System administrators hold the keys to your organization’s cybersecurity. However, their accounts can also be a source of cybersecurity risks to your company. Both cybercriminals and malicious administrators can exploit the elevated privileges for their own benefit. In this article, we explore key risks coming from admin accounts and offer seven effective best practices on how to protect administrative access to your organization’s critical systems and data.

In today’s rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape, managing privileged access has become a critical concern for organizations of all sizes. Two common approaches to managing privileged access are Privileged Access Management (PAM) and Privileged User Management (PUM). In this article, we compare PAM vs PUM approaches and explore why they matter for your organization’s security.

Privileged users are an essential part of any organization. However, with access to commercial secrets and to the most vulnerable parts of the corporate network, they can pose high risks to your corporate cybersecurity. For this reason, the more privileges users have, the closer they need to be monitored. Furthermore, privileged user monitoring (PUM) is a requirement of multiple laws, regulations, and data security standards including NIST 800-53, GDPR, and HIPAA.

While it’s difficult to imagine our business lives without USB devices, each USB connection can pose a serious risk to an organization’s security. Attackers can infect USB devices with malware that attacks your corporate system once a user connects an infected device. Such attacks can damage your infrastructure or machines and result in the theft or compromise of sensitive data.

The insider story, whether it is a disgruntled or negligent employee, is one that is familiar to many organizations. The 2020 Securonix Insider Threat Report found that 60% of the insider threat cases they dealt with involved a “flight risk” employee, or an individual that is getting ready to leave their employment.

Insider incidents, whether intentional or unintentional, can harm your organization in the form of financial and reputational losses, compliance violations and fines, and operational disruptions. What can you do to avoid this? How can you protect yourself against insider threats? The solution is simple: fortify your organization’s security processes with a carefully executed insider threat strategy.

Elizabeth Harz, CEO of Veriato, gave an interview to ISMG at this year’s RSA Conference in San Francisco. In it, Elizabeth covers the challenges of maintaining data security in the remote or hybrid workforce environment and the rising cost of data breaches. She also discusses some of the tools and solutions and can help businesses better manage their cybersecurity challenges.