What is the term for the set of policies, procedures, and software designed to manage accounts and credentials with administrative permissions?

What is the term for the set of policies, procedures, and software designed to manage accounts and credentials with administrative permissions?

• A. Privileged Access Management (PAM)
• B. Multi-factor authentication
• C. Single sign-on
• D. Identity federation

Answer: (A)

Managing accounts and credentials with administrative permissions is addressed by Privileged Access Management. This practice covers the policies that define who can access elevated accounts, the procedures for requesting and approving access, and the software that enforces these controls. It often includes privileged credential vaults to securely store passwords, just-in-time access to minimize standing privileges, session monitoring to observe admin activity, and auditing to ensure accountability. The aim is to reduce the risk from powerful accounts, limit exposure of high-privilege credentials, and provide traceability for all privileged actions. Multi-factor authentication adds an extra verification step but doesn’t govern the lifecycle or governance of privileged accounts. Single sign-on simplifies logging in across multiple systems but isn’t focused on managing admin credentials. Identity federation links identities across organizations or domains but doesn’t specifically address safeguarding and managing elevated privileges.

Managing accounts and credentials with administrative permissions is addressed by Privileged Access Management. This practice covers the policies that define who can access elevated accounts, the procedures for requesting and approving access, and the software that enforces these controls. It often includes privileged credential vaults to securely store passwords, just-in-time access to minimize standing privileges, session monitoring to observe admin activity, and auditing to ensure accountability. The aim is to reduce the risk from powerful accounts, limit exposure of high-privilege credentials, and provide traceability for all privileged actions.

Multi-factor authentication adds an extra verification step but doesn’t govern the lifecycle or governance of privileged accounts. Single sign-on simplifies logging in across multiple systems but isn’t focused on managing admin credentials. Identity federation links identities across organizations or domains but doesn’t specifically address safeguarding and managing elevated privileges.