CyberArk PAM and the governance gaps teams keep running into

TL;DR: Legacy PAM can add complexity, cost, fragmented workflows, and weak JIT adoption in modern hybrid environments, making access harder to govern rather than easier, according to StrongDM. For IAM and NHI teams, the real issue is not feature count but whether access controls can keep pace with cloud-era operational demands.

NHIMG editorial — based on content published by StrongDM: CyberArk Privileged Access Management, 5 Critical Questions to Ask

By the numbers:

• Only 20% have formal processes for offboarding and revoking API keys, and even fewer have procedures for rotating them.

Questions worth separating out

Q: How should security teams reduce standing privilege in hybrid environments?

A: Start by identifying where privileged access is still persistent across cloud, SaaS, on-premises, and hybrid systems.

Q: Why do fragmented PAM tools create governance risk?

A: Fragmented PAM tools create risk because the same privilege is governed through different workflows, review paths, and evidence sources.

Q: What do teams get wrong about just-in-time access?

A: Teams often treat JIT as a feature rollout instead of a lifecycle change.

Practitioner guidance

• Measure standing access persistence across environments Inventory where privileged access remains active after the task window closes, then compare that against intended JIT policy for cloud, SaaS, on-premises, and hybrid systems.
• Consolidate privileged access review paths Map every approval, session start, and revocation workflow to the actual admin plane in use, then eliminate duplicate review routes that create inconsistent evidence and audit gaps.
• Track JIT adoption as an operating metric Do not stop at configuration checks.

What's in the full article

StrongDM's full blog covers the operational detail this post intentionally leaves for the source:

• The side-by-side CyberArk question set used to frame a vendor migration conversation
• The access management positioning that explains why the article prefers a unified control plane
• The product-specific claims about deployment simplicity and licensing model
• The full JIT implementation argument as presented by the vendor

👉 Read StrongDM's CyberArk PAM comparison and access governance questions →

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