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Getting Started With WAAP: Benefits, Deployment & Best Practices

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As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, web applications and application programming interfaces (APIs) have become central to enterprise operations. The increase in their uptake has, unfortunately, made them susceptible to cyber threats. Web applications, due to their constant availability for uninterrupted service provision, are highly vulnerable to hacking attempts. Likewise, according to a report by Marsh McLennan, the average annual API-related total global cyber loss totalled US$ 41-75 billion (Rs. 3.3 – 6.1 trillion).

WAAP Solutions offer a robust and user-friendly platform for controlling and automating a company’s operations. In this article, we will look at their benefits and the best practices for implementing and utilising them.

The Evolution Of WAAP

Web Application and API Protection (WAAP) is an anti-attack security solution. Businesses can protect their web applications and APIs against widespread threats with WAAP’s configurable security rules.

Over the years, Web Application and API Protection has evolved as the premier solution for businesses to protect their online applications. With a WAAP solution, businesses can safeguard customer information and prevent targeted attacks on their online applications. It was initially developed to aid companies in preventing unwanted access to their websites by keeping intruders at bay. Today, WAAP-as-a-service is used to prevent data leakage and ensure the safety of online APIs.

Benefits Of Using WAAP-As-A-Service For Businesses

  • Improved Scalability: Web Application and API Protection-as-a-service can help enterprises expand their business without worrying about cyber-attacks and data breaches. It also offers enterprises scalability and flexibility to accommodate evolving business needs as it can be implemented in different settings, including on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
  • Enhanced Security: WAAP-as-a-service also offers the added advantage of making a company more secure. When risks like data theft and hacker intrusion become increasingly challenging for businesses, WAAP-as-a-service can come to their rescue. Protecting your company from these dangers will lessen the likelihood of private data being stolen or misused.
  • Cost Savings: Businesses can save big on security-related expenditures like personnel and software by switching to WAAP-as-a-service. In addition, organisations can save costs by preventing data breaches by encrypting important information.

Factors To Consider When Selecting A WAAP Solution

  • Technology: Technology is a significant factor to consider when looking for a Web Application and API Protection solution. Look for the most advanced technology, and it should be such that it can integrate with the existing technology infrastructure.
  • Performance: In the case of applications that need both high throughput and low latency, a WAAP solution with purpose-built hardware may be the best option. Scalability also becomes a critical factor if the size or complexity of the application is likely to grow over time.
  • Support: Features, system compatibility, and service quality are important factors when deciding on your organisation’s Web Application and API Protection solution. Businesses should also think about whether they require a particular feature or might get by with a cheaper alternative.
  • Cost: When deciding on a WAAP solution, cost is one of the most critical factors. It is essential to locate a remedy that is both practical and within your price range. The cost of licensing, upgrades, and maintenance should be included.
  • Peace of Mind: The degree of worry-free operation is crucial in selecting a WAAP solution. Enterprises must ensure they can manage their most important tasks without worrying or stressing the IT team. It implies that personnel won’t have to fret about their information being stolen or compromised. All user information in WAAP-as-a-service is encrypted and stored safely. It assures that the data will stay secure in case of a breach.

Cloud-powered WAAP

Thanks to cloud-based deployment approach, businesses can use web application security from any place with an internet connection. This deployment option is the most convenient and economical since it does not need client installation or upkeep of WAAP software.

Since it’s SaaS-based, there are no infrastructure requirements like:

Configuring Servers

It means that any server with access to the internet may be used for its deployment. The platform may also grow to support a large number of users. In addition, it may function without servers or other supporting infrastructure.

Setting Up Databases

It’s easier than you would expect to set up a database in a SaaS environment. The software’s administration console helps configure the utmost settings. With this, creating and maintaining a database is significantly simpler and quicker.

Monitoring Performance

It can function locally or on the cloud and is compatible with Windows and Mac. The simple interface also makes it easier to track performance.

Web Application and API Protection is an effective software for streamlining processes and automating routine tasks. Its many advantages include shorter processing times, higher levels of precision and productivity, and lower overall costs. WAAP Solutions’ deployment options are flexible and may be tailored to meet specific requirements – using cloud-based solutions, putting them in place locally, or utilising hybrid models that blend the two are all standard practices.

Yotta’s Managed Web Application & API Protection solution protects businesses’ online assets from the evils of the cyber world. It safeguards digital assets and customer data against new and existing threats, across various environments irrespective of the application architecture in use.

CERT-In’s new directives: A security strategist’s perspective

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One can’t deny greater digital maturity that organisations have achieved in past three years. From widespread cloud adoption, emerging technology use cases to application modernisation among other areas, there has been an accelerated uptake of digital solutions, but cybersecurity remains a concern – in fact, a growing one. According to India’s nodal cybersecurity agency CERT-In, the country witnessed over 14 lakh cybersecurity incidents in 2021. The number is alarming, but the silver lining is that firm efforts are directed towards curbing these incidents.

CERT-In’s latest directives, much talked about among IT leaders and the CISO community, aim at strengthening the cybersecurity posture of enterprises in India. There are 3 major ways these directives strengthen cybersecurity readiness of enterprises, service providers, intermediaries, data centers and government organisations.

Eliminating time discrepancies
CERT-In has mandated synchronisation of ICT infrastructure with Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers of the government’s IT organisation National Informatics Centre (NIC) or National Physical Laboratory (NPL). It has also allowed organisations to connect to Network Time Protocol servers that are traceable to those of National Informatics Centre or National Physical Laboratory.

Syncing of ICT system clock essentially eliminates discrepancies in incident reporting and resolution time, which is critical to ensure timely prevention of greater damage to IT systems after an incident has taken place. Many enterprises, service providers and data centers, including Yotta, maintain in-house Network Time Protocol servers which are connected to all internal servers and devices. Thus, connecting them with National Informatics Centre or National Physical Laboratory doesn’t involve complexities.

Quicker response time
As a major development, CERT-In has defined a timeline of 6 hours for organisations to report any cybersecurity incident. This is an aggressive timeline via-a-vis that of many mature markets. The US, for instance, has set an obligation to report cyber incidents to its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within 72 hours.

CERT-In’s 6-hour timeframe is, however, a good step to ensure greater transparency and curb the effects of an incident. The initial hours of an incident are highly critical which determine the impact of the incident. This step will help organisations to mitigate risks as immediately as possible, instead of waiting for several hours. The step will guide organisations to take proactive steps and actions, while allowing CERT-In to hand-hold organisations to respond to the incident, wherever needed.

Maintenance of data
The directive of maintaining subscriber data for 5 years would help CERT-In to maintain a repository of cyber incidents, identify patterns and devise best practices to prevent them in the future. It may require organisations to invest in additional backup and storage capacities, but any investment in cybersecurity is worth the money, since the benefits substantially outweigh the costs.

Overall, these guidelines were much required. It will result in greater seriousness regarding cybersecurity and increased investments in this area. These steps will not just make organisations more conscious about cybersecurity, but also improve their overall cyber posture.

Strengthen your cybersecurity posture with application-aware workload protection

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Application-aware workload protection can offer proactive security in the age of zero-day attacks and enable enterprises to be better prepared in the fight against hackers and cybercriminals.

Thanks to the increasing adoption of technology, our lives have been completely taken over by apps. There are apps for almost every scenario, from waking up to ordering food, running errands, chatting, and a lot more. The rise in the usage of applications has been specifically more phenomenal in the current times of the pandemic as enterprises have accelerated their digital initiatives. The increase in the adoption of applications has expanded the attack surface for hackers and given them new opportunities.

In an increasingly connected and hybrid cloud world, hackers have smartly focused on stealthily embedding themselves into applications and penetrating vulnerable networks. For instance, last year, hackers successfully implanted malware into SolarWinds’ network monitoring software, thereby penetrating thousands of unsuspecting companies. As we can see, cyber-attacks can vary in nature and are often stealthy, which can go undetected for long periods. This can have dangerous implications.

Applications being increasingly targeted

To protect against modern-day threats, enterprises have to understand and recognise that traditional cybersecurity practices are ineffective. Considering the criticality of applications and the tremendous data they hold, hackers are now increasingly going after applications. Their goal is to embed malicious code into the application code and penetrate enterprise networks while remaining undetected. In many cases, such attempts have gone completely unidentified for months before they affect applications and expose or steal confidential data.

This is a blind spot for most organisations, as conventional cybersecurity tools seldom look at application runtime. Existing security systems are reactive, and by the time they analyse logs and look out for signature-based attacks, it is too late, with the hackers running away with stolen data without leaving traces.

Hackers have used this vulnerability to their advantage and are increasingly using memory-based techniques that only activate the application code. For example, in the famous hack of Equifax, which led to the exposure of data of over 140 million customers, a memory-based attack exposed the server and the backend data.

Many enterprises have tried to stop web-based attacks by using a Web Application Firewall (WAF), which protects web applications by monitoring HTTP/s traffic between web applications and the Internet. But this method is ineffective, as hackers can take advantage of vulnerabilities across the web stack (web frameworks, libraries, compiled code, and others). It is, hence, necessary to protect the full stack. However, this can only happen when organizations gain visibility into the application stack.

Getting application-level protection

An application-aware workload protection solution can fulfil this objective by offering visibility and protection for the entire attack surface of the application. This includes the web, memory, and host layers, monitored actively during application runtime. This can help stop most application-related attacks, including library injections, memory errors, process corruption, and malware.

Moreover, applications hosted across cloud, virtual machines, bare-metal servers, and on-premises at data centers require protection. This is where application security solutions provide security controls across physical, virtualised, containerized, and cloud environments. The application-aware workload protection model also moves beyond the boundaries of perimeter security to a more holistic approach that protects applications from the inside.

From a mitigation and detection perspective, application-aware workload platforms can stop in-memory attacks that typically evade detection. Application-aware workload platforms can immediately detect when a workload starts executing malicious code by leveraging in-memory instrumentation. They can also monitor file integrity capabilities to prevent even a single instruction from any unauthorised source (scripts, executables, libraries), eventually leading to an attack.

Why is real-time monitoring of threats critical?

Given the exponential surge in vulnerabilities, it is a daunting task for any enterprise to keep updating patches. Patching is an endless activity of catching up, which leaves organisations extremely vulnerable to attacks. Hackers are constantly looking out for any vulnerabilities, which have led to many zero-day attacks. Due to the remote working scenario, many enterprises are also enabling remote access for their legacy applications. In a rush to quickly provide remote access, it has been observed that many organisations are bypassing security controls, which makes them highly vulnerable.

An application-aware workload protection solution can address these gaps, as it can monitor applications by identifying illegal code modifications as they occur. In addition, these solutions can instantly identify deviations with the ability to monitor runtime environments. This visibility helps detect attacks in real time and stop them within seconds without worrying about zero-day threats or vulnerabilities.

Let us now look at the typical approaches of enterprises for improving their security posture. The most popular is the signature-based model, which uses intelligence from past attack patterns to protect enterprises. Some enterprises have also invested in setting up web application honeypots to better understand hackers’ reconnaissance activities as they scan for applications to attack. Sandboxing is another popular cybersecurity technique wherein organisations run tested or untested code in an isolated environment so that it does not cause any damage to the existing host systems. This is designed to prevent any possibility of threats affecting the core systems or networks.

Compared to the approaches mentioned above, an application-aware model does not require any previous intelligence of attack patterns. Instead, by just monitoring the integrity of applications in real-time, an application-aware workload protection model can immediately stop attacks at the very first step, before any damage can be done.

In summary, application-aware workload protection can offer proactive security in the age of zero-day attacks and enable enterprises to be better prepared in the fight against hackers and cybercriminals.

Source: https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/digital-security/strengthen-your-cybersecurity-posture-with-application-aware-workload-protection/86056043

Why Security is Paramount in a Digital-First Economy?

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In today’s digital-first world, businesses are rethinking their approach to security. Instead of a traditional reactive approach of band-aid security solutions, CISOs are now looking for scalable, long-term strategies that could proactively protect their enterprise environment and prevent cyber criminals from taking advantage of vulnerabilities that got exposed during crisis situations like the one we all are currently going through.

With millions of people working from anywhere, the attack surface for cybercriminals has increased considerably. Hackers have been quick to take advantage of the loopholes created due to relatively less secure remote working mechanisms, leading to a huge rise in cyberattacks. And with attackers successfully evading defenses, business and security leaders are forced to rely on converged security approaches to address new remote workforce challenges.

Just a cursory look at some of the recent findings from different cyber security OEMs, points out to the huge increase in threats. A recent report from Fortinet, highlighted that home branch offices remained a big target for cyber criminals, wherein they targeted IoT devices such as home routers, connected security devices, home entertainment systems. Similarly, the 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report highlights how COVID-19 provided threat actors with ample opportunity for more powerful, aggressive, and numerous attacks, thriving on the fear and uncertainty of remote and mobile workforces navigating corporate networks from home.

A report from Norton also highlighted that 45 percent of adult Indian internet users faced identity threat in 2020. This figure rose by nearly 40% to 2.7Cr since 2019. This is roughly over 2% of India’s population. Additionally, Norton also stated that 59% of all adult Indian internet users faced cybercrime in some for or the other in 2020. As one can see, a distributed workforce has raised threat levels to a new, higher level, as home users do not have the same level of protection as an enterprise does.

Changing threat landscape

Cybercrime has also got more sophisticated and more targeted. Hackers are constantly exploring new dimensions and vulnerabilities that they can exploit. For example, last year’s biggest enterprise security incident, which caught some of the most prominent organisations by surprise, was the SolarWinds attack, where hackers created a backdoor in SolarWinds’ Orion network monitoring software. This proved to be a big area of vulnerability, as updates and patching are rarely monitored, and highlighted the importance of permissions or access rights allowed for third-party software.

While AI has helped improve security, it has also enabled hackers to find new software vulnerabilities. AI today is increasingly used by hackers to create smart malware that understands how to exploit specific vulnerabilities in the host system and evade detection.

The increased adoption of the cloud has also brought certain vulnerabilities in the cloud ecosystem to the forefront. Most of these vulnerabilities are due to improper implementation or enforcement of cloud security controls from the customer. This includes cloud misconfigurations which can put credentials at risk. For example, a common cloud misconfiguration error leaves unencrypted data exposed to the Internet without any authentication. This happens because organisations leave the default permissions unchanged and make the mistake of assuming that the same settings that work in on-premise environments will work the same way in a cloud-based environment.

The Cloud Security Alliance lists ten more common threats. This includes data breaches, lack of cloud architecture and security, insufficient identity, credential, access and key management; account hijacking; insider threats; insecure interfaces and APIs; weak control plane; metastructure and applistructure failures; limited cloud usage visibility and abuse and nefarious use of cloud services.

Ensuring secure remote access

As organisations are now operating in the era of what can be termed as the ‘unbound enterprise’, the realities of distributed workforce and digital transformation require them to adopt a strategy of enabling productivity from anywhere while securing data everywhere.

Enterprises have responded by trying to provide secure access to corporate applications. This includes giving access using VPNs or cloud-based zero-trust authentication solutions. Some enterprises have also tried to ensure secure access to company data and applications using virtual desktops. This also ensures that confidential data cannot be downloaded to a remote or home computer.

In certain cases, the attacks culminate on the endpoint or the network layer, which makes traffic monitoring essential. This is where proactive network forensics becomes critical. It’s next to impossible for enterprises to evade security breaches, but if they are armoured with network forensics capabilities, they are in a better position to defend against future attacks proactively.

Concerning cloud security, enterprises must understand that a big responsibility of configuring cloud security settings lies with the customer. Enterprises can also use cloud-based automation tools to enforce rules and find out exceptions or vulnerabilities in their cloud environments. In remote working environments, organisations can also take advantage of techniques such as endpoint backup as a service to ensure adequate protection of data in remote desktops or laptops.

For ensuring protection in an always-connected world, enterprises should take help from the expertise of Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs). Equipped with the right technology and people, MSSPs can ensure a holistic and continuous threat monitoring service. Simultaneously, organisations can also place an additional layer of security by using zero-trust authentication and monitoring user behavior using analytics.

More importantly, for ensuring a holistic security policy, the combination of people, process and technology must work in close coordination. Even the best technology and process cannot prevent an organisation from getting hacked if its employees are unaware of basic security hygiene. Enterprises must enforce this as part of their security policy. In most organisations today, ISMS trainings are mandatory and a part of employee induction.

In today’s complex IT environment, which includes a mix of onsite and multi-cloud environments, the focus has moved from protecting data in a defined perimeter. Today, there are no boundaries, and identity is the new perimeter. Hence, security must be embedded as part of the design, which can help enterprises be proactive in mitigating security risks across the entire ecosystem (suppliers, partners) and lead to improved business confidence.

Source: https://ciso.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/why-security-is-paramount-in-a-digital-first-economy/83910422

DDoS Attacks: A complete guide on understanding and protecting your enterprise

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In July 2021, Link11, a security provider from Europe released a report that pointed out a 33% increase in DDoS attacks in the first half of 2021 compared to the first half of 2020. This year, there have been prominent DDoS attacks. From government websites to educational institutions to telecom service providers, DDoS attacks have been used to target almost every vulnerable company.  In this pandemic, cybercriminals have been smart to target institutions that were in high demand, such as e-learning platforms, vaccination websites or IT infrastructure service providers.

What is a DDoS attack?

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a website or a server by overwhelming it with a flood of traffic coming in from different sources. As the host website or server gets overwhelmed handling the large volume of requests, the server crashes or is forced to go offline.

Types of DDoS attacks

Broadly, DDoS attacks can be classified into the following three categories:

Application Layer Attacks: One of the most popular types of DDoS attacks, application-layer attacks are used to overwhelm or exhaust the host’s resources to prevent it from honoring a legitimate request. Attacks are typically aimed at the layer where web pages are generated in response to HTTP requests. If the number of HTTP requests escalates to a point where it is difficult for the server to respond, it can lead to a crash. Unfortunately, this attack is difficult to respond and defend against, as it is challenging to identify and differentiate between legitimate and malicious traffic.

Protocol Attacks: Protocol attacks can cause a denial of service by sending a connection request repeatedly to the host server. An SYN flood attack is an example of a protocol attack, where the hacker exploits the TCP/IP handshake process by repeatedly sending SYN packages. Hackers have been known to bring down firewalls by sending a huge number of SYN packets and stop them from accepting new connections.

Volumetric Attacks: In this type of attack, the hacker attempts to create huge congestion by sending a high volume of traffic or request packets from multiple sources. The objective is to overwhelm bandwidth capabilities so that the server or host slows down or stops its services.

DDoS Botnets
Botnets are a hijacked group of Internet-connected devices, which have been injected by malware to allow hackers to control them from a remote location. It is relatively easier for hackers to use IoT devices in a connected world and use them for hosting attacks against hosts. Using botnets, some of the most significant DDoS attacks have been recorded in history. For example, in 2016, a massive DDOS attack was directed at Dyn, a major DNS provider, which created disruption for many major sites like Netflix, PayPal, Airbnb, Amazon, Visa, The New York Times, and GitHub among others. Hackers used a malware, called Mirai, to create a botnet out of the compromised IoT devices like cameras, smart TVs, radios, printers, etc.

Difference between a DoS and a DDoS attack

A DoS attack is a Denial-of-Service attack, where the hacker sends in a massive amount of requests or traffic to a website or a server and shuts it down. In a DoS attack, the attacks can be easily stopped, as the source of the attack is from a single location and can be blocked. Compared to this, a DDoS attack is a Distributed Denial of Service attack. The host is overwhelmed with requests coming in from multiple locations. This is much difficult to stop than a DoS attack, as multiple devices are sending packets of data from different locations.

DDoS for hire

While DDoS attacks have traditionally been associated with hacker groups, there has been an emergence of DDoS for hire services in recent times. Also called DDoSers or booters, these services are available on the darknet for any enterprise that wants to rent a botnet. Some even offer a botnet toolkit that gives the owner the rights to a botnet payload and the command-and-control files to distribute malware. In addition, some DDoS for hire creators try to assume a legitimate cover by offering their services as ‘stressers’, which implies that they want to stress test the resilience of a server.

Motivation behind DDoS attacks

A host of factors can inspire DDoS attacks, and the reasons vary. Most DDoS attacks are caused for financial gain. In some cases, it is a revenge attack for a specific stand taken by a company for any cause, which the hackers are opposed to. There are also examples of many individual hacktivists who launch DDoS attacks against government authorities. It is also common for hackers to launch DDoS attacks as proof of their technological capabilities. Nations and states have also been known to launch DDoS attacks against government sites of countries, to inflict economic or physiological damage.

What can make a website vulnerable to DDoS attacks?

Unpatched websites or websites that have not updated their plugins regularly are the ones that are most prone to DDoS attacks. Most hosting providers cannot protect against DDoS attacks, as they do not invest in software that can prevent such attacks. If your website is hosted on one server without any disaster recovery protection, it is highly vulnerable to a DDoS attack

How to protect your site from DDoS attacks?

To mitigate risks and protect their sites from DDoS attacks, enterprises can ensure that their servers are spread over multiple data centers in different regions so that even if one server is hit in one region, then a load balancing system can be used to distribute traffic to another server. Servers must also be protected ideally by firewalls that can protect against DDoS attacks.

Enterprises can also decide to partner with a managed security services provider who can offer DDoS mitigation services. Managed security service providers also have the latest automated tools and skilled personnel to monitor traffic and mitigate attacks continuously. With the scale and volume of DDoS attacks expected to go up exponentially, it makes immense sense for enterprises to take DDoS threats seriously before impacting the business.

Why Privileged Access Management (PAM) Tops the Priority List in Cybersecurity

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In the realm of cybersecurity, enterprises face numerous threats and challenges that can compromise sensitive data, systems, and networks. Among these challenges, the management of privileged access stands out as a critical priority. Privileged Access Management (PAM) plays a vital role in securing the most powerful accounts within an enterprise. This article explores the reasons why PAM tops the priority list in cybersecurity. We will delve into the risks associated with unmanaged privileged access, the impact of privileged account compromise, and how PAM solutions address these challenges.

Expanding Threat Landscape: The threat landscape has evolved significantly, with cyberattacks becoming more sophisticated and frequent. Threat actors specifically target privileged accounts due to their extensive access and control over critical systems. Unmanaged privileged access can result in dire consequences, such as data breaches, unauthorised system modifications, and even full-scale network compromise.

Privileged Access Management is paramount in addressing these challenges. It provides a comprehensive framework for managing, controlling, and monitoring privileged accounts, mitigating the risks associated with their misuse, and bolstering an enterprise’s overall security posture.

Mitigating Risks of Unmanaged Privileged Access

Unmanaged privileged access poses significant risks to enterprises. Here are some key reasons why PAM, a type of cybersecurity solution, is crucial to mitigating these risks:

  • Insider Threats: Privileged accounts in the wrong hands can lead to malicious actions from insiders. PAM systems minimise the possibility of internal misuse by ensuring that only approved users have access to privileged accounts and that their activities are continuously monitored.
  • External Cyberattacks: To obtain unauthorized access, cybercriminals intentionally target privileged accounts. Strong authentication procedures, comprehensive access controls, and the monitoring of privileged sessions enforced by PAM solutions make it far more difficult for attackers to penetrate these crucial accounts.
  • Credential Theft: Compromised credentials are often used to gain unauthorised access and facilitate lateral movement within an enterprise’s network. PAM solutions mitigate this risk by implementing measures such as password rotation, just-in-time access, and session isolation, reducing the chances of successful credential theft and lateral movement.
  • Compliance and Audit: PAM solutions help enterprises meet various compliance regulations and audit requirements by providing comprehensive audit trails, session recordings, and access controls, ensuring transparency and accountability.

Benefits Of Implementing PAM Solutions

Implementing PAM solutions offers several benefits that contribute to enhanced cybersecurity:

  • Least Privilege Principle: PAM solutions enforce the principle of least privilege by granting IT administrators and other privileged users only the necessary access privileges required to perform their tasks. This reduces the attack surface and minimises the potential impact of a compromised account.
  • Centralised Access Control: PAM solutions provide a centralised platform for managing privileged accounts, streamlining access provisioning, deprovisioning, and overall user lifecycle management. This simplifies administrative tasks, reduces operational overhead, and enhances visibility into privileged access.
  • Session Monitoring: PAM solutions offer real-time session monitoring and recording capabilities, enabling enterprises to track and audit privileged activities. This provides valuable insights into administrator actions, aids in incident investigation, and supports forensic analysis in the event of a security breach.
  • Password Management: PAM solutions incorporate password vaults and automated password rotation, ensuring that privileged account credentials are strong, frequently updated, and not shared among users. This significantly reduces the risk of unauthorised access due to weak or compromised passwords.

Privileged Access Management is undeniably a top priority in cybersecurity due to the critical role privileged accounts play in an enterprise’s infrastructure. By implementing PAM solutions, enterprises can effectively mitigate the risks associated with unmanaged privileged access. Yotta’s Privileged Access Management solution provides comprehensive security for attack surfaces across endpoints, applications, and servers. With quick deployment and setup available from Day 0, enterprises can swiftly implement the solution to enhance their cybersecurity posture. The PAM solution offers robust features such as credential management, session monitoring, and access control, enabling customers to meet regular audit and compliance requirements.

One notable advantage of Yotta’s Privileged Access Management solution is its regular upgrades, which allow enterprises to leverage the benefits of a strong PAM without the burden of manual upgrades. This ensures that the solution remains up to date with the latest security advancements.

Yotta’s PAM solution goes beyond securing access to servers, network devices, databases, and applications. It provides comprehensive monitoring and control capabilities, enabling enterprises to have a holistic view of privileged activities, detect anomalies, and promptly respond to potential security incidents.

PAM solutions provide robust access controls, session monitoring, and password management capabilities, thereby strengthening security, minimising insider threats, thwarting external attacks, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Prioritising PAM empowers enterprises to protect their critical data, systems, and networks, safeguarding their operations and maintaining trust in an increasingly complex digital landscape.


5 Reasons Why Businesses Need Privileged Access Management

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Privileged access abuse is emerging as one of the most critical security challenges for enterprises, particularly amidst increased vulnerabilities in a distributed work environment. The bad actors of the cyber world are relentlessly looking to exploit identity and access-based vulnerabilities to infiltrate corporate networks. According to India’s nodal cybersecurity agency CERT-In, the country reported over 2 lakh cybersecurity incidents in the first two months of 2022, compared to over 14 lakh total cybersecurity related incidents last year.

Privileged Accounts: Advantages and Risks Galore

When it comes to manipulating IT systems with high business value, privileged users typically have the widest latitude of all. The most technically skilled users in an enterprise are often responsible for deploying and controlling functionalities on which the business depends. This includes anything from day-to-day operations to strategic capabilities that allow a business to maintain its competitive edge. They may also have considerable responsibilities such as ownership of business applications. There are risks to this power, though.

The complexity of IT infrastructure means that even minor changes can lead to unexpected consequences in terms of resource integrity, performance, or availability – even when handled by highly competent staff.

Malicious parties within the organisation and beyond can capitalise on administrative-level access to cause severe damage to the business. Given the increasing stealth and sophistication of modern attacks, it’s not uncommon for hackers to exploit such privileges unbeknownst to trustworthy and capable resources.

Privileged Access Management (PAM) is an aspect of cybersecurity that helps enterprises maintain complete control and visibility over their most critical assets. A robust PAM solution ensures that all user activities, including those of privileged users, are monitored and will be audited in case of a security breach.

Here’s how enterprises can assure themselves of a robust cybersecurity posture with a reliable PAM solution.

Effective access control

It’s easy to assume that privileged access users know what they are doing when accessing systems or that they will inherently do the right thing. However, that isn’t always the case. Monitoring and auditing access controls ensure that all users in the network adhere to the PAM policies established by the organisation. It involves understanding each account’s access, maintaining inventory of privileged accounts, and analysing and monitoring activities of each account

Preventing external and internal threats

External attackers targeting administrative privilege as a tactical objective present the most potent threat. But even highly skilled individuals can become insider threats. Considering the evolving cybersecurity landscape, organisations should deploy more granular control and visibility frameworks over administrative access, regardless of the nature of the systems and where they reside – on the cloud, third party or on-premise data centers.

Preventing external and internal threats

Privileged access management not only reduces the administrative burden on IT teams, but also mitigates potential risks via automation. An automated PAM solution manages passwords, access, and sessions for IT administrators. This includes session recording, implementation of multi-factor authentication (MFA), automated rotation of passwords, and system audit to identify flaws and issues.

Compliance requirements

Auditability of access and authentication is a critical compliance requirement for many organisations. Privileged access activity monitoring is required in varying degrees under regulations such as HIPAA, SOX, PCI DSS, ICS CERT, GLBA, FISMA, and others. Moreover, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) mandates the management of access to critical data, bringing all privileged access into its scope.