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A privileged access environment often reminds the IT community of a maze. In both instances, chances are high to get lost in the way.
Consider a maze, when we enter it, we are confident to make it. However, with every move, and every turn we take, we invariably start to lose our way. We go round and round and round, only to discover that we are still in the same place.
And a privileged access environment can be as chaotic as a maze.
Why can there be chaos?
Because all looks very simple and easy when there is a limited number of privileged users and privileged accounts. Just like when you enter a maze.
But when a privileged access environment expands, IT security staff struggle to maintain a check on every privileged account. The whole thing looks so complex alike when we enter a deep maze.
Gradually, when the number of privileged accounts increases, the privileged access environment becomes chaotic. We are lost. Chances are then high for a data breach.
Let’s delve a little deeper.
ARCON fills up the data security gaps at every step!
Privileged Access Environment and Multiple Layers of Applications and Devices
Whether on-premises or a virtual set-up, an organization’s IT infrastructure is structured in multiple layers of devices and applications. And with every installation of a device and application, we create a new administrative account. In most cases, a privileged account is assigned to a privileged user.
Network admins, database admins, system admins, console-level admins (on-cloud resources) tend to increase rapidly as privileged activities increase. And not to forget business privileged users. The privileged access environment becomes more complex in case of shared privileged accounts.
In such an environment, there are chances of Insider attacks and IT frauds. The IT staff is unable to find the anomalies.
The IT staff does not know why a certain privileged user accessed systems during odd hours. Or why was a certain privileged user not assigned to do a specific task accessed a particular database? Or why could a certain privileged user make the changes in the database in spite of having no mandate for the same? It has all the ingredients to make the privileged access environment chaotic.
Privileged Access Environment and Privileged Access Management
The privileged access environment turns out to be orderly and organized when organizations keep rules, roles and audit checks. On-boarding of all privileged identities and discovery of any undiscovered privileged identity is important. And equally significant is ensuring role-based entitlements and rule-based access to systems. This way, IT security staff can ensure that privileged access environments are without chaos.
The bottom-line
A privileged access environment is complex. The IT staff will get lost in a maze if the IT infrastructure lacks a robust privileged access management practice.
