Identity and access management (IAM) and privileged access management (PAM) are critical security tools for modern organizations. However, they can sometimes bar users from accessing critical systems and services, potentially impacting production, customer experience, and cybersecurity. In urgent cases, a method of bypassing normal security controls to regain access—called “break glass”—is needed. In this post, we’ll walk you through the break-glass process—what it is, why it’s important, and
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Want a secure and compliant AWS environment? Then you need to audit access. Keeping tabs on who has accessed what—as well as the whens, wheres, and whys—helps you spot suspicious activities and address them promptly. Without this kind of access control, your sensitive data could be exposed to malicious actors, putting you at risk of data breaches and subsequent regulatory nightmares or service interruptions.
Let’s face it. If you work with any type of technology, you know that all software, hardware, and networking gear can fail in weird and unexpected ways. That’s why it’s critical that your technology stack has no single point of failure in your environment. At StrongDM, that means having options in a “break glass” scenario. We firmly believe that this is a requirement for the responsible operation of modern technology. So here’s how we tackle it.
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) places significant emphasis on user security controls and the mitigation of potential risks posed by privileged users. To comply with FFIEC guidelines and safeguard critical systems, strong access management measures are crucial.
There is no shortage of complex and nuanced topics in the field of IT. After 16 years in the industry, access management continues to be one of the most sensitive and controversial aspects of the job. But it’s not the technology that makes it difficult. It’s the people.
Secure access controls must be applied universally and consistently across all your infrastructure—from the Linux boxes in your datacenter to your Kubernetes clusters in AWS. StrongDM Dynamic Access Management is uniquely positioned to provide seamless, secure access across your entire stack, simplifying access management and compliance for your legacy systems and modern cloud stack.
AWS authentication confirms the identity of users trying to access your resources, safeguarding against potential intrusions and data breaches. But weak authentication practices—like easy-to-guess passwords and single-factor authentication (SFA)—are far too common and they leave the door wide open for threat actors. Weak authentication often leads to data theft, resource misuse, financial and reputational nightmares…the list goes on. On the contrary, strong authentication measures like
So, you’ve decided to conduct an annual access audit. Now comes the obvious question: where do I start? Just like you wouldn’t embark on a mountain climbing excursion without a clear understanding of the terrain and gear you need, the starting point for an annual access audit requires an understanding of the process, people, and tools you’ll need to get started. Let’s go!
The great outdoors and your infrastructure have more in common than you might think. Both environments have diverse ecosystems and unique terrain, but they can also feel wild and untamed. In the spirit of adventuring and access, we wrote this blog to help you learn why you should conduct an annual access audit every year.
Secret vaults ensure that sensitive and privileged credentials are well protected, rotated, and only used–or checked out–when necessary. This makes them a critical and foundational tool for credential protection in modern infrastructures.
The inability to audit, track, and understand how permissions are being used (or if they’re used at all) has been non-existent. Until now. The findings are clear: organizations need visibility into privileged access and its usage to fully understand and address their total attack surface.
We’ve just launched our AWS Management Console, adding yet another supported authentication method to improve control and auditability–so you can protect your business and improve employee productivity.
One thing is clear in the software space: New features aren’t adopted if they don’t solve specific problems for the people who actually use the product. Solving real problems means conducting research and asking hard questions. It means gathering evidence and interviewing multiple customers as well as leaders in the space to relieve the pain and positively impact the business.
