The Next Stage of Privileged Access Management (PAM): Beyond Vaulting

Read full article here: https://www.britive.com/resource/blog/still-vaulting-access-move-into-next-stage-pam-evolution/?source=nhimg

Traditional Privileged Access Management (PAM) models, built on vaulting, credential rotation, and ticket-based approvals, are no longer enough. They were designed for static data centers, predictable IT environments, and human operators. But today’s infrastructure is dynamic: cloud workloads spin up in seconds, CI/CD pipelines push code daily, and AI agents interact with APIs at machine speed.

Relying on static secrets and vaulted access creates operational drag and leaves organizations exposed. Even “modern” PAM tools still inject long-lived credentials into pipelines, creating lingering risks and encouraging teams to bypass controls altogether.

Why the Old Model Breaks Down

• Vaulted credentials remain static and vulnerable to leaks or misuse.
• Manual provisioning slows down developers and drives shadow access.
• Static role assumptions don’t scale in cloud-native, ephemeral environments.
• AI agents and machine identities act autonomously, outside legacy approval queues.

The Next Stage of PAM
Forward-looking organizations are rethinking PAM around identity, policy, and runtime enforcement. The new model focuses on:

• True Just-in-Time, Ephemeral Access: No standing credentials. Privileges are issued only when needed, scoped to the task, and automatically revoked.
• Zero Standing Privileges (ZSP): Eliminating persistent accounts and static keys entirely.
• Unified Identity Policies: Governing human users, service accounts, workloads, and AI agents consistently.
• Runtime Authorization: Enforcing policies dynamically at the moment of access, not through static vaults or proxies.
• Cloud & AI Native Integration: Designed for pipelines, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, and agentic AI systems, not just on-prem servers.

Bottom Line

PAM must evolve from vault-centric access to identity-first, real-time access control. By eliminating static credentials, enforcing ephemeral permissions, and applying unified runtime policies, organizations can reduce risk and accelerate innovation. The future of PAM isn’t tighter vaults, it’s adaptive, policy-driven security that keeps pace with the cloud and AI era.