Privileged access management (PAM) audit checklist

December 29, 2022

Axay Desai

Privileged access management (PAM) is a critical aspect of an organization’s cybersecurity strategy. It involves carefully controlling and monitoring access to sensitive systems, networks, and data to prevent unauthorized access and protect against cyber threats.

Conducting a PAM audit is an important step in ensuring that your organization’s PAM controls are effective and compliant with industry standards and regulations. A Privileged access management (PAM) audit checklist can help you identify areas of weakness and implement necessary improvements to strengthen your overall security posture.

Here is a comprehensive PAM audit checklist to help you get started:

  1. Review PAM policies and procedures: Make sure you have clear and up-to-date policies and procedures in place for managing privileged access. These should include guidelines for granting, revoking, and monitoring access, as well as protocols for handling emergencies and breaches.

  2. Identify and classify privileged accounts: Determine which systems and resources require privileged access, and classify the accounts that have access to them. This will help you understand the scope of your PAM efforts and identify high-risk areas that need extra attention.

  3. Assess access controls: Review the controls in place for granting and revoking privileged access. Are they sufficient to prevent unauthorized access? Do they meet industry standards and regulatory requirements?

  4. Evaluate password management: Determine whether your organization has effective password management policies and procedures in place. This includes regularly changing passwords, using strong and unique passwords, and using multi-factor authentication whenever possible.

  5. Monitor privileged access: Implement processes for regularly monitoring privileged access to ensure that it is being used appropriately. This may include using tools to track and log access, as well as conducting regular audits and reviews.

  6. Train employees on PAM: Ensure that all employees who have privileged access are trained on proper PAM practices, including the importance of strong passwords and the consequences of unauthorized access.

  7. Test PAM controls: Regularly test your PAM controls to ensure that they are effective and working as intended. This may include penetration testing and vulnerability assessments.

  8. Review PAM vendor contracts: If your organization uses third-party vendors for PAM services, make sure their contracts are up-to-date and include appropriate security provisions.

  9. Update PAM controls as needed: Regularly review and update your PAM controls to ensure that they are effective and remain compliant with industry standards and regulations.

By following this PAM audit checklist, you can ensure that your organization’s privileged access is properly managed and secure. While PAM audit can be useful it is often tedious. To solve this problem, ObserveID created a real-time PAM audit featurewhich helps organizations in gaining real-time insights on PAM controls effectiveness. Contact us to learn how ObserveID’s CREAM (Converged resourced entitlement and access management)platform can address IAM and PAM use cases with out of the box integrations and context aware access management features.