Topic starter
22/01/2026 5:11 pm
TL;DR: Privileged access management works by vaulting credentials, granting just-in-time access, recording sessions, enforcing least privilege and automating lifecycle tasks, according to Keeper Security. The real issue is not whether PAM exists, but whether it meaningfully reduces standing privilege, audit gaps and unmanaged access across human, machine and delegated workflows.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Keeper Security: “How Does Privileged Access Management Work?”.
Key questions
Q: What breaks when privileged access is not continuously governed?
A: When privileged access is not continuously governed, standing privilege persists, dormant accounts remain usable, and the attack surface expands across human and machine identities.
Q: Why do organisations need PAM and IGA when MFA and SSO are already deployed?
A: MFA and SSO help verify a user at the front door, but they do not answer whether access is appropriate after entry.
Q: How do security teams know whether PAM is actually reducing privilege risk?
A: Measure how much privileged access is permanent, how often elevation is task-scoped, and whether session activity matches the approved purpose.
Practitioner guidance
- Implement zero standing privilege for elevated roles Remove persistent admin rights where the task can be completed through temporary elevation, and make revocation automatic when the work ends.
- Inventory all privileged access paths Map human admins, service accounts, API tokens and delegated workflows so you can see where standing privilege still exists outside the PAM flow.
- Broker secrets through a controlled vault Route passwords, SSH keys and API tokens through a vault that injects credentials into sessions instead of exposing them to users or scripts.
Bottom line: Privileged access management is most effective when it shortens the lifetime and reach of elevation rather than simply recording privileged activity.
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11/10/2026 2:10 am
PAM is no longer just a control for human administrators. It is now a lifecycle discipline for any elevated identity that can reach sensitive systems, including service accounts and delegated machine workflows. That widens the governance surface from authentication into issuance, oversight and revocation, which is where most privilege risk actually accumulates.
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.
- Only 44% of organisations are currently using a dedicated secrets management system, according to the 2024 State of Secrets Management Survey.
A question worth separating out:
Q: What is the difference between just-in-time access and session-level privileged access management?
A: Just-in-time access at the request level grants access for a defined period such as days or months, then removes it automatically. Session-level privileged access management is narrower, usually checking out elevated credentials for a specific interactive session and revoking them immediately after use. The main difference is granularity, with session-level controls better suited to high-risk admin actions.
👉 Read our full editorial: Privileged access management in 2025: what actually matters