{"id":49906,"date":"2024-11-20T10:05:53","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T17:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syteca.com\/?p=49906"},"modified":"2026-03-30T05:33:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:33:48","slug":"privileged-account-and-session-management-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syteca.com\/en\/blog\/privileged-account-and-session-management-best-practices","title":{"rendered":"Mastering Privileged Account and Session Management: 6 Best Practices to Implement in Your Organization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cybercriminals will often target an organization’s privileged accounts, which provide a pathway to highly valuable assets. If compromised, privileged accounts and sessions can be used for malicious activity, potentially causing cybersecurity incidents. These incidents may lead to operational disruptions, financial losses, compliance issues, and reputational damage. That’s why strengthening privileged user security<\/a> should be a core priority of any modern strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article provides best practices to help your organization implement privileged account and session management<\/a> (PASM) and address security risks related to privileged user activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is PASM?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gartner\u2019s Buyers\u2019 Guide for Privileged Access Management<\/a> (subscription required) characterizes privileged account and session management (PASM)<\/strong> as a subcategory of privileged access management<\/a> (PAM).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While privileged access management best practices<\/a> involve controlling and securing privileged access for users, accounts, and systems in general, PASM specifically focuses on managing, monitoring, and securing privileged accounts and sessions during which these accounts are used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With PASM, you can control and track the actual activity of privileged accounts in real time. PASM solutions can streamline the management of privileged accounts, log user actions in privileged sessions, and terminate them if suspicious activity is detected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is adopting PASM crucial for your organization?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Without adequate protection, privileged accounts and sessions may be exploited by malicious actors seeking access to your organization’s sensitive assets. For instance, cybercriminals may leverage compromised credentials to force their way into your IT infrastructure. Verizon\u2019s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report<\/a> shows that stolen account credentials were used in 24% of data breach incidents in 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insiders<\/a>, such as employees, partners, and third-party contractors, may also harm your organization while using privileged accounts, whether intentionally or unwittingly. According to the same report<\/a>, a human element was involved in 68% of data breaches in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compromised credentials and insider threats, along with cyber attacks like phishing and ransomware, can cause severe security incidents. These incidents can put sensitive data and critical systems at risk, leading to serious consequences for your organization, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Negative<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Data breaches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In a security incident, attackers may steal, corrupt, or leak your sensitive data, including customer information, financial records, intellectual property, or privileged user credentials. Cybercriminals can take advantage of that data for further attacks, such as identity theft, fraud, or spear-phishing campaigns targeting both your organization and your stakeholders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If malicious actors gain access to your organization\u2019s trade secrets and intellectual property, it could fall into your competitors\u2019 hands, putting your competitive advantage at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operational disruptions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Incidents stemming from poor privileged account management<\/a> can negatively influence your organization’s performance. For instance, security incidents can render essential systems inoperable, halting your business operations. Employees may be unable to access the tools, data, or networks necessary to perform their tasks, resulting in reduced productivity, poor customer service, and missed project deadlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, restoring affected systems and processes after a disruption often requires significant time and IT resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compliance issues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Organizations in many industries are subject to strict acts, laws, and regulations, such as the GDPR<\/a>, HIPAA<\/a>, SOX<\/a>, DORA<\/a>, and NIS2<\/a>. Many of them mandate businesses to implement security measures to control and monitor privileged access to sensitive data. Without effective PASM in place you may fail to comply with these regulatory requirements<\/a>, resulting in improperly secured data. This can lead to huge penalties and even lawsuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial losses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A single security incident or data breach can cost your organization money directly. You could end up shelling out expenses for post-incident recovery, ransomware payouts, restitution payments, and non-compliance fines. For instance, HIPAA violation fines<\/a> can reach $50,000 per incident with a maximum of $1.5 million per year. Incidents also often lead to indirect costs like lost business opportunities. As of this year data breaches reached an average of $4.88 million in losses per incident, according to the Cost of a Data Breach 2024<\/a> report by IBM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reputational damage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Security incidents can significantly damage your organization’s reputation, reducing customer trust and stakeholder confidence. They often attract media attention, especially if sensitive customer data is exposed. Negative publicity makes it difficult for organizations to retain existing customers and attract new ones, leading to significant losses in revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Effective PASM can help your organization enhance the security of privileged accounts and sessions and minimize the risk of negative consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t

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Request access to the Syteca online demo!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See how you can leverage Syteca to enhance cybersecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t