From The Few to the Many: How ‘PAM For All’ Strengthens Security

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/opinions/how-pam-for-all-strengthens/

Publish Date: 2026-01-25 22:51:04

Source Domain: www.infosecurity-magazine.com

Summary

Cyber-attacks in the UK have moved from sporadic incidents to nearly incessant assaults on organizations of all sizes and importance. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has highlighted the increasing frequency of major cyber incidents, pointing out that critical attacks crop up almost daily, underscoring the inadequacy of traditional security defenses. Businesses relying on outdated access controls or perimeter defenses should re-evaluate the concept of a “privileged user” or risk falling behind against cybercriminals. Research from Keeper Security indicates UK organizations are less prepared than their international counterparts in defending against identity-based threats. Many organizations struggle to consistently apply zero trust principles, enforce strong authentication, or deactivate privileged credentials, which leaves them vulnerable. Attackers no longer target only admins, as any compromised identity can initiate lateral movement and privilege escalation. The old model of Privileged Access Management (PAM) cannot protect just a select few without modern cloud-native, zero-trust solutions that apply to all identities, human, or machine. Extending PAM to everyone doesn’t need complexity as modern platforms use AI for real-time risk assessment and automate credential management without exposing secrets or disrupting workflows. Treating privilege as dynamic and implementing a universal PAM approach can mitigate risks and make identity the new perimeter in the modern, fluid enterprise environment.

Key Points:

The frequency of cyber-attacks in the UK has increased significantly, moving from episodic to almost daily events.
Traditional security measures are failing as modern cybercriminals target any compromised identity to infiltrate organizations.
UK organizations are less prepared than international peers in defenses against identity-based threats, often failing to enforce strong authentication and deactivate unused privileged credentials.
Modern Privileged Access Management (PAM) must apply universally to all identities to prevent cyber-attacks, leveraging advanced PAM technologies for real-time risk assessment and automatic credential management.
Identity-as-the-new-perimeter is critical in today’s hybrid cloud environment, with effective, universal PAM ensuring resilient and productive security operations.