Cybersecurity has transitioned from being a luxury to an absolute necessity for businesses. As the internet integrates further into our daily work-life routines, we're witnessing a surge in incidents where businesses fall prey to ransomware, phishing attacks, and other data breaches. 

Cyberattacks are not only on the rise but are also evolving into more sophisticated and cunning forms. As Stan Wisseman aptly mentioned in a recent blog, “In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, it's crucial to stay ahead of the curve and be vigilant as threat actors evolve their attacks to exploit weaknesses in us as humans, our procedures and technology.” To protect your business's digital assets, you must take a proactive, informed, and adaptable approach.

One common technique hackers still use today is called a “lateral movement”. Hackers will use an initial privileged account to move laterally through a system, raise the privileges of other accounts, and ultimately gain access to a highly privileged account. Privileged Access Management is a cybersecurity framework designed to manage, control and secure access privileges of users, and systems within your organization. Its primary focus is on privileged accounts and elevated permissions, which, if misused or compromised, can pose significant security risks.

This is where NetIQ Privileged Account Manager (PAM) comes in.

NetIQ Privileged Account Manager operates as the guardian of your digital realm, enabling you to govern and oversee administrative access to your servers, networks, and databases, all while preserving the confidentiality of sensitive access credentials.

Below, are some common use cases for NetIQ Privileged Account Manager (PAM):

1. Effortless Credential Management: One of PAM’s most notable features is in its efficient management of privileged credentials. Whether it's for users, applications, or databases, you can effortlessly discover, securely store, and oversee these credentials from a user-friendly console. This streamlines the process, providing IT managers with a hassle-free solution.
2. Session Surveillance: PAM also serves as a vigilant observer of user sessions. With capabilities such as session recording and keystroke logging, it facilitates the verification of privileged accounts and users. This means you can keep a watchful eye on your system, a critical component for early detection of suspicious activities and mitigating risks in the future.
3. Streamlined Integration: Simplifying the management of privileged access to accounts, applications, data, and systems is a key strength of NetIQ. Having an all-in-one, centralized platform makes this process convenient and efficient for IT managers, streamlining operations.
4. Intelligent Risk Management: PAM goes a step further by integrating risk-based intelligence. It analyzes the risks associated with privileged credential activities, allowing for streamlined enforcement and reporting. In essence, PAM adds an additional layer of protection to your digital assets, and your overall security posture.

NetIQ Privileged Account Manager stands out as a robust and comprehensive solution, perfectly suited for addressing the distinct access control requirements of modern businesses. Its capabilities extend beyond traditional security measures, enabling organizations to efficiently manage and protect their digital assets.

Here's a closer look at some of NetIQ’s key access control capabilities:

1. Expanded Authentication and Authorization: PAM seamlessly extends Active Directory (AD) authentication and authorization policies to non-Windows and cloud resources, ensuring a unified security approach across your environment.
2. Precision in Access: It assists in distinguishing between identities that possess domain-level access to Active Directory or Microsoft Exchange and those who only require a subset of access rights for productivity, streamlining resource allocation.
3. Protection Against Elevated Access Attacks: PAM plays a crucial role in safeguarding your resources from potential threats aimed at exploiting elevated access privileges.
4. Risk Identification and Management: It excels at identifying, managing, and reporting on access rights for individuals or entities that pose the highest risks to your organization, enhancing threat mitigation strategies.
5. Securing Privileged Credentials: PAM offers robust security for privileged credentials, while also providing adaptable controls to strike a balance between cybersecurity and compliance requirements and operational and end-user needs.
6. Mitigating User Risks: PAM enables you to manage and control access for users who may pose harm to your organization, whether intentionally or unintentionally, ensuring that access is both secure and appropriate.
7. Context-Based Access: With PAM you will be able to determine and grant access based on various contextual factors, such as who is requesting access, what resources are being accessed, when the access occurs, where it originates, and historical access patterns. This comprehensive approach strengthens your security posture by tailoring access to the specific context.

Integrating NetIQ Privileged Account Manager into your cybersecurity strategy provides you with the essential tools to protect your business's digital assets effectively. Its ability to streamline credential management, facilitate session surveillance, and provide intelligent risk management positions it as a vital ally in your ongoing battle against cyber threats.

For more information about our NetIQ Privileged Account Manager and other IAM solutions please contact us here.

Our extensive IAM services encompass workforce and customer identities, delivered through NetIQ's IAM comprehensive platform. NetIQ covers Identity Governance and Administration, Access Management, Privileged Access Management, and Policy Orchestration. Together, they provide a holistic, secure, and all-encompassing solution for identity and access management, ensuring that authorized individuals gain access to the necessary resources and systems.