Endpoints have the capability to provide unrestricted and limitless access. These privileges provide attackers with the leverage they need to infiltrate vital systems within an organization. Attackers leverage endpoints to elevate privileges and gain permanent access to critical systems, which could lead to significant damage and loss.
It is dangerous to provide administrators access to all the users, third parties, and vendors as they introduce a plethora of security risks to vital assets including malware propagation, data leaks and so on. For instance, consider a situation where an organization needs to give elevated access to a third-party vendor to perform system maintenance. Giving them complete administrator access puts the organization's network at serious risk. Rather than granting complete administrator access, the organization can assign specific, time-limited access that is necessary for the task at hand. Once the job is done, privileges need to be automatically revoked and credentials of target device needs to be rotated. This approach protects vital systems without hindering operational efficiency.
In today's digital arena, endpoint security has emerged as a critical issue for businesses of all kinds. The possibility of security breaches has increased dramatically as more endpoints are added to business networks. There are certain security risks listed below that organizations must be vigilant against:
- Downloading malicious files or going to websites that have been compromised might lead to malware infestations.
- Phishing attacks deceive people into divulging private information such as passwords or bank account information.
- Stolen or weak credentials allow unauthorized access to the company’s sensitive information which can lead to ransomware attacks.
- Systems exposed to known exploits and vulnerabilities due to infrequent software updates and patches.
For companies of all sizes, endpoint security is crucial because hackers are always coming up with new ways to take advantage of endpoints, compromise networks, and steal confidential information. Effective endpoint security is even more important now that remote work constitutes a large portion of the corporate workforce. Smaller businesses tend to believe that they are too small to be targeted by cyberattacks, but it’s not always true. In fact, cybercriminals take advantage of this perception and target smaller businesses, believing they don't have adequate endpoint protection measures in place. Robust endpoint security is necessary for an organization to reduce the overall attack surface and ward off security risks.
Users are broadly classified into standard users with restricted access and administrators with extended privileges. Standard users may occasionally need to use applications that require administrator rights, such as after work hours or during an emergency. The conventional approach of handling applications that require administrator rights for a standard user usually entails giving admin credentials or increasing the user's organizational-level authority. This procedure jeopardizes system integrity and possesses serious security threats. Businesses struggle to strike a balance between the requirement for access and the necessity of upholding strict security protocols.
Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM) is a security solution focused on granting and delegating elevated access to users while adhering to the principle of least privilege. EPM solutions aim to ensure that only trusted applications can be accessed, giving the flexibility to elevate privileges when needed without interrupting user productivity.
Endpoint privilege management is made up of three main components. Privileged access management involves managing and monitoring access to sensitive devices and information. While local account management handles user accounts management on specific devices, endpoint application control prioritizes controlling and protecting applications installed on endpoints.
Privileged access management (PAM)
By limiting access to only what is required for users to carry out their job duties and applying the least privileged principle, privileged access management entails giving users necessary privileges depending on their jobs and responsibilities. Monitoring and auditing user activity is another aspect of privileged access management that helps identify any suspicious activity that could be dangerous for system security.
Endpoint application control (EAC)
Endpoint application control refers to the process of setting policies and procedures to regulate the installation, execution, and use of applications on endpoint devices. This lowers the possibility of malware infections, stops unapproved software from being deployed, and assures security standard compliance for enterprises. Organizations can reduce the attack surface and secure sensitive data from potential breaches by limiting what applications can be installed and used on endpoints.
Local account management
Local account management, as opposed to centrally managed accounts through directory services, involves managing user accounts local to certain devices or systems. This includes creating, modifying, and removing accounts and setting permissions and access controls for them. Proper local account management is crucial for maintaining security and ensuring that only authorized users have access to sensitive data on a device. It also helps in monitoring user activity and detecting any unauthorized access attempts.
Without Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM), IT departments face substantial obstacles that affect security, compliance, and operational effectiveness. Some of the crucial obstacles are listed below:
To elevate applications to standard users
Some employees in the organization have to run through a list of applications and processes requiring administrator rights to install, run, and update on a regular basis. When the employees are made standard users and denied administrator rights, the applications cannot be run.
To control the applications, present in the endpoints
Users with local administrator rights tend to install unauthorized applications or software, which opens the door for malicious hackers. This will exploit not only the endpoint but also pave the way for the hackers to move laterally through the organization.
To provide administrator rights whenever necessary
Certain users may need to perform several tasks that call for more extensive administrative rights frequently. Granting them unmonitored, uncontrolled full administrator rights will pose significant security risks.
To deal with offline scenarios
In today’s digital world, employees work from home, be on the field, and beyond the office LAN or not be connected to the internet. If the administrator rights are revoked without handling the cases, it will directly hit the productivity of the end users.
To demonstrate regulatory compliance
It is necessary to enforce certain compliance regulations such as PCI-DSS, SOX, HIPAA, NIST, ISO, GDPR, NERC-CIP, and others to avoid deliberate and inadvertent damage to critical information held within the organization.
Endpoints are the most sensitive and direct point of contact to exploit the company’s resources. Excessive privileges for users can seriously jeopardize security. Implementing an EPM system with granular application control and strict password requirements limits user privileges while ensuring they remain standard. This proactive method reduces the risks associated with unauthorized software installations and malicious activities. A privilege manager solution brings in great visibility and holds a record of every activity of an end user. When working with vendors and other third parties, it creates a safe business environment.
Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM) acts as an essential solution to relieve the burden on IT admins. By implementing EPM solution, organizations efficiently manage access controls, making sure users only receive the privileges specified for their roles. This proactive approach not only increases security but also mitigates the strain on IT teams, allowing the IT admins to spend time focusing on other strategies. Through granular access controls and automated workflows, EPM reduces the hazards of elevated access while improving efficiency. By implementing EPM, Businesses enable their employees to work safely and effectively while promoting a compliance-and accountability-focused culture.
An ideal way to manage endpoints and servers is to implement an effective privilege management tool. An endpoint privilege manager begins with implementing a set of access control policies that determine the level of privileges granted to the standard users on the endpoints. Users are enrolled either manually or imported from various directory services. Users can raise on-demand privilege elevation requests to access privileged applications with time limits. The tool continuously monitors and records the actions performed by the users and has the privilege of terminating the session when any suspicious activities are noticed. Further, the tool provides real-time monitoring and auditing facilities to track and record all the activities done by the users for compliances and forensic purposes.
An effective privilege management system should include a few aspects that you should be on the lookout for. Listed below are a few of the salient characteristics:
- Admin rights removal: Removing admin rights manually is a tedious task. With a privilege management solution, it becomes handy as the solution provides a report on endpoints and users with admin rights. You can remove excessive privileges and make the user rights standard by viewing the report.
- Policy-driven control: Installation and usage of unapproved and malicious software and applications takes a toll on the company’s security. Make sure to carefully cater access policies so that users have sufficient and least privilege access to carry out their daily tasks.
- Self-service elevation: Users can raise privilege access requests and get approval for application elevation through a self-service portal. A lightweight agent is installed on the endpoints that grants time limited access and the sessions are recorded and stored for forensic purposes.
- Access reviews, and audits: A report section in a privilege manager provides a report on ‘who’ can access ‘what’ accounts and 'who' all have access to a particular account. It captures all the activities like account creation, deletion, application elevation. You can also generate a custom report based on your needs.
- Flexible deployment: Flexible deployment options are essential for an efficient privilege management system to meet the demands of various network environments and organizational structures. This could include support for on-premises, cloud-based.
- Secure, reliable, and highly available: With its High Availability design, EPM solution should have both primary and secondary servers to provide uninterrupted access to credentials and privilege access. Provisions for periodic backup of databases and quick disaster recovery is essential. All critical data and data in transit needs to be fully encrypted.
Endpoint Privilege Managers are reliable for managing endpoint security that comes with numerous important benefits for current cybersecurity trends. A few are listed below:
- Centralized administration: With a privileged management solution, administrators can have a centralized vision over all privileged access across the organization. This allows for streamlined management and effective implementation of security measures. It also makes it possible to quickly recognize and address any possible security compromises.
- Prevents malware, ransomware: An endpoint privilege manager solution helps prevent malware and ransomware attacks by providing standard user rights and controlling application privileges, which reduces the likelihood of malicious activities and unauthorized access. It also offers real-time monitoring and notifications to identify any suspicious activity, allowing for quick mitigation and response.
- Enhance security without limiting productivity: A privileged manager solution enhances security and operational efficiency at the same time by providing granular access control, least privileges, on-demand application elevation without affecting productivity.
- Reduced workload for IT staff: IT administrators are dumped with privilege requests which make their work agitated. Carrying out such tasks manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors. A privileged manager can significantly streamline the process of managing privilege requests. This makes it possible for administrators to focus on more important tasks and manage IT systems effectively.
Completely eliminate local admin rights
Users in the organization tend to carry local admin privileges. They have access to install applications, edit or modify permissions and configurations, and provision other user accounts. The concept of least privilege is a security practice where users are given only the minimal level of access needed to perform their job tasks rather than providing them with full administrative access.
Integration
Endpoint Privilege Manager has the capability to integrate with Directory services like AD, Entra ID (Azure AD) for easy user onboarding. It also integrates with various two factor authenticators for extra layer of security and SAML based identity solutions for single sign on experience. Securden EPM integrates with Jira, ZenDesk, FreshDesk, ServiceNow, Manage Engine ServiceDesk Plus, and GLPI for managing requests.
Enforce role-based access control
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is a security tactic that limits system access to authorized individuals. In RBAC, users are assigned roles, each with associated permissions, ensuring that users have only the privileges necessary to perform their job duties and tasks.
Provide just-in time access
Just-in-Time (JIT) access gives individuals or entities access to systems, data, or resources for a set amount of time only when needed. The main objectives of JIT access are to increase operational effectiveness and strengthen overall security posture. Just in time access follows a well-defined request release controls with automatic password resets.
Application control
Granular Application Control, simply known as application control, is a method that lets you define policies and control the applications run by standard users. You can whitelist trusted applications and blacklist unsafe applications with control policies. It can also facilitate a request-access workflow, allowing users to raise access requests with appropriate reason to specific applications that are considered trusted, though they do not have administrative privileges.
Audits and compliance
Compliance and auditability are interlinked with one another by their shared focus on ensuring adherence to rules, regulations, and standards. Organizations are made to follow some compliances like PCI-DSS, SOX, HIPAA, NIST, ISO, GDPR, NERC-CIP, and others to maintain internal security. Activities made by the users need to be tracked and stored for audit and forensic purposes.
Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM) is a key component of the endpoint security measures that organizations are quickly implementing to safeguard their systems and data from cyberthreats. EPM is essential because it reduces the attack surface that hackers might exploit by restricting endpoint users' access. Ensuring that users have the minimal amount of access required to do their responsibilities reduces the possibility of malicious action or unintentional damage. EPM improves the overall security posture by continuously monitoring and modifying privileges depending on organizational policies and real-time threat intelligence. This makes it an essential part of today's endpoint security circumstances.
For businesses to protect themselves against cyberattacks, purchasing cyber insurance is vital. Cyber insurance offers financial protection against the costs of cyber catastrophes, such as data breaches, business disruptions, and legal expenses. In this sense, Endpoint Privilege Management is essential because it reduces the attack surface and possible impact of cyberattacks by restricting access to sensitive systems and data.
Two vital requirements of many cyber insurance companies include removing local admin rights for standard users and enforcing the principle of least privilege across the enterprise. Organizations can obtain premium insurance coverage by implementing these safety practices consistently and being able to demonstrate their efficacy.
A secure workstation begins with effective access management. Given the global nature of work culture, it becomes easy for malicious actors to attack vulnerable endpoints and gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. Therefore, implementing Endpoint Privilege Management Solution into your IT architecture is necessary to ensure the security of your organization's data.
Securden Endpoint Privilege Manager enhances endpoint security through effective privilege management on user workstations and devices. It helps IT admins remove local administrator rights on endpoints while managing application usage without impacting end user productivity. Additionally, it provides time-limited admin rights on demand, features on-demand and policy-based application elevation, ensures compliance, and includes ongoing monitoring capabilities.
Curb endpoint security risks with effective privilege management and robust application control.
| Challenge |
Specific Issues |
Implications for Organizations |
| Technical & Environmental Complexities |
Diverse OS/Device Support, UAC/Admin Protection Conflicts, Application Control Policy Integration,
Interactive Logon Requirements, Primary User Limitations, Unreliable File Attributes for Elevation,
Policy Conflicts, Unsupported Virtual Environments, SSL Inspection Incompatibility.
|
Increased deployment time, potential functionality issues, need for extensive testing and custom
policy creation, limited applicability in certain environments.
|
| Operational & Resource Strain |
Scalability Issues with Growth, High Initial & Ongoing Costs (Licensing, Maintenance),
Performance Degradation in Large Environments, Resource Wastage due to Complexity.
|
Budgetary constraints, need for significant IT resources, potential for system slowdowns,
reduced ROI.
|
| User Adoption & Experience |
User Resistance to Privilege Restrictions, Negative Impact on Productivity if Friction is Introduced,
Need for Extensive User Training.
|
Decreased user satisfaction, potential for security workarounds, increased help desk load
if not managed well.
|
| Integration & Visibility Gaps |
Challenges Integrating with Legacy Systems, Bridging Vendor Ecosystems, Lack of Comprehensive
Visibility over All Endpoints (especially with BYOD/Remote Work).
|
Data silos, security blind spots, manual efforts for data correlation, difficulty in achieving
a unified security posture.
|
| Policy Management Overhead |
Complexity of Defining and Maintaining Granular Policies, Lack of Customization Options for
Specific Policies.
|
Policy sprawl, administrative burden, potential for misconfigurations, difficulty in adapting to
unique business needs.
|
For EPM solutions to function effectively and provide comprehensive security, seamless integration with an organization's existing IT infrastructure is paramount.3 Key integration requirements include:
-
Identity and Access Management (IAM) Systems: Integration with platforms like Active Directory (AD) and Microsoft Entra ID is crucial for user authentication, authorization, and the implementation of role-based access control.
-
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Tools: Connectivity to SIEM systems allows for centralized logging, correlation of security events, and real-time monitoring of privileged activities, enhancing overall threat detection capabilities.
-
IT Service Management (ITSM) Tools: Integration with platforms such as ServiceNow streamlines access requests, approval workflows, and incident management, improving operational efficiency.
-
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Tools: Incorporating MFA provides an additional layer of security during privileged access requests, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access even if credentials are compromised.
-
Application Control for Business/Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC): EPM must be carefully configured to operate in harmony with existing application control policies to prevent conflicts and ensure consistent security enforcement.
-
APIs and Webhooks: The availability of flexible APIs and webhooks enables integration with other custom or third-party systems, supporting a highly adaptable security ecosystem.
#1 Enforce the principle of least privilege
- Enable only the essential minimum access to users to perform their task, avoiding blanket administrative permissions.
- Tie privileges with roles and tasks meticulously. Review and adjust privileges as roles change, curbing privilege creep.
#2 Set Role-Based Access Control
- Sketch out roles and responsibilities within the organization and map minimum required access with each role.
- Access permissions help in eliminating privilege misuse.
#3 Design and Implement Holistic Policies
- Develop detailed policies for privilege elevation, carving out who can request elevated access, when and for how long.
- Include approval workflows for privilege requests and automate policy enforcement.
#4 Integrate with Existing Security Tech Stack
- Ensure seamless integration of EPM solution with directory services (like Active Directory or Entra ID (Azure AD)), identity providers, and security tools such as SIEM and IT service management systems.
#5 Implement JIT and Time-Limited Privilege Elevation
- Ensure elevated privileges are granted only for a specific duration and task.
- Automatically revoke access after the task is performed to avoid privilege compromises.
#6 Continuous Monitoring, Auditing, and Alerting
- Monitor all privileged activities in real-time by logging and auditing privilege elevation events.
- Track sensitive actions to surface anomalies and support compliance.
- Put alerts for suspicious activities (privilege escalation outside normal operating hours, and from unusual locations or devices) on autopilot.
| Sector/Scenario |
Use Case |
Example |
| Finance |
- Enforce least privilege for employees accessing sensitive systems
- Remove unnecessary admin rights
- Maintain audit trails for compliance
- Quickly revoke privileges in suspicious cases
|
A bank uses EPM to ensure only authorized personnel can install/update financial software,
with all privilege elevation requests logged and reviewed, supporting regulatory compliance.
|
| Healthcare |
- Enforce least privilege for staff accessing EHRs and medical devices
- Time-limited privilege elevation for IT staff
- Audit all privileged activities for HIPAA compliance
- Prevent malware/ransomware by restricting admin rights
|
A hospital allows IT technicians to temporarily elevate privileges for software updates on diagnostic
machines, ensuring only authorized changes are made and all actions are auditable.
|
| Energy & Critical Infrastructure |
- Control privileged access to SCADA/industrial control systems
- Limit admin rights to prevent sabotage/misconfiguration
- Real-time monitoring of privilege escalation
- Support compliance with industry regulations
|
An energy provider uses EPM to allow engineers just-in-time admin access for critical maintenance
on control systems, with access automatically revoked after the maintenance window.
|
| Remote Work |
- Secure privilege elevation for remote employees
- Enforce security policies regardless of location
- Audit/monitor privilege use for threat detection
|
A global company uses EPM to let remote workers install necessary software updates after validating
identity and device compliance, reducing helpdesk tickets and maintaining security.
|
| Third-Party/Vendor Access |
- Grant controlled, time-bound privilege elevation to vendors
- Audit all vendor actions for accountability
- Rapidly revoke access when work is done or if suspicious activity is detected
|
A manufacturing company grants a vendor temporary admin rights to troubleshoot a production system,
with all actions logged and access automatically revoked at session end.
|
| DevOps Environments |
- Policy-based privilege elevation for DevOps tasks
- Application control for authorized tools/scripts
- Activity monitoring for compliance and troubleshooting
|
A software company uses EPM to allow developers to elevate privileges for deploying new builds
while restricting access to sensitive production systems and logging all privileged actions.
|
Zero Trust Architecture
Modern EPM solutions are built around zero trust integration – meaning that continuous verification of identities is undertaken. It also implies that strict access controls are put in place before any privilege escalation. These methods demonstrate that no user or device is trusted automatically, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access. Even within the network perimeter, no access is assumed safe, enforcing the principle of least privilege meticulously.
AI and Machine Learning Capabilities
AI and machine learning facilitate EPM solutions to discover and detect anomalous privilege usage, eventually adjusting policy enforcement. By analyzing usage patterns, suspicious elevation requests are surfaced. AI analytics helps in finding out excessive permissions and enforcing least privilege in real-time.
Cloud-Native and Hybrid Environment Support
Today, businesses are largely moving towards cloud and adopting hybrid work models. That means, EPM solutions should also evolve to maintain consistent privilege management across on-premises, cloud, and remote endpoints. For instance, Securden Endpoint Privilege Manager supports multiple operating systems, integrates with various cloud identity providers, and enforces policies regardless of device location.
JIT Access
With JIT access, users are granted access to sensitive systems for a particular duration and to accomplish a specific task. Once the task is finished, privileges are automatically revoked, thereby minimizing the window for attacks and chances of privilege abuse. These JIT accesses are often combined with approval workflows and privileged requests and usage are monitored and recorded in audit trails.
Granular, Policy-Based Access Controls
Contemporary EPM solutions provide granular, context-aware access controls, in that IT administrators define policies based on user roles, device compliance status, application context, and risk factors. The goal is to accomplish the principle of least privilege, where users gain minimum permissions for their task. This ultimately reduces the risk of lateral movement by attackers.
