Privileged Access Management: Controlling Admin Credentials

Privileged accounts, those with administrative, root, or elevated permissions, are the keys to an organization’s kingdom. Compromising a domain admin account gives an attacker the same power as an IT director. Compromising a database admin account exposes every record in the database. Eighty percent of security breaches involve privileged credentials according to Forrester Research, making privileged access management (PAM) one of the highest-impact security investments.

Why Privileged Accounts Are Targeted

Privileged accounts can install software, modify configurations, access all data, create new accounts, and disable security controls. An attacker with standard user access must escalate privileges to cause significant damage; an attacker with privileged access has immediate, unrestricted capability.

The 2020 SolarWinds breach ultimately succeeded because attackers obtained privileged access to Azure AD and used it to create authentication tokens that bypassed all normal security controls. The 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack was enabled by a compromised VPN account with privileged access that lacked MFA.

PAM Core Principles

Least privilege. Grant the minimum permissions necessary for each role. A developer who needs to deploy code does not need domain admin privileges. A help desk analyst who resets passwords does not need access to the financial database.

Just-in-time (JIT) access. Instead of standing (permanent) privileged access, grant elevated permissions only when needed for a specific task, with automatic revocation after a defined time window. An engineer who needs production database access for troubleshooting receives it for 2 hours, after which access is automatically revoked.

Session recording and monitoring. Record privileged sessions (RDP, SSH, database queries) so that all administrative actions are auditable. This deters misuse and provides forensic evidence if a privileged account is compromised.

Password vaulting. Store privileged credentials in an encrypted vault that requires MFA to access. Passwords are rotated automatically after each use. Users never see or know the actual privileged password.

Credential rotation. Automatically change privileged passwords on a regular schedule and after every use. This limits the window during which a stolen credential is valid.

PAM Solutions

Enterprise PAM platforms like CyberArk, BeyondTrust, and Delinea (formerly Thycotic and Centrify) provide password vaulting, session recording, JIT access, and integration with SIEM and ticketing systems. For smaller organizations, open-source tools like HashiCorp Vault provide credential management capabilities at lower cost.

Implementation Priorities

Start by inventorying all privileged accounts across your environment: domain admins, service accounts, database admins, cloud console admins, and network device admin accounts. Many organizations discover far more privileged accounts than expected, including orphaned accounts for former employees and service accounts with never-changed passwords. Vault the highest-risk accounts first, then expand coverage.

For the network architecture that complements PAM, see our zero trust security guide. To secure the cloud environments where privileged access is critical, explore our cloud security for business guide.

Service Account Management

Service accounts, the non-human identities used by applications and automated processes, are often the most neglected privileged accounts. They frequently have excessive permissions, never-changed passwords, and no associated human owner. A compromised service account provides persistent, often unmonitored access.

Inventory all service accounts and assign a human owner responsible for each. Rotate service account credentials on a defined schedule (PAM tools can automate this). Monitor service account activity for anomalies. Apply the principle of least privilege: a service account that reads from a database does not need write or admin privileges.

Cloud environments compound the service account challenge with cloud-native identity types: AWS IAM roles, Azure service principals, and GCP service accounts. These are often created ad hoc during development and never reviewed. Include cloud identities in your PAM program.