Glossary
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
Privileged access management focuses extra scrutiny on the identities whose compromise would do disproportionate damage: system administrators, accounts with broad database access, break-glass credentials meant only for emergencies. These typically get additional controls beyond what an ordinary account receives — session recording, mandatory approval before use, tighter time bounds, more frequent rotation.
The category is only meaningful if 'privileged' is defined accurately. A system that applies rigorous controls to accounts labeled 'administrator' while an ordinary-looking service account quietly holds equivalent reach has not actually reduced its exposure — it has just mislabeled where the real privilege lives.