{"id":3366,"date":"2018-07-25T15:42:07","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T19:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/?p=3366"},"modified":"2018-07-25T15:42:07","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T19:42:07","slug":"key-findings-gartner-best-practices-for-privileged-access-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/key-findings-gartner-best-practices-for-privileged-access-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Findings from The Gartner “Best Practices For Privileged Access Management”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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According to technology research and advisory firm Gartner, \u201cAll the privileged accounts in the IT environment that enjoy privileges beyond that of a standard user should be recorded and accounted for. It is a security best practice to frequently scan the infrastructure to discover any new accounts introduced with excess privileges.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Indeed, traditional identity and access management (IAM) offers control for standard users\u2019 access but can\u2019t keep up with privileged accounts. It can\u2019t control shared privileges, third-party administration tools, or elevating individual credentials. No, to handle these issues enterprises need to embrace privileged access management (PAM) solutions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But even then, the situation is a little more complicated. Without employing best practices for privileged access management, privileged accounts can prove difficult to manage. They are often heterogeneous and distributed throughout the enterprise network. Additionally, Gartner found that 65% of enterprises allow for the unrestricted, unmonitored, and shared use of privileged accounts. Not only does this violate basic identity security principles, it also makes it almost impossible to hold individuals accountable for security violations. <\/span><\/p>\n

So what best practices for privileged access management should your enterprise be embracing? We took a look at the Gartner “Best Practices For Privileged Access Management” Report<\/a> to find out: <\/span><\/p>\n

Find All of Your Privileged Accounts<\/b><\/h3>\n

This may seem trite, but it actually proves to be a consistent challenge for many enterprises. According to a study by Thycotic, 70% of enterprises fail to discover all of the privileged accounts in their networks and 40% never bother to look in the first place. Orphaned accounts can linger on networks for months or years, remaining a constant security hole. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, your enterprise\u2019s first step to following best practices for privileged access management should be to find all of your privileged credentials, find and remove any orphaned accounts, and evaluate your privileged credentials for ownership conflicts. <\/span><\/p>\n

Get the Right Privileged Access Management Tools<\/b><\/h3>\n

Gartner acknowledges that your IT security team could control privileged accounts manually…in theory. However, actually manually controlling privileges has consistently proven to be an unreliable and stiff process, and even then you\u2019ll still need specialized tools to make sure your team handles the entitlements properly. <\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of dealing with that, get your enterprise the right privileged access management solution. This will be contingent on your individual security needs, business processes, regulatory processes, and security budget. You can\u2019t perform best practices for privileged access management without the right tools. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Manage Your Deployment and Scope<\/b><\/h3>\n

Part of doing PAM right is making sure your implement it properly in the first place. Before you deploy your PAM solution, make sure you understand where you are deploying it and what you are aiming to achieve with it. You should also make sure you fully understand all of the tools you are planning to implement. <\/span><\/p>\n

Gartner also suggests that you scale your solution carefully: too narrow and you\u2019ll create inconsistent enforcement, too broad and the solution will generate too much complexity. Talk to your solutions architects to ensure you scale your PAM solution optimally. The stakes are high: according to Gartner, by 2021 enterprises with PAM tools will be at a 50% lower risk of advanced threat impacts compared to their peers. <\/span><\/p>\n

Less, Less, Less Is More<\/b><\/h3>\n

Best practices for privileged access management can be summarized by a single word: reduce.<\/span><\/p>\n