How IT Security Teams can Benefit from Privileged Access Management

The position of IT Security encompasses a wide variety of duties, including managing a team of security staff across a variety of locations. A leader within an IT Security Team often acts as the security escalation point for all technology security issues, from policy to product.

IT Security – The Broad Challenge

Additional key functions that fall under the IT Security manager’s remit include the company’s security accreditations. They are also tasked with the integration of fundamental security awareness into every area of a business. As a major stakeholder in the companies network infrastructure, ultimately core processes are owned and executed on a daily basis by the IT Security team. 

With pressures to accommodate new business transforming applications and new platforms to support the business need, it is becoming more and more important that the IT Security team can offer the required policy-based access to the right resources. The choices they make can impede that smooth delivery of service.

The Challenge is Even Broader

Often sitting between IT Operations and personnel, and managing the complexities of regulatory compliance IT Security professionals require broad skills but also must remain very practical. As they sometimes work alongside specialist third-parties and contractors, maintaining continuity is often key to the success of projects. Being the practical element within the IT organization, the day to day management of external resources often falls on this team.

Essential Tools to Fulfil the Challenge

For IT Security Managers and teams, an essential tool would be a single gateway for privileged access to all key systems, an All-In-One Certified Solution comprising three key components: Password Manager, Session Manager and Access Manager. A platform deployed typically in less than a day, that ensures only the right users have access to the right resources at the right time, greatly reduces the risk of an internal security breach by a third party, while maximising business productivity and the required continuity.

Collaboration and Potential Overlaps

Within the wide-ranging field of information and cyber security, there are many roles dealing with its different aspects. These roles do not, and cannot, exist in isolation of each other. It’s likely that a specialist working in one area will develop an understanding of the work in other areas. Where these often roles overlap could also be a concern when it comes to an audit following an incident or serious breach.

How Can You Align Internal Continuity Whilst Maintaining a Robust Posture?

WALLIX Bastion offers the IT Security team the ability to review all steps of an incident, checking all privileged accounts for where the potential incident occurred or maintaining the integrity of the security team when issues arise. 

WALLIX Bastion suite also provides controls in line with existing security policies to maintain a secure infrastructure while allowing controlled access to key systems for the businesses development and growth. While different parts of an organization build the applications required to meet future needs, the IT Security team maintains the process that upholds the security posture throughout the organization today and in the future.

Operational Control, Continuity & Audit

With the fine granularity of in-built access control policies, WALLIX Bastion allows for extremely precise definitions of devices and accounts accessible by teams across an infrastructure, thereby avoiding the need to open access to key information systems more than is necessary. The IT Security team also has full visibility of any suspicious network behaviour on critical systems in real-time and therefore the right tools to access post event video recordings for forensic and behavioural analysis.

This level of functionality delivers a best of both worlds solution for IT Security teams offering the assurance of maintaining the need to have a well-managed infrastructure while maintaining absolute control, continuity and compliance.