Privileged Access Management (PAM)

Privileged access refers to elevated permissions that go beyond standard user rights — such as root/administrator accounts, domain admin credentials, service accounts with broad permissions, and database superuser accounts. Privileged accounts are the primary target of attackers because compromising one can provide control over entire systems, databases, or network infrastructure. Managing these accounts securely is the goal of Privileged Access Management.

According to Forrester Research, 80% of security breaches involve privileged credentials. Once an attacker gains a privileged account, they can: disable security controls, exfiltrate all data, create backdoor accounts, and deploy ransomware across the entire network. Without PAM controls, organizations often have hundreds of privileged accounts with shared passwords that never change, no audit trail of privileged actions, and no mechanism to revoke access quickly during an incident.