Cybersecurity pillar

Privileged access management rollout

Centralize privileged credentials, broker access through controlled sessions, and deliver just-in-time elevation backed by NIST SP 800-53 (AC-2, AC-6, IA-2) and CIS Controls v8 Safeguard 5.4.NIST SP 800-53r5CIS Controls v8

Foundational controls

Stand up the minimum guardrails before migrating any accounts.

  • Harden the vault. Enforce HSM-backed master keys, dual-control for exports, and TLS mutual authentication for all API clients.
  • Broker all sessions. Require PAM proxies for SSH/RDP with keyboard-interactive MFA; enable keystroke logging and video capture aligned to privacy policies.
  • Just-in-time elevation. Issue time-boxed group memberships or ephemeral credentials for admin tasks; expire automatically after ticket closure.
  • Service account rotation. Rotate non-person accounts every 24 hours where feasible, store application injectors centrally, and monitor for hard-coded secrets.

Rollout checklist

Sequenced activities to migrate teams with minimal disruption.

  • Scope discovery. Enumerate admins, break-glass accounts, domain joins, and service principals; classify by environment criticality and compliance impact.
  • Pilot and iterate. Start with IT admin jump hosts, then domain controllers and cloud subscriptions; measure login success rates and mean time to approve JIT requests.
  • Change management. Pre-stage new connection instructions, tie access to incident/request tickets, and enable out-of-band MFA for remote vendors.
  • Segregate duties. Separate vault admins, approvers, and auditors; enforce least privilege in PAM itself with quarterly entitlement reviews.
  • Fail-safe break glass. Maintain sealed offline credentials with tamper-evident logging; test retrieval every quarter.

Operations and assurance

Measurements verify that privileged access stays contained over time.

  • Continuous rotation. Track rotation success metrics and alert on unvaulted access, shared accounts, or disabled session recording.
  • Analytics integration. Stream PAM events to SIEM and UEBA to detect anomalous elevation requests, high-risk commands, or off-hours access.
  • Disaster recovery drills. Rehearse vault restore from backup and HSM quorum procedures; document RPO/RTO and validate against business impact analyses.
  • Third-party attestations. Collect SOC 2 or ISO 27001 reports from PAM vendors; map controls to internal policies for audit reuse.