Privileged Access Management | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

In IT environments, some secrets are managed well and some fly under the radar. Here's a quick checklist of what kinds of secrets companies typically manage, including one type they should manage: Passwords [x] TLS certificates [x] Accounts [x] SSH keys ??? The secrets listed above are typically secured with privileged access management (PAM) solutions or similar. Yet, most traditional PAM vendors hardly talk about SSH key management. The reason is simple: they don't have the technology to do it properly.  We can prove it. All our SSH key management customers have had a traditional PAM deployed, but they realized that they couldn't manage SSH keys with it. At best, traditional PAMs can discover, let alone manage, 20% of all keys. So, what's the fuss about SSH keys? SSH keys are access credentials in the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. In many ways, they're just like passwords but functionally different. On top of that, keys tend to outnumber passwords, especially in long-standi

Until just a couple of years ago, only a handful of IAM pros knew what service accounts are. In the last years, these silent Non-Human-Identities (NHI) accounts have become one of the most targeted and compromised attack surfaces . Assessments report that compromised service accounts play a key role in lateral movement in over 70% of ransomware attacks. However, there's an alarming disproportion between service accounts' compromise exposure and potential impact, and the available security measures to mitigate this risk.  In this article, we explore what makes service accounts such a lucrative target, why they are beyond the scope of most security control, and how the new approach of unified identity security can prevent service accounts from compromise and abuse .  Active Directory Service accounts 101: Non-human identities used for M2M In an Active Directory (AD) environment , service accounts are user accounts that are not associated with human beings but are used for machine-to-

For years, securing a company's systems was synonymous with securing its "perimeter." There was what was safe "inside" and the unsafe outside world. We built sturdy firewalls and deployed sophisticated detection systems, confident that keeping the barbarians outside the walls kept our data and systems safe. The problem is that we no longer operate within the confines of physical on-prem installations and controlled networks. Data and applications now reside in distributed cloud environments and data centers, accessed by users and devices connecting from anywhere on the planet. The walls have crumbled, and the perimeter has dissolved, opening the door to a new battlefield: identity . Identity is at the center of what the industry has praised as the new gold standard of enterprise security: "zero trust." In this paradigm, explicit trust becomes mandatory for any interactions between systems, and no implicit trust shall subsist. Every access request, regardless of its origin,

To minimize the risk of privilege misuse, a trend in the privileged access management (PAM) solution market involves implementing just-in-time (JIT) privileged access. This approach to  privileged identity management  aims to mitigate the risks associated with prolonged high-level access by granting privileges temporarily and only when necessary, rather than providing users with continuous high-level privileges. By adopting this strategy, organizations can enhance security, minimize the window of opportunity for potential attackers and ensure that users access privileged resources only when necessary.  What is JIT and why is it important?   JIT privileged access provisioning  involves granting privileged access to users on a temporary basis, aligning with the concept of least privilege. This principle provides users with only the minimum level of access required to perform their tasks, and only for the amount of time required to do so. One of the key advantages of JIT provisioning

As cyber threats loom around every corner and privileged accounts become prime targets, the significance of implementing a robust  Privileged Access Management (PAM)  solution can't be overstated. With organizations increasingly migrating to cloud environments, the PAM Solution Market is experiencing a transformative shift toward cloud-based offerings. One Identity PAM Essentials stands out among these as a SaaS-based PAM solution that prioritizes security, manageability, and compliance. Security-first, user-centric design   PAM Essentials boasts a user-centric and security-first design – not only prioritizing the protection of critical assets, but also ensuring a seamless user experience. By providing privileged sessions and  access controls , PAM Essentials mitigates the heightened risks associated with unauthorized users, safeguarding critical data against potential breaches. Designed for ease of use, it ensures that robust security does not come at the expense of usability. 

Traditional perimeter-based security has become costly and ineffective. As a result, communications security between people, systems, and networks is more important than blocking access with firewalls.  On top of that, most cybersecurity risks are caused by just a few superusers – typically one out of 200 users.  There's a company aiming to fix the gap between traditional PAM and IdM solutions and secure your one out of 200 users –  SSH Communications Security.   Your Privileged Access Management (PAM) and Identity Management (IdM) should work hand in hand to secure your users' access and identities – regular users and privileged users alike. But traditional solutions struggle to achieve that.  Microsoft Entra manages all identities and basic-level access. With increasing criticality of targets and data, the session duration decreases, and additional protection is necessary. That's where SSH Communications Security helps Let's look at what organizations need to understand about

If you've listened to software vendors in the identity space lately, you will have noticed that "unified" has quickly become the buzzword that everyone is adopting to describe their portfolio. And this is great! Unified identity has some amazing benefits!  However (there is always a however, right?) not every "unified" "identity" "security" "platform" is made equal. Some vendors call the combination of workforce IDaaS and customer IDaaS a unified identity solution, while others offer a glorified 2FA service – unified only in the mind of their marketers.  Your landscape matters!   So forget for a moment what the vendors claim, and think back to  your  organization and  your   identity security  landscape. Consider this new definition: "unified" is what has the ability to consolidate your identity challenges with a complete identity solution.  Here's an example: you're responsible for the identity infrastructure of a large hospital. Frontline workers, administrative employees, a

When you roll out a security product, you assume it will fulfill its purpose. Unfortunately, however, this often turns out not to be the case. A new report, produced by Osterman Research and commissioned by Silverfort, reveals that MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) and PAM (Privileged Access Management) solutions are almost never deployed comprehensively enough to provide resilience to identity threats. As well, service accounts – which are typically beyond the scope of protection of these controls – are alarmingly exposed to malicious compromise. These findings and many more can be found in  "The State of the Identity Attack Surface: Insights Into Critical Protection Gaps ,"  the first report that analyzes organizational resilience to identity threats.  What is the "Identity Attack Surface"?  The identity attack surface is any organizational resource that can be accessed via username and password. The main way that attackers target this attack surface is through the use of compromi

Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions are widely acknowledged as the gold standard for securing critical privileged accounts. However, many security and identity teams face inherent obstacles during the PAM journey, hindering these solutions from reaching their full potential. These challenges deprive organizations of the resilience they seek, making it essential to address them effectively. Discover how you can enhance your PAM strategy in our upcoming webinar: " Solving the Top 5 PAM Pain Points Plaguing Identity Teams ," featuring Yiftach Keshet from Silverfort. Reserve your spot now [Register here] to gain invaluable insights. Gain insights into: Key Challenges: Identify the primary challenges identity teams encounter when implementing PAM solutions. Solutions & Approaches: Discover different strategies to effectively overcome these challenges and enhance your security posture. Unified Identity Protection: Learn how combining Unified Identity Protectio

The way we work has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years. We now operate within digital ecosystems, where remote work and the reliance on a multitude of digital tools is the norm rather than the exception. This shift – as you likely know from your own life – has led to superhuman levels of productivity that we wouldn't ever want to give up. But moving fast comes at a cost. And for our digital work environment, that cost is security.  Our desire for innovation, speed and efficiency has birthed new and complex security challenges that all in some way or another revolve around securing how we access resources. Because of this, effective access management now plays a more critical role in securing the modern workplace than ever. Follow along as we uncover five reasons why this is the case. Educating People About Security is Not Working For years, we've held the belief that educating people about cyberthreats would make them more cautious online. Yet, despite 17 y

Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions are regarded as the common practice to prevent identity threats to administrative accounts. In theory, the PAM concept makes absolute sense: place admin credentials in a vault, rotate their passwords, and closely monitor their sessions. However, the harsh reality is that the vast majority of PAM projects either become a years-long project, or even come to a halt altogether, preventing them from delivering their promised security value. In this article, we explore what makes  service accounts a key obstacle in PAM onboarding . We'll learn why vaulting and password rotation of service accounts are an almost impossible task, resulting in leaving them exposed to compromise. We'll then conclude with introducing how Silverfort enables identity teams, for the first time, to overcome these challenges with automated discovery, monitoring, and protection of service accounts, and streamline PAM onboarding process in mere weeks. The PAM Promi