PAM for Cyber Insurance | Securden Unified PAM

Rising cyberattack costs demand a sound cyber insurance plan

Cyberattacks can prove to be a costly affair. According to Cybersecurity Ventures estimates, cybercrimes are set to cost IT organizations globally $10.5 trillion by the year 2025. With another cyberattack just around the corner, organizations running for cover have found a silver lining in cyber insurance. However, with soaring Cyber insurance costs, organizations are compelled to demonstrate a solid overall security posture that includes robust privileged access security practices to ensure adequate coverage at affordable rates. This has made it difficult to qualify for cyber insurance and good policies without having top security controls.

Position your organization to qualify for cyber insurance - by maintaining top security controls

Cybersecurity insurance, also called cyber liability insurance or cyber insurance, aims to reduce the financial risks associated with various online activities and cyberattacks. The insurance policy transfers some of the risks to the insurer.

In general, cyber insurance policies are designed to cover the cybercrime costs associated with damage and destruction of data, theft of intellectual property and business data, and lost productivity due to disruption to the business. In addition, expenses related to forensic investigation and restoration of hacked data and systems are also covered.

The dynamic and fluctuating nature of cyber risks means a lack of data for the insurers to formulate necessary risk models. Therefore, insurers have set stringent security requirements for organizations before rolling out an insurance cover. The requirements revolve around various forms of network security, data privacy, data backup, cybersecurity awareness, MFA, email security, and endpoint protection measures, among others.

Privileged access management - A fundamental requirement

With a vast majority of cyberattacks reported to be happening due to stolen credentials and misuse of privileged access, Privileged Access Management (PAM) has turned out to be one of the major prerequisites for cyber insurance cover. The lack of a robust PAM strategy could result in the outright rejection of requests and policy renewals.

With digitization all around us, the increasing volume of business applications and interconnected devices are opening up vulnerabilities that cyber criminals could exploit, leading to full-blown attacks. Cyber insurers recognize PAM as an effective tool in safeguarding your network and protecting sensitive data.

Meet key PAM requirements or lose approval

With more than 80% of attacks involving passwords, keys, tokens, certificates, and other credentials, insurers have set tight evaluation guidelines in their approval process. The guidelines are very stringent regarding protecting and managing privileged account credentials and access. Some of the critical aspects of the insurer's assessment related to PAM include

Identifying and controlling potential risks

Maintaining hardware and software inventory - Consolidating and securing all privileged account credentials of both human and machine identities
Deploying multi-factor authentication (MFA) for securing admin and other privileged accounts

Monitoring and detecting risks

Regulating and monitoring privileged account usage to defend against malware
Monitoring, recording, and securing remote access and establishing a zero-trust network access model
Auditing all activities and generating real-time, actionable alerts and reports

Protecting sensitive assets

Enforcing and automating password management best practices at all levels
Ensuring tight internal access controls to protect your assets and detection of unusual behavior
Removing unnecessary standing privileges and securing endpoints
Eliminating local administrator accounts and enforcing the least privilege principle

Having a disaster recovery system

Having a protected backup of business data, passwords, and other credentials.
Having continuous access to critical passwords with a highly available architecture

Organizations are required not just to adopt these practices but also to prove that these practices are strictly followed. Otherwise, they may not qualify for cyber insurance or result in limited and expensive coverage.

Securden Unified PAM equips organizations so they can secure cyber insurance approvals

Securden Unified PAM is an all-in-one solution, housing all aspects of privileged access security. It helps organizations ensure security best practices and land a sound cyber insurance plan. Unified PAM helps organizations meet insurance guidelines with aspects covering all requirements of access security.

Privileged Account/Access Management

Establish a central repository for all your organization's privileged accounts and credentials. Manage privileged accounts from a secure vault and granularly share access with your users and third parties.

Password Best Practices

Implement password best practices, including periodic password rotation, enforcing a password complexity based on policies, and generating strong passwords.

Manage Privileged Sessions

Allow users to launch secure one-click access to remote IT assets. Monitor and record all privileged session activity, and get detailed reports.

Manage Endpoint Privileges

Eliminate local administrator rights in Windows endpoints & servers. Elevate applications and enforce least privilege across your organization. Allow users to access applications even when they are offline with access codes.

Vendor Access Management

Manage access to vendors and third parties who interact with sensitive data in your organization. Record all their access details and integrate them with a SIEM solution to obtain actionable insights.

Comprehensive Audits and Reports

Track and trace all privileged activity, accounts, and access to organizational data. Audit all actions carried out by users in your organization and generate detailed reports.

Unified PAM effectively safeguards your network, secures access to data, and protects against cyberattacks. This effectively mitigates the primary risks that cause breaches and demonstrates a strong cybersecurity posture. Giving insurers the confidence to grant cyber insurance approvals.