Many legacy Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions are still very manual regarding what they do and how they manage user access and permissions. They are geared toward the human administrator or designed for the data center, making them inadequate for complex and dynamic cloud-hosted infrastructures. Such traditional solutions cannot support large-scale cloud transformation initiatives requiring a modern PAM approach with automated and context-aware access controls.
As we shift to the cloud, our approach to PAM needs to be redefined to protect access to the cloud and workloads within the cloud. A “lift and shift” of a legacy PAM product to the cloud is not a secure or scalable option. You need a cloud-ready PAM solution to secure your organization and stop identity-related attacks, the leading cause of data breaches. A modern cloud-native solution comes with the inherent benefits of cloud applications―unparalleled scalability, high availability, ease of use, and low total cost of ownership.
You invest in modern infrastructure and application development tools. Shouldn’t you invest in a modern PAM solution designed for the cloud or hybrid environment to protect it?
When we say “Privileged Access Management in the cloud,” we’re talking about SaaS—PAM as a service. PAM for the cloud, on the other hand, is about how you’re going to use a PAM solution to manage and secure access to systems and services that reside in the cloud.
Let’s dive into these five benefits of a modern PAM solution that’s purpose-built for the cloud to help you streamline access management and boost operational efficiencies.
1. Modern PAM solution is built for the cloud
Doing a lift and shift of legacy server PAM products into virtual machines in the cloud does not change the underlying architecture; what is required is a modern PAM as a Service solution. A modern PAM solution can reduce the complexities and risks through cloud-native security controls. As your infrastructure evolves and grows, you might have new projects in the private cloud, or new virtual private clouds, each with their own workloads in the same cloud provider, or your workloads in different cloud platforms or complexities introduced due to a merger or acquisition.
With a cloud-ready platform, you can quickly bring them into your PAM ecosystem with centralized policy management and strict access and privilege controls. Invest in a modern PAM solution built specifically to accommodate Hybrid IT models that grows with your business. Using a new PAM solution does not mean that you have to throw away your existing technology investments, a modern solution provides the necessary integrations with leading IT service management software to protect your investments.
2. A seamless experience for all users
One of the biggest reasons PAM projects fail or stall is the inconvenient user experience. Improving user experience for all users is essential for a secure digital business. A modern PAM solution can improve the speed and accuracy of providing access for the right users at the right time and with just enough privileges. With quick deployment and regular and automatic updates, the modern SaaS-delivered PAM solution provides a holistic identity security platform across all applications and systems accessible from anywhere.
Delinea's modern Server PAM solution is much of a productivity tool as it is a security tool. The ability to administer access to thousands of Linux and Unix servers more efficiently and effectively provides a seamless administrative experience and presents substantial cost savings for an organization. Customers avoid a complicated and protracted IT project to deploy PAM software and supporting infrastructure on-premise and the ongoing cost of maintenance and operation.
3. Enhanced operational efficiency
A seamless experience will result in operational efficiencies. Still, it is essential to know that managing privileges in the cloud is highly challenging because the scale is so large. Defining access policies, managing access lifecycle, and auditing all privileged access becomes even more complicated in a multi-cloud environment. Complexities introduce security gaps, and that's precisely what threat actors are looking for.
With a modern PAM solution, you can centralize access control policy administration and provide users with a single UI to access all managed resources. Empower your security and IT teams to quickly access a range of accounts and manage privileged access, optimize day-to-day operations or during time-critical instances such as active cyber-attacks. Simplified user management and administrative experience give our customers greater efficiency in controlling access to their mission-critical workloads in the cloud.
4. Higher identity assurance at all touchpoints
To sufficiently verify who (or what) a requester is, it is critical to implement MFA at depth for more robust identity assurance. Legacy approaches to MFA that rely exclusively on static rules that require manual care and feeding don't cover all the bases. The static approach forces everyone to follow similar rules under all circumstances and fails to measure risk accurately.
A modern cloud-ready PAM solution supports risk-based MFA using modern machine learning algorithms and behavioral analytics to carefully examine a privileged user's behavior and identify "anomalous" or "non-normal" (and therefore risky) activities. An adaptive authentication method is device, location, and user behavior aware. It adapts to the risk level, unlike standard, one-size-fits-all authentication elevation. Delinea’s Server PAM solution supports MFA capabilities from the simplest of authenticators to the most advanced and aligns with NIST Authenticator Assurance Level 2 or 3.
5. For security and compliance in the cloud
Security and compliance concepts apply equally to human and machine identities in the cloud and on-premise. Invest in a modern cloud-ready PAM solution for a more proactive approach to identity management by consistently enforcing access policies across the hybrid infrastructure to avoid security gaps. Never assume that the cloud provider’s default security controls can completely protect your data in the cloud and help meet specific compliance and regulatory requirements.
A comprehensive and modern PAM solution not only provides the right users just-in-time and just enough access to critical data, servers, and applications but also provides end-to-end monitoring and reporting to identify abuse of privilege and quickly thwart attacks. You can prove regulatory compliance with a detailed audit trail and video recordings that capture all privileged activity and meet the growing cyber insurance requirements.
Cloud-ready Privileged Access Management (PAM) is vital to your cyber defense strategy. Invest in a reliable and scalable SaaS PAM solution as part of your multi-layered approach to cloud security.
Check out our webinar A Hybrid Cloud Approach to Server Privileged Access Management to learn about the role modern PAM plays in safeguarding your hybrid cloud assets and driving down risk.
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