Imagine you live in a big house full of people (family), and everyone has access to almost every room in it. But there is one secure room that contains all your important documents and extremely valuable possessions.
The best way that you will set up a surveillance system. This is exactly why & how privileged access monitoring is necessary and also works in organizations.
What Do You Mean by Privileged Access?
An organization consists of a set of employees working together to achieve objectives. In this process, some have access to the most crucial data of the organization. This is often the most sensitive & vital information of the organization and requires some oversight when accessing it to avoid unauthorized access and threats.
The documents defined in the case of sensitivity may change from one organization to another. For example, an organization involved in monitoring human behavior may have data containing the most crucial information that underpins its operation (for data analysis). This is sensitive data that requires privileged access monitoring.
Another section of an organization that requires privileged account activity monitoring is the IT department that manages complex employee data. (Monitoring of this department is common in all organizations).
Therefore, anyone accessing the company's critical data must have "privileged access".
How does privileged access monitoring work?
Once you have clearly identified privileged access, you need to manage it effectively.
In this case, ideally, all privileged access credentials are centralized in a clear repository to reduce the risk of credentials being stolen.
In addition, these users log in to the access management configuration to authenticate themselves and successfully access applications. It is mandatory to follow this procedure every time the user tries to log in.
The offerings of a privileged account activity monitoring.
A list of all privileged accounts and information to monitor access to them.
>Create multi-factor authentication to access privileged accounts.
>Allow users to access accounts only with appropriate use.
>Create on-demand passwords and provisions to automatically reset, update and change them.
>Monitor and manage unauthorised access.
Why is privileged access monitoring important?
Privileged accounts are always targeted by cyber criminals because they contain the most valuable information available. Here's why a privileged user auditing solution is a must for you:
>Multi-layered password security
When you store your credentials under multi-layered authentication security, you verify credentials with more than two personal validations. Techniques included are OTP by email, OTP by call or SMS, biometrics, etc. to add an extra layer of security to access and make it completely uncrackable for any hacker.
>Faster response to potential threats
The security of privileged accounts is very tight with privileged access monitoring software. It allows you to detect and respond immediately to any unnecessary suspicious activity. Any data breach or cyber-attack can be prevented at all costs.
>Easy access monitoring
When only a limited number of identified individuals are given access, it is extremely easy to monitor and detect activities. It is clear who should have access to an account, which simplifies governance.
>Overview of usage
With a PAM solution, you can know who is accessing the account, the number of password changes or updates, which IPs or devices are accessing the account, and so on. You can generate a detailed and secure report on who is accessing the account. You can generate a detailed and secure report of the organisation's accounts.
Best practices for privileged access management
The decision to opt for a privileged user monitoring and audit tool is the first step in instilling the best security in your organization. However, the most important part starts afterward, when you work to deploy and manage it effectively.
Here are some awesome practices you can follow when implementing your PAM solution:
Plan and implement a workable PAM policy.
Design a workable process and plan for implementing PAM policy in your organization. You can include in this plan processes for access identification, provisioning, approval/termination processes, and other requests. You should customize the process to suit your organization's needs.
Centralize repository of all privileged accounts
Maintaining all privileged accounts in a single repository is a prerequisite in any organization. This facilitates governance. In the process, you can find many abandoned accounts and take action on them. You can dismantle them or use them to prevent unnecessary unrecognized activities on them.
Monitor HAs on a daily basis
Although HAs are secured with multiple locks, they still need to be monitored regularly for constant control and changes. This allows for a clear understanding of access and suspicious activity.
In this age of extreme cybercrime, it is imperative to stay up to date and vigilant to ensure the security of your organization. The privileged user monitoring and audit solution is the right way to keep everything secure under one roof.
PAM with extended functionality
In addition to all other functions, only Workstatus offers you extensive access control and management functions to administer and access PAMs. The system also offers personnel management, tracking, monitoring, detailed reporting, and BI in one product.
Our PAM solution offers :
>Time tracking
>Screenshot tracking
>Employee tracking
>GPS tracking
>Geofencing
>Restrictions and selective account access.