Privileged access management, or PAM, is the practice of controlling, monitoring, and securing elevated accounts and administrative access. It matters because privileged credentials can unlock critical systems, sensitive data, and security controls if they are abused or stolen.
What is Privileged Access Management (PAM)?
PAM focuses on the accounts, sessions, secrets, and workflows associated with high-impact access. This can include domain admins, root accounts, cloud admins, service accounts, privileged application credentials, and emergency access pathways.
Strong PAM reduces the chance that powerful accounts remain overexposed, shared, weakly monitored, or easy for attackers to misuse.
What PAM Controls Commonly Include
Common PAM capabilities include credential vaulting, session recording, just-in-time access, approval workflows, password rotation, privileged session monitoring, and tighter control over standing admin rights.
PAM vs. Least Privilege
Least privilege is the principle of minimizing access broadly. PAM is a focused control domain for managing high-risk privileged access specifically. PAM often helps organizations implement least privilege more effectively for administrators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is privileged access such a major target?
Because one privileged account can let attackers disable defenses, access sensitive systems, create persistence, and move quickly through an environment.
Does PAM only apply to human admins?
No. It also applies to service accounts, application secrets, automation credentials, and other non-human identities with elevated power.
