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As organizations scale, controlling who gets access to what and when becomes a vital part of security. However, the search for the ideal security strategy is never easy. But defining the challenges that come with developing this strategy is the first step to getting past them, and subsequently successfully securing an organization's privileged resources.
The biggest challenge that security solutions face is doing their job without slowing down the workflow. To ensure security and efficiency go hand in hand, it is important to find a PAM solution that integrates seamlessly into existing workflows without compromising on its functions. This means automating monotonous tasks, including policy-based access controls.
Whether it is a threat actor who gained access to a user account or a malicious inside user, privileged accounts are always the primary target for threat actors. Accounts with standing privileges only broaden the surface available for these attackers to act. Furthermore, if attackers do gain access to these accounts, their high levels of access make it very hard to identify misuse and often is only noticed after a major breach.
When privileged access is controlled manually without a PAM solution, the risk of human error impacting critical tasks like password rotation is increased. Whether it be a lapse of attention or miscommunication between administrators, a single instance of these processes being neglected could lead to a full blown breach. Apart from this, manually going through the motions in a privileged access workflow is time consuming, slowing down an organization's tasks and increasing wait time.
Regulatory requirements demand that organizations maintain clear records of activity during privileged sessions. But maintaining clear and accurate audit logs across a hybrid, dynamic environment is not easy. Gaps in these audit logs or session recordings could undermine trust in an organization during audits and negatively impact their performance.
Tackling these challenges effectively and swiftly requires organizations to employ a capable PAM solution that can fit into an organization's workflow easily. It requires automating regular and monotonous tasks like password rotation and activity logging, so that there are no gaps both on paper and in practice.
ManageEngine PAM360 is a privileged access management platform that helps organizations overcome the common roadblocks in PAM adoption. In most cases, issues like account sprawl, integration hurdles, or concerns about slowing down operations often hold companies back. PAM360 takes a practical approach by automating key tasks, offering flexible deployment, and keeping workflows simple. This allows organizations to roll out PAM controls step by step, without disrupting how the business runs.
Organizations struggle with competing priorities between security requirements and operational efficiency, often facing resistance from administrators accustomed to unrestricted access. Lack of executive sponsorship and unclear ownership between IT, security, and compliance teams creates implementation delays and scope ambiguity. Inadequate change management and user training result in workarounds that bypass PAM controls, while resource constraints limit the ability to implement privileged access mamaheme comprehensively across all systems simultaneously.
Discovery challenges arise when privileged accounts are scattered across diverse systems, applications, cloud platforms, and embedded devices without centralized inventory. Shadow IT, service accounts hardcoded in applications, default administrative accounts, and accounts in legacy or isolated systems often remain undetected. Organizations lack automated discovery tools to continuously identify new privileged accounts as infrastructure evolves, leading to incomplete PAM coverage. Without comprehensive visibility into privileged account sprawl, security teams cannot accurately assess risk, prioritize systems for PAM implementation, or ensure all attack vectors are protected.
Different operating systems (Windows, Linux, Unix variants, macOS) have distinct authentication mechanisms, access control models, and privileged account types that require platform-specific PAM integration. Heterogeneous directory services (Active Directory, LDAP, cloud identity providers) complicate centralized credential management and policy enforcement across the environment. Legacy systems may lack API support or standard authentication protocols, forcing custom integration work or creating PAM coverage gaps. Cloud and containerized workloads introduce ephemeral infrastructure and dynamic privileged accounts that traditional PAM solutions struggle to manage effectively.
Partial PAM deployment creates a false sense of security where protected systems appear secure while unmanaged privileged accounts remain vulnerable to exploitation. Inconsistent policy enforcement leads to confusion, with users uncertain which systems require PAM authentication and which allow direct privileged access. Gaps in coverage enable attackers to compromise unprotected accounts and pivot to protected systems, defeating the purpose of PAM investment. Emergency access procedures and break-glass accounts may bypass PAM controls entirely, creating security blind spots that undermine compliance posture and audit findings.