Privileged Access Management (PAM)

Securing privileged access

In today's world organizations must swiftly adapt to changing circumstances and technological advancements. However, this rapid evolution exposes them to ever-evolving security risks from threat actors, insider threat, credential theft or 3rd parties’ access. This risk has significantly increased with the widespread adoption of remote work and cloud-based systems. Therefore, it is imperative to take proactive measures to shield organizations from cyber threats and bolster their security posture. It's now vital to maintain consolidated visibility and control over high-risk permissions, both on-premise and in the cloud.

Privileged accounts, which often hold significant access within IT environments, are prime targets for cybercriminals. Yet, many organizations are unaware of the volume and location of these accounts and the associated risks they pose. Gaining control over these accounts is paramount for any modern security strategy. Protecting organizations against security risks requires equipping themselves and their teams with the necessary tools and knowledge to protect data and resources from threats.

Why it’s important

As the digital landscape continues to evolve and the threat of cyber attacks becomes more widespread, Privileged Access Management, or PAM, emerges as a game-changing approach by providing a risk-based, robust and all-encompassing security solution for your assets.

The key reasons why organisations are implementing PAM include:

Reduce the risk of compromised privileged accounts which can hinder business operation.
Provide insights and control over privileged accounts, credentials, secrets and users of your organization.
Increase operational efficiency and cost reduction.
Empowering regulatory compliance.
Establish asset-centric security.

How can PwC help?

PwC has vast experience in helping customers assess and design their Identity capabilities. Our team of professionals are skilled in security controls, best practices for entitlement management and PAM architecture. PwC uses accelerators, proprietary- and third party tools to achieve these goals.

PwC, a trusted advisor and implementation partner, brings expertise that extends beyond IT auditing, with extensive experience in the field of PAM and Identity & Access Management (IAM).

Approach to embed PAM in an organization

Analyse

Analyse

Assess the current state of PAM

Plan

Plan

Initiate and plan for the implementation/integration of new components, capabilities, processes application and/or endpoints

Improve

Improve

Identify and define continuous improvement processes/procedures

Design

Design

Design PAM use cases
Design PAM processes and solution
Create PAM architecture and design

Deploy

Deploy

Conduct knowledge transfer sessions
Deploy to Production
Go live

Operate

Operate

Day-to-Day operations
Monitor capability effectiveness and performance

Build

Build

Install and configure PAM solution
Build and deploy enhancements

Test

Test

Conduct QA and user acceptance testing
Execute Unit, Functional and DR Testing

Integrate

Integrate

Integrate PAM processes and standards
Integrate PAM with additional tools, such as IAM, SIEM, application infrastructure, etc.

Onboard

Onboard

Discover and create inventory of privileged accounts
Onboard applications, endpoints, and accounts

Assess and Design: Navigating a Secure Future

Our team of experts collaborates to conduct a comprehensive assessment of your current security posture. Leveraging the PwC Maturity Model for IAM and PAM, we analyse assessment data, extract key findings, and provide actionable recommendations.

Implementation: Charting your path to securing future

Our goal is to design your PAM program objectives and the target state architecture that is right for your organization. From designing a practical and comprehensive roadmap to support in choosing the right solutions, technical implementation and operation. We make it our mission to ensure that your journey to securing privileged accesses is seamless and that PAM is embedded in your organisation.

Have a peace of mind, check our managed services where we commit to sustained outcomes and continuous improvement.

Customer Identity & Access Management (CIAM) enables organisations to securely capture and manage all sources and forms of customer identity and profile data across all channels and products in a secure and compliant way. CIAM enables a consistent view of all types of external identities and increases customer engagement and loyalty while maintaining security and ensuring privacy compliance.

Workforce Identity & Access Management (WIAM) is the process of creating, maintaining, and managing digital identities as well as regulating the access of employees, contractors, partners, and things to ensure comprehensive security and effective operational control. WIAM capabilities are designed to ensure that identities are secure, compliant and consistent across different applications, systems and platforms while helping businesses become agile, safeguard themselves against data breaches and comply with privacy regulations.

Most organisations are moving towards the cloud for better scalability, improved data security, faster production and to lower operational cost. However, due to the dynamic nature of identities and account permissions in the cloud, their governance, control and management of business access to critical data prove to be cumbersome processes often hindering progress.