Privileged Access Management (Just-in-Time, Least-Privilege, Session-Recorded)
Privileged Access Management (PAM) governs who can use powerful access, for what, for how long, and under which controls—with full evidence.
SolveForce designs PAM so elevation is Just-in-Time (JIT), least-privilege, approved, and session-recorded. Credentials are vaulted & rotated, access runs through brokers/proxies, and every action is auditable.
Where PAM fits in our model:
🔑 Identity → IAM / SSO / MFA • 🔐 Access → ZTNA / SASE
🖥️ Endpoints → EDR / MDR / XDR • 🖧 Network → NAC • 🔏 Data → DLP
🔑 Keys & certs → Key Management / HSM • PKI • Encryption
📊 Evidence/Automation → SIEM / SOAR
🎯 Outcomes (Why PAM)
- Least-privilege by default — no standing admin; elevation is time-boxed and scoped.
- Secretless operations — credentials injected by the broker; users never see the secret.
- Session oversight — keystroke logs/video + command allow/deny + real-time kill.
- Automatic rotation — passwords/keys change after use or on schedule/events.
- Audit-ready — who/what/when/why + approvals + artifacts stream to SIEM.
🧭 Scope (What PAM Covers)
- People: admins, SRE/DevOps, DBAs, network engineers, SecOps, break-glass users, contractors/partners.
- Targets: Linux/Windows servers, network/security appliances, databases, hypervisors, cloud consoles (AWS/Azure/GCP), SaaS admin centers, CI/CD, Kubernetes, OT/ICS where feasible.
- Credentials: local/domain admin, DB accounts, API tokens, cloud access keys, SSH keys, service accounts, break-glass accounts.
🧱 Building Blocks (Spelled Out)
- Vault — encrypted storage for passwords/keys/tokens with check-out/in, rotation, versioning, and approvals.
- Broker/Proxy (PSM) — Privileged Session Management proxy injects credentials, masks secrets, records sessions, enforces command policies.
- JIT Elevation — generate ephemeral credentials/roles on approval; auto-expire.
- Policy Engine — ABAC/RBAC: who + device posture + app + data + context → allow/step-up/deny.
- Approvals & Workflow — multi-level approvals based on risk; dual-control for high-impact.
- Rotation & Discovery — auto-discover privileged accounts; rotate on schedule or after use/events.
- Session Recording — video + keystrokes + metadata; searchable, tamper-evident.
- Break-Glass — hardware-token path with short TTL, extra logging, post-use review.
🔐 Policy Model (Identity → Device → App → Data → Context)
A privilege decision considers five lenses before elevation:
- Identity — group/role via SSO/MFA; separate admin identities. → IAM / SSO / MFA
- Device posture — EDR/UEM healthy, encrypted disk, compliant OS. → MDM / UEM • EDR / MDR / XDR
- Application/Target — server/network/DB/cloud admin; risk tier defines controls.
- Data sensitivity — DLP labels enforce read-only/watermark for restricted data. → DLP
- Context — geo/ASN, time, ticket ID, change window, session risk.
Outcome: allow JIT → step-up (MFA/approval) → isolate (read-only/proxy) → deny.
🧰 Controls (Concrete & Enforceable)
- Credential injection — password/SSH key/API token never revealed; broker logs usage.
- Command policy — allow/deny lists (e.g., no
useradd,DROP DATABASE), prompt-aware patterns. - Time-boxed access — TTLs (e.g., 30–120 min), auto-revoke on end/idle/risk spike.
- Rotation — rotate after use; rotate on incident; rotate on staff/role change.
- Ephemeral roles/keys — cloud IAM roles with short STS-like lifetimes; ephemeral SSH certs (PKI). → PKI
- Session kill & notify — terminate live misuse; notify owner/IR; open ticket with evidence. → SIEM / SOAR
☁️ Cloud & DevOps Patterns
- Cloud consoles — brokered access; JIT role assumption; auto-revoke; session logs to SIEM. → Cloud
- Kubernetes — ephemeral client certs/group bindings; audit to SIEM; admission controls.
- CI/CD & pipelines — dynamic secrets for build/deploy; short TTL; signer services for code/image signing. → Key Management / HSM
- Databases — per-query recording, command policies, rotation of admin/replication users.
- Infrastructure — network/security appliances via PSM; config diffs attached to cases.
🧩 Integrations (Lower MTTR, Higher Assurance)
- Identity — SSO/MFA, group → role mapping, approvals → IAM / SSO / MFA
- ZTNA/SASE — per-app, per-session access; no flat VPN → ZTNA • SASE
- Endpoints/Network — quarantine or path pin on misuse → EDR / MDR / XDR • NAC • SD-WAN
- Keys/Secrets — HSM/KMS custody; rotate on schedule or incident → Key Management / HSM • Encryption
- Analytics/IR — ship events & recordings to SIEM; automate response in SOAR → SIEM / SOAR
📐 SLO Guardrails (Experience & Safety You Can Prove)
| SLO / KPI | Target (Recommended) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Approval latency (p95) | ≤ 5–10 min (normal), ≤ 2 min (urgent) | Clear approver matrix |
| Session start latency (proxy attach) | ≤ 5–15 s | Includes broker injection |
| Post-use rotation (p95) | ≤ 5–15 min | Creds/keys rotate after use |
| Evidence completeness (Sev-1/2) | 100% | Video/keystroke + metadata |
| Break-glass review turnaround | ≤ 24 h | Mandatory RCA & approvals |
| De-provision privileged access | < 60 s session kill; ≤ 15 min roles/keys | Upon HR/incident trigger |
Dashboards show approvals, session counts, command violations, rotation stats, and audit packs. → SIEM / SOAR
🚨 Reference Playbooks (Auditable & Safe)
- Emergency fix (break-glass) — hardware token → JIT role (≤ 60 min) → session recorded → rotation → RCA & approvals.
- Suspected misuse — kill session → rotate creds/keys → revoke role → open IR case with video/keystrokes. → Incident Response
- Third-party access — clientless ZTNA + PSM proxy; no secrets revealed; read-only where possible; time-box + recording. → ZTNA
- Cloud admin hotfix — JIT assume role; commands allowed list only; automatic revocation; SIEM alert on policy breach. → Cloud
📜 Compliance Mapping (Examples)
- PCI DSS — 7/8/10: least privilege, MFA, unique IDs, logging, session monitoring, key rotation.
- HIPAA — access control, unique user identification, audit controls.
- ISO 27001 — A.9 (access), A.12 (ops), A.16 (incident).
- NIST 800-53/171 — AC/IA/AU/CM families (privileged functions, auditing, configuration mgmt).
- CMMC — privileged access and audit maturity.
Evidence (approvals, sessions, rotations) exports to SIEM with WORM options. → SIEM / SOAR
🛠️ Implementation Blueprint (No-Surprise Rollout)
- Inventory privileged accounts, targets, tools; map risks & owners.
- Define policies — who can elevate, to what, for how long, under which controls.
- Stand up vault & PSM — connect targets, import/discover secrets, enable rotation & injection.
- Wire identity & ZTNA — SSO/MFA; per-app access; device posture gates. → IAM / SSO / MFA • ZTNA
- Session recording & command policy — enable video/keystroke; build allow/deny lists.
- Approvals — normal/urgent paths; change windows; CAB hooks where required.
- SIEM/SOAR — stream logs; playbooks for kill/rotate/revoke; case linkage. → SIEM / SOAR
- Pilot rings — admins → network/DB → cloud → contractors; collect feedback; harden policies.
- Operate & tune — weekly review (violations, rotations, break-glass uses); publish KPIs.
✅ Pre-Engagement Checklist
- 👥 Admin personas & groups; third-party accounts; break-glass list.
- 🗺️ Target systems (servers, network, DB, cloud, SaaS admin, K8s, OT).
- 🔐 Secrets in scope (passwords, SSH keys, API tokens, cloud keys).
- 🎛️ Controls (JIT TTLs, command allow/deny, session recording, rotation cadence).
- 🧾 Approvals matrix; urgent path; CAB ties.
- 📊 Evidence: where logs/recordings live; retention; WORM needs.
- 🔗 Integrations: SSO/MFA, ZTNA/SASE, EDR/NAC/SD-WAN, SIEM/SOAR, ticketing.
🔄 Where PAM Fits (Recursive View)
1) Grammar — access flows ride Connectivity & Networks & Data Centers.
2) Syntax — platforms in Cloud deliver brokers, vaults, APIs.
3) Semantics — Cybersecurity preserves truth; PAM proves control of privilege.
4) Pragmatics — SolveForce AI assists approvals, detects anomalies, and suggests revocations.
5) Foundation — consistent terms via Primacy of Language.
6) Map — indexed in the SolveForce Codex & Knowledge Hub.
📞 Deploy PAM That Auditors (and Engineers) Respect
Related pages:
IAM / SSO / MFA • ZTNA • SASE • SIEM / SOAR • EDR / MDR / XDR • NAC • SD-WAN • Key Management / HSM • PKI • Encryption • DLP • Cloud • Knowledge Hub