Building toward a Zero Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA) starts with Protecting Privileged Credentials through PAM

In today’s cloud, mobility, and IoT-driven perimeter-less environment, customer and corporate data simply can’t be firewalled off to keep it safe. The pandemic added further complications, accelerating digital transformation and the consumerization of technology, with the majority of the workforce working from home.

Legacy security technologies are quickly giving way to software-driven, identity governed, policy-based, and analytics-focused capabilities that keep bad actors out, while allowing the right people in. However, for this environment to work efficiently and effectively, it requires stringent controls. It also requires discipline and deep technology expertise.

It’s a difficult and daunting challenge to corral privileged credentials within an environment that has many security vendors and diverse technologies. It requires the integration of enterprise applications located on-premises and within diverse cloud environments. It also requires legacy systems and cloud-based services to be accessed seamlessly, no matter where users are located. To support privileged accounts, there is a growing need for a secure foundation with a cohesive, unified, and user-friendly platform.

Creating a zero trust framework for enterprise protection

Zero trust is a security strategy focused on not trusting any source inside or outside an organization. Rather, it requires users and devices to authenticate themselves before access is granted to any network, system, or application.

Zero trust, trusts nothing and no one. Beyond the obvious technology challenges, a zero trust environment must not put more friction into the access process for users. Doing so only prohibits business, and limits user productivity.

To enable zero trust, various technologies, like multifactor authentication, identity and access management, and privileged access management are deployed to verify a source’s identity before granting access. Once access is granted, there are limitations on where they can go, and what they can do. This is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that necessitates all systems to be continuously monitored. For zero trust to be successful, it requires knowledge of, and visibility into, all of the organization’s networks, systems, and applications.

Privileged account credentials for admins and other super-users are housed within a centralized secure repository, or vault. Isolating privileged account credentials reduces the risk of unauthorized access. Any time an admin accesses a system, they must go through the privileged access management (PAM) protocols to get their credentials and be authenticated. Their access is also tracked, logged, monitored, and recorded. After the credential is checked back in, it is reset. This ensures that administrators go through PAM every time they use their credential within on-premises and cloud environments.

RevBits PAM is a key component for zero trust

RevBits PAM is a next generation solution with comprehensive drag-and-drop functionality based on a modern architecture. Several unique features and capabilities make it stand out from the competition. Extending core privileged access management, RevBits PAM includes natively integrated security modules:

• Privileged session management
• Service account management
• Web application access management
• Third-party access management (RevBits ZTN can be seamlessly integrated alongside RevBits PAM)
• Full-featured password management
• Certificate management
• Key management

Privileged accounts, when unmanaged, can allow unlimited access to critical IT resources. Due to their exceptional nature, privileged accounts should be highly protected, and usage should be secured, limited, monitored, and recorded. PAM has become a key enterprise security stack requirement for managing and controlling access to enterprise resources as part of an overall cybersecurity strategy. RevBits modern architecture combines PAM servers, jump servers and native clients for a more secure and easily managed solution that flexibly scales to meet growing security requirements wherever the corporate perimeter happens to be.

To learn more, watch the RevBits PAM video.

Download the RevBits’ Cyber Brief “Zero Trust Networking is Digital Transformation’s Response to Enterprise Security”.

Download the RevBits PAM Product Brief — “PAM Administration Expands with Secure Workflow, Password, and Native Client Access Management”.