Topic starter
22/01/2026 5:11 pm
TL;DR: Without privileged access management, organizations face greater breach exposure, insider risk, compliance gaps and operational error because elevated accounts often go unmonitored, according to Keeper Security, which also cites IBM’s 2024 average breach cost of $4.88 million. Standing privilege, weak visibility and manual access handling turn PAM from a nice-to-have into a core control.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Keeper Security: “Seven Risks of Not Having Privileged Access Management”.
By the numbers:
- According to Cobalt, the cost of cyber attacks is predicted to reach $15.63 trillion by 2029.
Key questions
Q: What breaks when privileged access is not routed through PAM?
A: When privileged actions bypass PAM, organisations lose the controls that make elevation accountable.
Q: Why does unmanaged privileged access create such serious operational and compliance risk?
A: Unmanaged privileged access creates risk because it allows people to reach critical systems and sensitive data long after their need has ended.
Q: What are the signs that privileged access processes are breaking down in practice?
A: Common warning signs include password hunting by email or phone, credentials stored in spreadsheets or sticky notes, shared accounts that nobody fully owns, and ad hoc access requests that consume excessive time.
Practitioner guidance
- Define privileged account ownership and expiry Assign an accountable owner, task scope and expiry condition to every privileged account, including service accounts and third-party access paths.
- Enforce just-in-time elevation for admin access Replace persistent elevation with task-bounded access that is automatically revoked when the operational need ends.
- Record and review privileged sessions Capture session activity for high-risk access paths so investigators can reconstruct who acted, what changed and whether the behaviour matched the approved task.
Bottom line: Operating without PAM leaves privileged access too broad, too persistent and too hard to explain after the fact.
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This topic was modified 1 day ago by NHI Mgmt Group
11/10/2026 2:10 am
Standing privilege is the central failure mode, not a side effect. When elevated access remains available after the task that needed it, the identity layer stops acting as a boundary and starts acting as an exposure multiplier. This is why privilege governance is an architectural control, not an administrative preference. Practitioners should treat any standing privileged account as a potential breach corridor until its lifespan, owner and purpose are continuously constrained.
A few things that frame the scale:
- 97% of NHIs carry excessive privileges, increasing unauthorised access and broadening the attack surface, according to the Ultimate Guide to NHIs.
- 49% of IT professionals would prioritise improving privileged access management if the decision were theirs alone, according to Netwrix's 2023 Hybrid Security Trends Report.
A question worth separating out:
Q: When should teams prioritise just-in-time access over session recording?
A: Prioritise just-in-time access when the risk comes from standing privilege, fast-moving cloud operations, or machine-speed workflows that cannot wait for later review. Recording can supplement governance, but it should not be the first line of defence when the goal is to prevent privileged misuse before the session begins.
👉 Read our full editorial: Seven risks of operating without privileged access management