Certified: The CISSP Prepcast

Welcome to The Bare Metal Cyber CISSP Prepcast. This series helps you prepare for the ISC squared CISSP exam with focused explanations and practical context.
In this episode, we’ll explore Privileged Access Management, or PAM—a vital component of any enterprise cybersecurity program. PAM focuses on controlling and protecting accounts that have elevated permissions, such as administrators, system operators, and service accounts. These accounts can make significant changes to systems, access sensitive data, and override security settings. That’s why they’re one of the top targets for attackers and insider threats alike.
Privileged access must be carefully managed. When PAM is not implemented properly, organizations face risks such as credential theft, unauthorized access, untraceable administrative activity, and failure to meet regulatory compliance standards. PAM provides a centralized approach to managing who has privileged access, how it is granted, how it is used, and how it is monitored.
Understanding the foundations of PAM helps organizations reduce attack surfaces, increase visibility into high-risk access, and enforce security best practices. It is not just a security tool—it is a strategic control that enables secure operations, audit readiness, and regulatory alignment.
Let’s break down the key components of a Privileged Access Management system. First is credential vaulting. PAM systems store privileged account credentials in secure, encrypted vaults. This prevents credentials from being saved in plain text or reused insecurely. It also enables credential rotation—changing passwords after each use or on a scheduled basis.
Second, PAM includes session management. This involves tracking and sometimes recording administrative sessions to monitor what actions are being taken. Session data can be reviewed later for investigations, compliance, or performance optimization. In high-risk environments, live session oversight may even allow security teams to terminate suspicious activity in real time.
Third, PAM enforces the principle of least privilege. This means granting users only the minimum access they need to perform their tasks. Instead of giving administrators always-on access to all systems, PAM solutions allow limited-time access, with approvals and expiration built in.
Fourth, PAM integrates with multi-factor authentication. Verifying a user's identity with multiple factors before granting privileged access greatly reduces the risk of impersonation or stolen credentials being misused.
And finally, privileged account discovery. This is the ongoing process of identifying where privileged accounts exist across your infrastructure—including shadow IT, default accounts, or accounts embedded in code or scripts. Discovery ensures no high-risk access is left unmanaged.
Now, let’s look at why PAM is so important for cybersecurity and compliance. First and foremost, PAM significantly reduces the likelihood of a data breach caused by compromised administrator credentials. When accounts are properly managed, monitored, and restricted, it is much harder for attackers to escalate privileges or move laterally through the environment.
PAM also supports regulatory compliance. Many standards—including NIST, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and ISO Twenty Seven Thousand One—require that privileged access be carefully controlled and auditable. PAM helps you meet these requirements by providing visibility into who accessed what, when, and how.
Additionally, PAM improves incident response. Because privileged sessions are logged and monitored, investigators can quickly determine if misuse occurred, what actions were taken, and which systems were affected. This audit trail enables rapid containment and remediation.
It also enhances operational efficiency. Automation within PAM platforms reduces the manual burden of password resets, access approvals, and session monitoring. With consistent, centralized control, administrative tasks become more secure and scalable.
Finally, PAM strengthens your overall security posture by protecting the accounts that have the greatest potential impact. In most breaches, attackers seek out privileged credentials early in the attack chain. PAM breaks that chain.
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Let’s now discuss how to implement effective Privileged Access Management practices. Start with clearly documented policies. Define who qualifies as a privileged user, how credentials should be stored, and when access should be granted. Include procedures for credential rotation, access reviews, and emergency access scenarios.
Deploy a trusted PAM solution that supports secure credential vaulting, real-time session monitoring, and automated approval workflows. Choose platforms that integrate well with your existing identity management and security operations tools.
Make sure your PAM solution is kept up to date. Like any software system, it must be regularly patched to defend against vulnerabilities. Monitor vendor advisories and test updates in staging environments before full deployment.
Conduct regular audits to verify that all privileged accounts are still needed, are assigned correctly, and are being used in accordance with policy. Automate these reviews where possible, but maintain human oversight for context and accountability.
And always provide continuous training. Even with the best technology, users must understand how to properly interact with PAM tools, follow workflows, and report issues. Training helps build a culture of responsible privilege management.
Let’s now talk about the security controls that support PAM. Strong authentication is at the top of the list. Require multi-factor authentication for all privileged account access. Whether that’s biometrics, hardware tokens, or mobile authenticators—multiple verification steps make a real difference.
Second, implement full logging and monitoring of privileged account activity. Alerts should be generated for unusual behavior, such as access at odd hours, access from new locations, or the use of high-risk commands.
Third, conduct vulnerability assessments and penetration tests focused on privileged access. Check whether accounts can be elevated without authorization, whether hard-coded credentials exist, or whether systems accept outdated authentication protocols.
Fourth, manage access with just-in-time principles. Rather than granting permanent administrator rights, provide time-limited access that is automatically revoked once the task is complete. This limits the window of opportunity for abuse or compromise.
And fifth, secure all communications that involve PAM systems. Any session recording, credential delivery, or access approval should take place over encrypted channels. If attackers can intercept credentials in transit, the rest of your controls may be bypassed.
Now let’s cover how to continuously improve your PAM program. Start with regular reviews. As your organization grows, so do your privileged accounts. New applications, new admins, and new systems all introduce changes. Keep your inventory current and your access aligned to real needs.
Analyze incidents and logs to identify patterns. Are some accounts being accessed more than expected? Are there delays in credential rotation? Use this data to refine your policies, reduce risk, and improve user experience.
Collaborate across teams. PAM isn’t just a security tool—it’s also a productivity enabler. Work with IT operations, compliance, audit, and software development teams to ensure policies are practical and well integrated.
Invest in user awareness. Training shouldn’t be a once-a-year checkbox. Include PAM in onboarding, provide just-in-time reminders, and celebrate good security behaviors. When users understand why these controls exist, they are more likely to follow them correctly.
And finally, be proactive. Adopt new technologies like biometric authentication or behavioral analytics to strengthen your PAM systems. Evaluate cloud-native PAM platforms if your infrastructure is moving off premises. The threat landscape is constantly evolving—your PAM strategy must evolve too.
Thanks for joining us for this episode of The Bare Metal Cyber CISSP Prepcast. For more episodes, tools, and study support, visit us at bare metal cyber dot com.