Access and privileges
Reduce standing privileges
Replace permanent administrative rights with proportionate, temporary and traceable access.
Privileged Access Management (PAM): controlling sensitive operations
Privileged Access Management (PAM) aims to govern the sensitive operations of the information system: who can act, on which resource, for which action, in which context and for how long. Protecting administrator accounts and secrets remains essential, but it is not enough when excessive rights remain permanent or when some administration paths escape control.
Ariovis supports organizations from PAM maturity assessment through to the integration and operation of security controls. Our approach consists of understanding risky operations, reducing unnecessary privileges and aligning identity governance, access controls and technical protections. Bastions, secrets vaults and session recordings are used when they address an identified risk.
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Assess your PAM maturity for free and generate your roadmap
Answer a few questions to measure your privileged access management maturity and get a tailored roadmap for your PAM project.
PAM maturity is not measured by the number of accounts placed behind a bastion
A PAM program can cover many administrator accounts without controlling every critical operation. Standing privileges, direct administration paths, legacy service accounts and privilege escalation opportunities account for a significant part of the actual exposure.
A useful assessment therefore examines the actions an account can perform, the resources it can reach, how long its privileges last and the conditions under which it can use them. Traceability must also make it possible to understand and act on the operations performed, rather than simply accumulating session recordings.
The security roadmap starts by identifying risks, removing unnecessary rights and making temporary the privileges that can be. Technical mechanisms are then integrated into administration workflows, IGA, Access Management and directories according to the organization's actual needs.
Build a consistent privileged access strategy
PAM assessment
Evaluate the maturity of the current environment and identify improvement priorities.
Privileged account governance
Define governance rules for administrator and other sensitive accounts.
Least privilege
Reduce standing privileges and grant only the permissions required for each task.
Privilege elevation
Provide temporary privileged access when operational activities require it.
Secrets management
Protect passwords, application secrets and other sensitive credentials.
Service accounts
Identify, secure and manage technical accounts throughout their lifecycle.
Traceability
Produce administrative logs and audit evidence whenever appropriate.
IAM integration
Integrate PAM with Identity Governance, Access Management and directory services.
From assessment to operations
01
Current environment assessment
Review privileged accounts, existing practices and associated risks.
02
PAM strategy
Define a pragmatic and progressive roadmap.
03
Architecture
Design an architecture aligned with the broader IAM landscape.
04
Integration
Deploy and integrate PAM platforms with directories, applications and infrastructure.
05
Secrets management
Implement protection and rotation mechanisms for privileged secrets where appropriate.
06
Migration
Prepare the transition from existing privileged access environments.
07
Go-live
Support deployment, validation and operational readiness.
08
Operations
Provide support, continuous improvement and knowledge transfer.
Choose the right security mechanisms before choosing the tools
A Privileged Access Management strategy depends on administrative practices, operational constraints, risk exposure and the existing architecture.
Ariovis supports the design, integration and operation of solutions adapted to each organization's context.
Primary technology
Netwrix Privilege Secure
A solution used to structure and secure privileged access in a pragmatic way.
- Pragmatic Privileged Access Management
- Reducing standing privileges
- Controlling administrative access
- Protecting sensitive privileged accounts
- Integration with the wider IAM ecosystem
Complementary capability
Keeper
A complementary solution used for secrets management and selected PAM use cases.
- Secrets management
- Password management
- Selected PAM use cases
What improves for operational teams and the organization
Better privileged access control
Sensitive rights are granted in a more consistent and controlled way.
Greater visibility
Privileged accounts and secrets become easier to identify and manage.
Stronger security
Critical administrative access receives protection proportional to its level of risk.
Easier operations
Operational teams manage a clearer and more maintainable environment.
Improved traceability
Sensitive administrative activities can be monitored and audited more effectively.
A stronger IAM architecture
PAM naturally complements Identity Governance, Access Management and authorization.
Helping an existing PAM program evolve
Construction industry
A large organization already operated a Privileged Access Management platform but wanted a clearer understanding of its actual coverage, privileged account governance and future priorities.
Ariovis performed an organizational assessment, reviewed the privileged account model, analyzed privileged account lifecycle management and evaluated how the existing platform was being used.
The engagement helped prioritize improvements, distinguish valuable security mechanisms from unnecessary complexity and define a realistic roadmap for the evolution of the PAM strategy.
Transportation
Restoring momentum to a PAM program
After two years of a PAM program, an organization in the transportation sector was struggling to industrialize the protection of its administrative access. Ariovis helped clarify the security model, define Active Directory tiering and structure application onboarding processes. The engagement notably covered the integration of 30 applications and the introduction of a more repeatable approach to continue the rollout.
PAM delivers its full value as part of the IAM architecture.
IAM Strategy and Zero Trust
Define the roadmap before selecting technologies.
Identity Governance
Provide trusted identities and governed access rights.
Access Management
Control authentication and user access journeys.
Fine-grained Authorization
Make runtime authorization decisions based on context.
Active Directory attack paths
An over-privileged service account can become a step towards Tier 0.
Service account security
SPNs, weak secrets and Kerberoasting: what a vault alone does not cover.
Privileged Access Management delivers the greatest value when identity governance, authentication, privileged access and authorization work together as one consistent identity architecture.
Use cases
Related Use Cases
This capability often contributes to a broader response. Explore how it works with other Ariovis services to address concrete challenges.
Access and privileges
Govern service accounts and secrets
Take back control of legacy technical identities: their owners, their secrets and their privileges.
Identities and lifecycle
Contributing to NIS2 compliance
Turn identity and access management requirements into operational controls for accounts, authentication, rights, directories and technical identities.
Frequently asked questions about PAM
What is PAM?
Privileged Access Management covers the processes and controls used to govern privileged access and operations. It addresses the rights granted, their legitimacy, their duration, secrets management and the traceability of actions. Its scope goes beyond administrator accounts and bastions alone.
Where should a PAM project start?
A PAM project starts by understanding sensitive operations, critical resources, administration paths and standing rights. The assessment measures existing risks and controls, then builds a prioritized roadmap. Tool selection follows from this roadmap.
Is a bastion enough to secure privileged access?
No. A bastion can isolate and record some access, but on its own it does not remove excessive rights, ungoverned technical accounts or alternative administration paths. A consistent PAM strategy combines governance, least privilege, access controls, secrets protection and appropriate monitoring mechanisms.
Every organization already has its own way of managing privileged access.
The first conversation helps identify the existing mechanisms, the most important security priorities and the improvements that will deliver the greatest operational value.