Episode 157: Privileged Access Management (PAM) (Domain 4)

Certified: The CompTIA Security+ Audio Course

Privileged accounts are the crown jewels of any IT environment, and their misuse—whether accidental or malicious—can lead to devastating breaches. This episode focuses on Privileged Access Management (PAM), a framework for controlling, auditing, and minimizing access to high-value accounts like system administrators, domain controllers, or cloud root users. We discuss just-in-time access (JIT), which limits privilege elevation to approved, time-bound sessions, and password vaulting, which stores credentials in secure environments and rotates them automatically. We also explore session monitoring and recording, which provide visibility into privileged activity and serve as powerful audit and deterrence tools. Proper PAM deployment balances operational efficiency with strict access enforcement, integrating with identity systems, ticketing platforms, and security operations workflows. Without PAM, your most powerful accounts remain your biggest risk—PAM turns them into controlled assets, not liabilities.