Privileged access management (PAM) secures critical accounts and credentials that attackers target to compromise entire systems. By removing standing privileges, enforcing just-in-time access, vaulting passwords, and monitoring sessions, PAM reduces risk and streamlines compliance. Netwrix Privilege Secure, Password Secure, and Endpoint Privilege Manager deliver a unified PAM solution that protects identities, supports zero trust security models, and provides visibility across cloud, endpoint, and on-premises environments.
Within IT environments, only privileged accounts have the administrative access required to view and modify sensitive systems and data. Because of these escalated rights, privileged accounts warrant special attention. If adversaries or insider threats are able to compromise these accounts, they can leak sensitive or confidential data, alter key system controls, or attempt to take control of your entire server.
As a result, effective management of all privileged accounts is an essential part of an organization’s larger security posture, with several compliance standards mandating specific protections over privileged access. Indeed, privileged access management (PAM) is especially crucial in today’s cloud-driven workforce, where most organizations will have hundreds or thousands of accounts with privileged access—many of which may not even be linked to a human user.
Managing this vast number of accounts manually with tools such as spreadsheets or text documents is not only ineffective but highly dangerous for your security posture. With so many accounts to oversee on top of a staggering amount of other regular security tasks, IT professionals will be prone to making errors during manual entry or overlooking vulnerabilities during this process, stretching teams farther while only reducing security efficiency. Fortunately, these efforts can be vastly simplified by implementing privileged access management tools.
This article will discuss how you can effectively safeguard your privileged accounts with privileged access management solutions and monitor their use to spot improper behavior. We will also provide an overview of the leading privileged access management services available and explain the essential capabilities to look for when choosing a tool.
Why Privileged Access Needs Reinvention
The evolving threat landscape is creating new challenges for privileged accounts, with adversaries developing more and more exploits to take them over and gain unfettered access to an organization’s resources. By overtaking even a single account with privileged access, cybercriminals can leak sensitive data and severely damage your organization’s security posture, resulting in lengthy audits, compliance-related fines, reduced public trust, and increased cyber insurance premiums.
To prevent attackers from infiltrating these accounts and accessing your most sensitive data (and potentially seizing control of your entire system), it’s critical to implement robust automated privileged access management solutions to enforce adequate controls.
That’s where Netwrix Privileged Access Management comes in. With a comprehensive interface offering centralized control of access rights and privileges, Netwrix helps secure privileged access before attackers have a chance by eliminating standing privileges, controlling passwords, and providing visibility into every session.
What Is Privileged Access Management (PAM)?
Privileged access management (PAM) is the discipline of managing credentials that provide privilege elevation to access systems or data, such as accounts that can be used to configure applications or read or modify sensitive information. Privileged accounts include accounts assigned to human users, like admins, and non-human accounts, like service accounts.
Core PAM processes include identifying who has privileged rights, ensuring that no one has more access than necessary, and tracking the actions of privileged users in real time to detect unusual or high-risk behavior. By combining these principles, PAM helps reduce the attack surface by preventing general-purpose accounts from having excessive access to sensitive data while better protecting administrator accounts that require elevated access.
PAM enforces the principle of least privilege for each account, making it an essential part of the zero trust security model and other modern security methods that verify accounts with minimal default trust. PAM also supports just-in-time access principles, allowing for cases where additional access may be needed but always thoroughly verifying the requesting account to prevent breaches and mitigate threats more effectively.
What Constitutes Privileged Access?
When defining accounts with privileged access, it’s important to first clarify what parts of your IT environment should require administrative permissions to view or modify. Typically, this includes actions such as configuring systems, accessing sensitive data, or provisioning users.
However, a PAM platform should also restrict access to server environments with confidential files, other endpoints within the environment, or critical system applications. Any sensitive areas of a cloud environment constitute high security and should be safeguarded with more restrictive access controls.
Endpoints are often overlooked in PAM strategies. Netwrix Endpoint Privilege Manager enforces least privilege on endpoints by dynamically elevating commands, controlling RBAC, and validating Group Policy settings. This reduces the risk of malware, ransomware, and insider misuse while maintaining user productivity.
Types of Privileged Accounts and Credentials
In general, a PAM solution must manage two types of privileged accounts: human privileged accounts and non-human accounts. Human privileged accounts are distinguished from non-privileged accounts by their privileged credentials.
Human privileged accounts
Human privileged accounts are the server’s local and domain accounts with elevated access and management privileges. The most obvious examples are the accounts administrators use to install, configure, and manage critical systems and infrastructure. These will typically belong to administrative users such as managers, technical officers, and executives in the organization who require regular access to confidential information.
Non-human accounts
Service accounts are also often granted elevated permissions and must be included in the scope of PAM. Non-human accounts with privileged access are used by services and applications that require access to sensitive files and data for their operations. These may include APIs, service accounts, bots, and, increasingly, IoT devices. They are often used for automated efforts such as supporting cloud workloads or enabling robotic process automation (RPA).
Privileged credentials
Privileged credentials are the data that designate privileged accounts as having elevated access. These credentials can include privileged passwords for human and non-human accounts, SSH keys for server access, or DevOps credentials (often called “secrets”).
Since these credentials grant accounts significant privileges, they are among the most critical assets to protect with robust security management software. Netwrix Password Secure goes beyond vaulting and rotation by enabling MFA enforcement, secure team password sharing, and secrets management for DevOps environments — ensuring credentials remain secure, compliant, and usable across all teams.
Why Poor Privilege Management Creates Risk
Accounts with privileged access are prime targets for adversaries, since compromising a single account can provide access to sensitive data or even compromise the entire server environment.
Often, these accounts become a security threat due to poor privilege management. One of the most common errors is overprovisioned access or granting an account more privileges than it needs to perform its duties. In many cases, these privileges remain simply because they were granted and never reviewed.
Orphaned privileged accounts, created when their original owners leave the organization, are equally vulnerable because adversaries can exploit them with little risk of detection. Accounts that use shared passwords are another weak point, allowing adversaries to gain multiple entry points into your server by compromising only one set of credentials. User accounts that cannot be reliably audited also present a major risk, since any accounts the IT team cannot catalog represent parts of the network that cannot be monitored.
These obstacles exacerbate the need for robust privileged access management software to help IT professionals consistently grant just-enough access across your server. With Netwrix, you continuously discover, visualize, and manage all privileged accounts — eliminating hidden risk and granting peace of mind with a comprehensive view of your network’s security.
How Privileged Access Management Works
PAM is a straightforward model to implement, and privileged access management software typically secures an organization through a step-by-step process.
Here’s how a standard PAM onboarding process will work:
- Discover privileged accounts: The platform scans your network to find all privileged accounts.
- Replace persistent accounts with zero standing privileges: The software adjusts privileged access controls to ensure elevated privileges are not automatically retained.
- Approve just-in-time access: Based on specifications provided by IT professionals, the system determines when to grant just-in-time access and how to verify users.
- Record and monitor sessions in real time: The platform will begin taking real-time usage data to facilitate future audits.
- Revoke access after task completion: When an account no longer needs access to sensitive resources, privileges are automatically revoked to reduce the attack surface.
- Automatically generate audit reports: The software maintains a comprehensive record of account activities and can create audit reports on demand with minimal input from IT professionals.
However, to reliably launch all of these steps, it’s key to choose truly comprehensive privileged access management software. Netwrix Privilege Secure eliminates standing privilege and delivers JIT access without deploying agents or changing your infrastructure. It further enhances security with VPN-free remote access, privileged task automation, and the flexibility to integrate with your existing vault — ensuring a seamless fit into your current stack.
Core Capabilities of a Modern PAM Platform
Choosing an effective PAM platform requires key security features that are non-negotiable for establishing robust access management. However, the best privileged access management software will offer additional features that can extend your solution’s utility even further, going beyond the essentials to optimize your overall security posture.
Essential
Key capabilities to look for in any privileged access management software include the following security features:
- Role-based access control (RBAC) to give every user exactly the access they need
- Privileged credential vaulting to protect how your organization escalates privileges
- Just-in-time access enforcement to provide trusted users with privileged access
- Session and keystroke logging to record activity and simplify audits
- MFA and Zero trust controls to maintain an organization-wide security posture
- Audit trails and real-time alerts to give IT professionals the data they need to resolve incidents and demonstrate compliance
Without these core capabilities, a PAM platform will be unable to effectively secure your privileged accounts and credentials and will likely only add to your SOC team’s workload.
Netwrix Differentiators
While the features above are critical, they represent only the essentials to look for in worthwhile privileged access management software. With a more robust solution like that from Netwrix, your organization will also gain access to additional features designed to further simplify your PAM efforts and enhance your overall security stack.
Additional features that Netwrix solutions provide include:
- Zero standing privileges to enforce consistent access controls with no surprises
- Dynamic elevation of commands without full admin rights to grant effective just-in-time access enforcement
- Secure, VPN-less remote access for safe protocol management anywhere, anytime
- Automated compliance and audit reporting to ensure your organization is always ready to demonstrate compliance
- Fast deployment that delivers value quickly, with a full set of PAM capabilities
By incorporating this added control into your security, Netwrix privileged access management solutions offer protection beyond the basics for a more robust and reliable PAM setup.
PAM vs. PIM vs. IAM
Privileged access management (PAM) is only one part of managing privileged accounts and protecting sensitive data from improper access. Other key aspects include privileged identity management (PIM) and identity and access management (IAM).
While PAM and PIM are related, they address different aspects of privileged accounts. Privileged identity management solutions focus on managing the identities of privileged users and ensuring that they have appropriate permissions based on their roles and responsibilities within the organization. In other words, PIM is concerned with the access rights users possess before they attempt to use them.
Conversely, PAM deals with actively managing privileged access and privileged activity in real-time. It controls user interactions with privileged resources by handling access requests, granting access to perform specific tasks, overseeing privileged sessions as they occur, and removing privileged access when the task is complete.
Meanwhile, identity and access management (IAM) is the broader discipline of managing all identities in the IT ecosystem, ensuring access rights align with the principle of least privilege and monitoring access activity.
PAM is a subset of IAM focused specifically on high-risk accounts with elevated access to vital systems and sensitive data. Some modern PAM solutions provide just-in-time (JIT) privileged access, allowing temporary elevation of privileges only when needed.
| Purpose & Features | |
| Privileged Access Management | Controls access in real-timeJust-in-time elevationSession recording |
| Privileged Identity Management | Focuses on privileged usersDetermines who has privileged access and how it may be usedControls the user authentication process |
| Identity Access Management | Manages access controls for all users in an organizationControls user access to sensitive data |
Best Practices for Implementing PAM
Implementing PAM properly requires preparation and strategic planning. Here are some key strategies and best practices to help ensure your PAM implementation is a success:
- Discover all privileged accounts
- Enforce least privilege and just-in-time access
- Replace shared accounts with ephemeral identities
- Use MFA and RBAC
- Monitor and terminate high-risk sessions in real time
- Leverage Netwrix automation for password rotation, access approval, and alerting
By following these steps, you can implement a strong and consistent privileged access management policy across your organization, reducing the attack surface and easing the IT team’s workload.
PAM and Compliance: How Netwrix Simplifies Audits
With Netwrix, maintaining and demonstrating compliance is easier than ever thanks to comprehensive and fully customizable capabilities, real-time policy enforcement, and robust support for access certification.
Beyond helping you develop and enforce consistent protections, Netwrix products feature constant activity logging within a centralized database to track ongoing account activity. With these automatic records, Netwrix software provides pre-built audit trails that enable teams to quickly deliver tailored audits on request.
Netwrix solutions are designed to support audits against major regulations, including:
- HIPAA
- PCI DSS
- SOX
- ISO
- NIST
With this simplified approach to audits, Netwrix helps your organization demonstrate consistent compliance and maintain an effective security posture, which not only builds public trust but also supports cyber insurance eligibility to protect your organization financially.
Netwrix PAM Solution: Unified Protection for Modern Environments
Netwrix Privileged Access Management is designed to help organizations manage all elements of their PAM policy more effectively. This unified platform includes:
- Netwrix Privilege Secure:
- Generates ephemeral accounts to protect against lateral movement attacks
- Enables JIT access with automatic revocation
- Supports session logging across the network and all endpoints
- Netwrix Endpoint Privilege Manager:
- Enables dynamic command elevation
- Enforces role-based action control (RBAC) for endpoints
- Netwrix Password Secure:
- Secures privileged credentials in an encrypted credential vault
- Automates password rotation
- Supports MFA enforcement across all relevant end devices
With these integrated solutions, organizations can reduce standing privileges, control credentials, and gain real-time visibility across endpoints, cloud, and on-premises environments.
Choosing a PAM Solution: What to Look For
The best privileged access management software offers various features for multiple use cases. When evaluating PAM solutions, consider whether they provide the following key capabilities:
- Zero standing privilege architecture: The solution should remove elevated privileges as soon as they are no longer needed, preventing standing privileges.
- Secrets and password management: Consider how the solution protects your privileged credentials, as they represent a prime target for adversaries.
- Session recording and alerting: Look for a solution with monitoring and recording features to track how privileged credentials are used, immediately block access to sensitive information and resources, and hold individuals accountable for their actions.
- Fast deployment and low TCO: Ideally, your privileged access management software should be quick to implement at a low cost of ownership to deliver as high an ROI as possible.
- VPN-less remote access: Look for a solution that can be accessed securely without requiring the additional management needs of a VPN.
Netwrix includes all core capabilities in one package — no hidden costs, no bolt-on modules.
Implementing PAM in Your Organization
Launching new access management protocols across an organization may seem daunting, but the right planning and privileged access management solution can make all the difference. As you begin implementing PAM on your network, consider the following steps:
Plan
Inventory all privileged accounts to identify who has access and to what extent. Considering your specific compliance needs, determine how to most effectively align these accounts with your organization’s security.
Execute
Begin implementing your organization’s PAM policy, starting with your most critical assets and ending with your least important data. Deploy Netwrix PAM tools in parallel with existing tools to support both security efforts.
Optimize
As your privileged access management software operates, continuously monitor its collected data to identify vulnerabilities and incrementally improve policies. Use analytics to refine access levels and achieve just-enough access for all accounts across the network.
Privileged Access in Modern Environments
For many years, organizations had to secure only on-premises environments. The rapid migration to the cloud has expanded the attack surface and blurred traditional network boundaries. Accordingly, any effective PAM solution must now secure access to cloud-based resources, including infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and software-as-a-service (SaaS) environments.
In addition, the proliferation of IoT devices has introduced new privileged access points that must be managed and secured without a built-in UI. These devices often have default or weak credentials, making them attractive targets for attackers. Other key challenges include the sheer number and diversity of devices, which increases the need for automated credential management at scale.
Another relevant trend is the adoption of DevOps methodologies that accelerate software development cycles and increase automation. This has led to a rise in non-human privileged access, such as service accounts and application-to-application passwords. PAM solutions must be able to manage these dynamic environments by providing Just-in-Time access and integrating with CI/CD pipelines to ensure security without impeding agility.
Netwrix secures privileged access across all environments, with flexible deployment options and integrations for SIEM, IAM, and CI/CD.
PAM is most powerful when combined with complementary Netwrix solutions such as ITDR for detecting identity-based threats and DSPM for reducing sensitive data exposure. This gives organizations layered protection against modern attack vectors.
Conclusion: Why Netwrix PAM is Built for the Modern Enterprise
Netwrix PAM solutions provide a comprehensive set of features to automate and refine privileged access management, helping organizations reduce their attack surface and mitigate risk.
Netwrix Privileged Access Management solution goes beyond vaulting privileged credentials by providing IT teams with a unified interface to manage and monitor accounts. With controls designed to reduce the risk of privileged account compromise, Netwrix helps maintain business continuity and supports compliance efforts. With real-time alerts and audit trails included, Netwrix software also simplifies demonstrating compliance with automated report and audit generation.
With its support for JIT access and automatic rights revocation, Netwrix PAM software offers inherent support for zero-trust models and stringent account verification. Since the solutions provide elevated access securely without requiring VPNs, they are an ideal fit for session management in remote, hybrid, and on-premises environments.
Discover how Netwrix can help eliminate privileged account sprawl, reduce breach risk, and simplify compliance, all in one platform.
FAQ
What makes Netwrix different from traditional PAM tools?
Rather than being limited to vaulting privileged credentials, as many other privileged access management solutions are, Netwrix Privileged Access Management Solution enforces comprehensive PAM controls across your entire network. Netwrix automatically eliminates standing privileges, enables Just-in-Time access, and creates privileges only when needed, immediately revoking them after use to reduce lateral movement attack surfaces. Whether you’re developing your PAM policy, need a simpler way to enforce it, or just want an easier time auditing your network, Netwrix Privileged Access Management Solution offers automated tools to support your IT team.
Can Netwrix help us meet compliance audits faster?
Absolutely. By continuously logging network activity across your servers, Netwrix provides ready-made audit trails to quickly generate reports demonstrating compliance with any major regulation, including HIPAA, PCI, ISO, NIST, and more. The software generates reports automatically according to your required setup so that IT teams don’t have to set aside regular tasks to complete the audit.
What is zero standing privilege, and why does it matter?
“Zero-standing privilege” is the protocol of removing persistent access privileges for user accounts, ensuring they do not retain excess privileges after they are needed or used. This methodology is key to effective Privileged Access Management and reducing your attack surface, especially from lateral movement attacks, as enforcing zero-standing privileges better prevents adversaries from accessing your network via a privileged user account.
Does Netwrix support cloud and remote work use cases?
Netwrix offers support for cloud and remote work use cases right out of the box, without needing a VPN. Using Netwrix Secure Remote Access, administrators can provide just-in-time access secured by multi-factor authentication (MFA), revoking access rights once the user no longer needs them. This approach ensures that any user can temporarily gain the access they need without expanding your attack surface or requiring additional IT upkeep.
How long does it take to deploy Netwrix PAM?
Netwrix Privilege Secure takes around 20 minutes to deploy, and the entire solution can be deployed in under a day. Netwrix software seamlessly integrates with your existing security stack to further streamline installation and better support your overall security posture.
