged credentials in the environment.

In complex and heterogeneous environments, identifying assets and their privileged credentials is a challenge for those responsible for cybersecurity. There’s also a popular saying in the cybersecurity market that says it’s impossible to track what you don’t manage, and you can’t manage what you don’t know. Therefore security leaders must map and identify the devices connected in the environment and their respective privileged credentials, allowing maximum visibility of the holes that can be exploited by malicious agents to carry out their attacks.

Considered the best in class by Gartner, senhasegura’s discovery and onboarding solution has the ability to identify any type of device connected to your network, solving this step with ease and agility!

Implement the Principle of Least Privilege.

It means ensuring that all environment credentials have only the privileges necessary to complete the tasks assigned to them. This requires reviewing and removing admin access to devices in the infrastructure. In addition, it is necessary to assess the context of who needs Privileged Access, which devices and credentials, in addition to the risks involved, without causing unavailability or loss of operational productivity. In this way, by reducing or eliminating privileges, it is possible to achieve a balance between efficiency and safety.

Monitor actions performed using privileged credentials.

The security team must be able to identify possible violations or abuse of privileges, during the accesses performed, through privileged credentials. In this way, it is possible to guarantee the traceability of all actions carried out in the environment, optimizing the audit process of all operations carried out and obtaining operational gains in the incident management process.

Through senhasegura’s Privileged Access Recording feature, it is possible to minimize the risk of improper use of privileged credentials.

Identify your organization’s PAM maturity level.

Discovering your PAM maturity level drives operational efficiency within your organization. With the senhasegura PAMaturity test, it is possible to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, evaluate the technological resources already implemented, in addition to drawing a roadmap for the implementation of Privileged Access Management.

Now, take the test bellow to find out your PAMaturity level!

Implement a Privileged Access Management solution.

According to Gartner, it is impossible to properly manage Privileged Access risks without specialized PAM tools and related processes. senhasegura PAM is the only solution that covers all aspects of the Privileged Access lifecycle, helping security teams to ensure that the “Keys to the Kingdom” will be properly protected against malicious agents, among other threats.

Ensure the prosperity and protection of your organization with senhasegura, the easy, fast, and trusted way to be secure and get compliant.