How Privileged Access Management Solutions Safeguard Against Cyber Threats

In a digital world, the most important thing you can do for your most private data and information is to ensure it’s safe from all outside threats, especially cyber threats. As more and more people get access to powerful hardware, hacking has become easier and more prominent than ever, which means you’ll have to fend off attacks from multiple angles in some cases, but with the right preparation and with privileged access, you may be able to prevent this issue from ever occurring.

1. Vaulting

One of the ways that privileged access management solutions have changed the scope of cybersecurity is by allowing the people in charge to vault all of their important data at the press of a button. To keep a company running at full efficiency, some sensitive information needs to be shared with a lot of people, including account information and passwords that are stored on servers. These passwords are often easy to get to, and if they’re breached, your accounts could be in the hands of thousands of people, but, with access monitoring solutions, you can instead “vault” the passwords you have stored by encrypting them rapidly, even reversing the encryption whenever you or someone else needs access to that information. 

2. Access control

Elevation control is perhaps the key feature present in most access monitoring programs because of how essential they are to businesses and the safe operation of most software. The basic principle of this is that all accounts, including admin accounts, are not given admin permissions including making sweeping changes on servers, adding or deleting files, or even making major edits, except for when there’s clearance. When clearance is given, these accounts are “elevated” so they can perform administrative actions, and after these actions are performed, the account is demoted again – this prevents hackers from making any major changes to a server even if they breach an account because that account will not be elevated by the access managing software. 

3. Monitoring

One of the core tenets of cybersecurity is that attacks are quick and attackers are often well-prepared, which is why continuous monitoring is so important. This kind of monitoring ensures that businesses are able to keep an eye on all of their users, devices, and accounts, keeping an eye out for breaches and backdoors that hackers can use to get your data. Monitoring ensures a rapid response, too, which means if your information gets leaked, you’re able to deal with it promptly and control the damage. 

4. Segmentation

The system of selective elevation and preventing accounts from being able to make major changes in a network unless strictly allowed means that most accounts are segmented in a network. Segmented accounts are separated from the central network using a few barriers, and, more importantly, if they’re ever breached, hackers are not able to get into the other accounts on the network, which means an attack won’t be able to spread laterally, and your data will remain secure as you’re able to contain a breach quickly. 

5. Auditing

Auditing is an important process outside of finances, too, since auditing the actions your company’s accounts are taking is a great way to boost security and ensure you’re spotting all irregularities. Access management software helps with this process since every account is integrated with this piece of software, allowing it to generate automated reports that you can access at any time if you want to check your network’s security and how likely it is to get breached. Once you have a detailed report of what the accounts in your company are doing, you present it to government institutions, too, which will allow you to comply with regulations much faster.

Conclusion

Every major business in the world has shifted the bulk of their operations to the digital front, where important data like bank details, payments, and identities are stored on private servers. These servers, however, are vulnerable to attacks if they’re left alone, which is why cybersecurity should be a top priority of yours if you’re in the same boat. If this kind of security is a priority for you, privileged access may be the best way to move forward.