As you are already aware, privileged accounts are prime targets for attackers. Even the Data Breach Investigations Report of Verizon shows that 68% of data breaches include human errors, highlighting the risk posed by mishandling privileged access.
In such a situation, having effective privileged access governance ensures that only authorized users have access to critical resources, which reduces the chances of insider threats and human errors.
This guide will help you, whether you are a security professional looking to strengthen your access control or an enterprise leader who wants to improve an organization’s security.
Let’s check out every aspect of governing privileged access, its benefits, how it works, and the best practices for implementation.
Privileged Access Governance (PAG) is the process of managing and overseeing access granted to users with elevated privileges within the company. Privileged users have access to sensitive systems and data that standard users do not have. PAG focuses on monitoring and auditing this access to avoid misuse. While PAG works hand-in-hand with privileged access management to build a strong security framework.
PAG also aligns with Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) to ensure that access policies and user identities are well-managed and compliant. IGA offers a broader framework for handling identities and access within the company. This allows businesses to implement rules about how and when privileged access is granted and revoked.
For instance, an IT admin in a company has access to sensitive systems. Not having an effective PAG leads this IT admin to unintentionally or maliciously misuse this access and that creates concerns like security risks. PAG ensures that their access is tightly controlled and monitored with measures like multi-factor authentication and regular audits to prevent unauthorized actions.
Here is the table with all the necessary information to help you decide which one to choose from Privileged Access Management (PAM) and Privileged Access Governance (PAG).
Aspects | Privileged Access Management (PAM) | Privileged Access Governance (PAG) |
---|---|---|
Definition | Focuses on securing and managing access for privileged accounts. | Covers policies and practices to ensure the secure use of privileged accounts. |
Core Focus | Prevents unauthorized access by controlling privileged accounts. | Oversees policies to ensure compliance and minimize risk. |
Key Functionality | Controls who can access sensitive systems and data. | Ensures access aligns with governance policies and compliance needs. |
Tools/Systems |
|
|
Automation | Automates access control decisions, session recording, and access policies. | Automates governance tasks like policy enforcement, access reviews, and audit reporting. |
Example | Protects systems from unauthorized access to sensitive data. | Tracks and logs admin access to ensure compliance with internal policies. |
Compliance | Ensures access is granted based on the least privilege principle but does not directly handle compliance reporting. | Ensures that access to sensitive systems is monitored, recorded, and in line with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA. |
Real-Time Monitoring | Monitors and controls privileged account activity in real-time. | Focuses on reviewing historical access and compliance with security policies through auditing. |
SoD (Segregation of Duties) | Not directly related, but can influence role-based access decisions to minimize risks. | Essential to ensure no single user can perform conflicting tasks or hold excessive power which reduces fraud or errors. |
Now you know how both contribute to securing privileged access and ensuring compliance. While PAM focuses on controlling privileged access and preventing unauthorized access, PAG focuses on the enforcement of governance policies and compliance. With a clear understanding of both PAG and PAM solutions, let’s move to the benefits associated with governing privileged access.
Here are the benefits of integrating privileged access governance to improve your business’s security.
Governance of privileged access strengthens security by making sure no unauthorized user have access to sensitive data and systems. Businesses reduce the risk of breaches due to human error or malicious attacks by applying strict access controls. This builds a secure environment for your business with less vulnerability to cyber threats.
Regulatory frameworks like GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX demand businesses to protect sensitive data. Here, PAG ensures compliance by offering auditable access logs and detailed reports on who accesses data and for what purpose. Such a high level of visibility simplifies audits and helps businesses maintain compliance with ease.
With PAG, businesses get a centralized view of all privileged accounts which provides proper clarity on who accessed to what. This also allows businesses to maintain tight control of accounts with elevated permissions to ensure no one has unnecessary or unauthorized access.
Privileged accounts are targeted in insider threats which are either intentional or not by privileged insiders. Privileged access governance minimizes this risk by applying policies that restrict who can access critical resources and under what criteria. PAG also monitors user behavior to spot suspicious activities and trigger alerts which help in quickly addressing threats before escalations.
Privileged account governance offers tracking of privileged access by providing detailed audit trails and reports on each action taken by the user. This data proves to be valuable for compliance, internal investigations, and security assessments. Businesses easily identify anomalies and ensure full accountability for privileged access with such strong and in-depth reporting.
Third-party vendors and contractors need access to the company’s systems. Here, privileged access governance helps manage third-party access by granting only the necessary permission for a limited time. This eliminates unnecessary exposure to systems and also enables collaboration with trusted external parties.
When businesses expand, managing privileged access within multiple environments becomes more complex. In such a situation, PAG ensures scalability by adapting to evolving infrastructure that includes hybrid and cloud environments. Reliable privileged access governance software like Securden supports this type of growth by providing a flexible approach that helps scale with larger teams, new systems, and increasing security requirements.
Minimize breach risks and ensure strict access control across your systems with Securden’s Zero Trust Security Architecture.
Here is the step-by-step process followed to get effective access governance for privileged users.
The initial discovery phase ensures no critical accounts or systems are overlooked. Here are the accounts you need to take care of during this step.
When you are equipped with all this data and information, maintain a detailed inventory of privileged accounts and their associated systems to optimize further governance steps.
Now that you have identified all the privileged accounts in your company, it’s time to define the access policies and permissions. Define who needs access to what, based on their job roles and responsibilities. Also, integrating the principle of least privilege (POLP) helps you ensure that users only have the minimum level of access necessary to perform their duties. This phase reduces the risk of overprovisioned access and eliminates the risk of unauthorized users accessing sensitive systems.
Choosing the right PAG software helps efficiently manage privileged access without any extra effort. Here are the features you need to look for when looking for such a reliable solution.
Make sure you do not make decisions based on just features, you also need to check if the software adapts to your unique needs or not. This is where Securden outperforms. This platform for next-gen privileged access governance helps easily simplify and secure access control.
Securden provides a Zero Trust Security Architecture to enforce strict access controls and protect your environment. Not just this, the platform also offers just-in-time access to grant temporary access with the least privileges required.
As you are aware real-time monitoring is very effective when it comes to detecting any unauthorized privileged activity or breaches. You must integrate tools that track privileged user actions and log events related to account access. Many organizations identify and respond to suspicious behavior by constantly monitoring these activities. Also, alerts must be triggered to unusual actions like accessing systems outside of working hours or using accounts with excessive privileges.
Perform regular audits to examine the effectiveness of your PAG policies. You can also review access logs to ensure that elevated accounts are being used as per the company policies. These reviews help identify potential issues like stale accounts or improper access levels. Also, this allows you to take corrective actions before getting into security incidents.
Following this process step-by-step helps in building a secure and efficient privileged access governance framework. However, not considering this process leaves critical vulnerabilities. Without proper governance, businesses fall into issues like operational disruptions and financial losses due to the mishandling of privileged accounts.
Protect your sensitive systems, track activities, and ensure compliance with automated policies and detailed session recordings.
Here are the top practices you must follow to maintain effective privileged access governance.
Ensure that privileged accounts are constantly monitored for any suspicious activity. Real-time alerts also contributed here by detecting unauthorized or abnormal behavior that enables swift responses to security threats.
Benefit: Provides proactive security by identifying and mitigating risks in real-time.
How to Implement: Use tools that support 24/7 monitoring and configure alerts for actions outside patterns.
Regularly, implement SoD policies to avoid overlapping roles in sensitive areas like finance and procurement. Along with that, record all privileged sessions to ensure full accountability for actions taken during these sessions.
Benefit: Reduces the risk of fraud and conflict of interest by maintaining clear role boundaries. On the other hand, session recording enhances visibility and security.
How to Implement: Periodically review roles and responsibilities to ensure compliance with SoD principles. Enable session recording and regularly review these logs.
Integrating Zero Trust principles helps constantly validate all users and devices. This validation occurs regardless of their location or network before granting access to any resource.
Benefit: Reduces the risk of unauthorized access by assuming no user or device is trusted by default.
How to Implement: Apply strict identity verification and access control policies for all users and devices to ensure continuous monitoring and risk assessment.
Strengthen access security by requiring multiple forms of verification like privileged passwords combined with biometrics or a one-time code sent to a mobile device.
Benefit: Adds a layer of defense which makes it more difficult for unauthorized users to gain access.
How to Implement: Enable multi-factor authentication on all accounts with elevated access and ensure all users are trained in its use.
Access permissions must remain static. Regularly review and adjust the permissions for privileged users based on their current roles and responsibilities.
Benefit: Limits exposure by ensuring only those who need access to sensitive resources have it.
How to Implement: Schedule quarterly or annual reviews of privileged account access and ensure the process includes both automated and manual checks.
Audit privileged account activities and system vulnerabilities regularly to ensure compliance and uncover potential risks.
Benefit: Helps identify weaknesses and assess the effectiveness of existing security controls.
How to Implement: Use automated auditing tools to track and review privileged access activities and run vulnerability scans on a regular schedule.
Human error is a major factor when it comes to security breaches. Provide frequent training to employees about secure access protocols like following password management best practices and recognizing phishing attempts.
Benefit: Creates a culture of security awareness, reducing the risk of accidental security lapses.
How to Implement: Incorporate security training into the onboarding process and offer periodic refresher courses.
Create a well-documented response plan for any instances of compromised privileged accounts. Having a clear protocol ensures that your team reacts swiftly and addresses the issue effectively.
Benefit: Reduces downtime and damage by addressing breaches quickly and efficiently.
How to Implement: Assign a dedicated response team that also creates incident response guidelines and performs regular drills to test your response.
Choosing the appropriate PAG strategy helps secure your business from the risk associated with privileged accounts. Integrating a leading PAG system allows you to control who has access to the systems which also ensures sensitive data stays protected and compliance requirements are met. Not having a solid PAG plan leads your company to security breaches and costly compliance issues.
Solutions like Securden assist in protecting your privileged accounts. It simplifies access management using features like real-time monitoring and detailed auditing. The platform uses a refreshingly new approach by providing superior access governance across cloud, physical, and virtual environments. By choosing Securden, you get confidence that your sensitive data and systems are safe from internal and external threats.
If you are looking to have reliable software that helps you strengthen your company’s cybersecurity, schedule your free demo today.
Businesses audit privileged users by integrating monitoring and logging systems that help track the system’s access controls. This is done using tools like SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) to gain and analyze logs of privileged user activities in real time.
Here are the use cases of privileged access governance based on industries.
PAG integrates with AWS IAM and Google Cloud IAM by offering centralized policy enforcement for privileged access to cloud and on-premise systems. It allows businesses to map and apply their privileged access policies constantly within the environment. Integration with such tools helps businesses to use advanced cloud security features like fine-grained access control and automated policy enforcement.
PAG reduces operational costs by automating functionalities like access reviews, role assignments, and compliance reporting. This automation eliminates manual intervention and reduces the burden on IT teams. Also, it minimizes the risk of costly security breaches and compliance penalties.
Here are the tools and technologies used for privileged access governance.
Here are the common challenges faced by businesses when integrating privileged access governance.
Access permissions must be reviewed at least quarterly. If not, you must carry out whenever there are changes in job roles, project teams, or after the onboarding/offboarding of employees. Performing regular reviews ensures that permissions are up-to-date and that users only have access to the required resources.
Yes, PAG solutions integrate with various security tools like Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), and Data Loss Prevention (DLP). These integrations help offer a holistic security posture by allowing for improved monitoring and streamlined access.