IAM vs PAM: What’s the Difference?

The main difference between Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Privileged Access Management (PAM) is that IAM manages who has access to which resources, while PAM secures access to sensitive information. IAM involves solely user identities, and PAM falls under the umbrella of IAM by monitoring user identities with access to privileged data.

Continue reading to learn more about IAM and PAM, their key differences and when to implement them in your organization.

What is Identity and Access Management (IAM)?

Identity and Access Management (IAM) helps your organization manage which employees can access specific resources and systems. IAM focuses on identifying users through their login credentials, controlling access based on roles and granting access to systems based on certain permissions. Think of IAM as a key card at work; when you scan your card, you can access a building’s entry points as well as specific rooms you have been granted access to based on your job.

What is Privileged Access Management (PAM)?

Privileged Access Management (PAM) is a subset of IAM that monitors access to your organization’s sensitive data. Since privileged accounts handle your organization’s sensitive information, including payroll or IT resources, PAM seeks to monitor those accounts’ activities under stricter security controls than regular users. If your organization suffers a data breach without PAM, its most critical information could be leaked and used by cybercriminals. If IAM is like a key card at work, PAM is like a key card that grants access to a room containing highly confidential information.

3 key differences between IAM and PAM

Despite PAM being a subset of IAM, there are several key differences between the two access management systems.

1. IAM manages user identity whereas PAM controls privileged access

One of the main differences between IAM and PAM is the specificity of managed users, with IAM focusing on the identity of all users and PAM focusing only on privileged accounts. IAM pays closer attention to user identities and their roles within an organization, analyzing factors like who a user is, which systems they should have access to and how they can access those systems. For example, IAM ensures that anyone in an organization can access necessary resources if they are in a certain location and/or during a certain time period, such as during business hours.

PAM manages and monitors privileged users’ access to critical systems, prioritizing accounts with higher-level permissions like administrators or IT team members. With PAM, your organization can control which employees receive privileged access, how long they can access sensitive systems and what they can do while they have that access. PAM keeps tight control over privileged accounts due to the power of the systems and resources they manage, helping to prevent data breaches of especially sensitive information.

2. IAM provides broad access control, whereas PAM focuses on elevated permissions

IAM provides and manages access for all users in an organization, offering broader access control compared to PAM, which focuses on privileged accounts. IAM ensures that all users have the correct permissions to do their jobs effectively without necessarily prioritizing those with privileged accounts.

PAM monitors user access to high-level administrative accounts, restricting who can access sensitive systems and enforcing strict controls on what users can do with sensitive information. With a PAM solution, your organization can monitor how privileged access is used through security features such as Just-In-Time (JIT) access, which allows users access to sensitive systems only for a specific time period to complete certain tasks.

3. IAM provides broad visibility into access, while PAM tracks elevated user activities

Think of IAM as access to a store containing merchandise of various monetary value, with PAM being access to the most valuable merchandise in the store, such as very expensive jewelry kept behind a locked counter. IAM gives your organization visibility into the big picture of all your employees, systems, access and permissions. For example, IAM can be used to see if an employee has access to a specific app and ensures everyone has the right access to general information needed based on their role within the company.

PAM provides detailed tracking and auditing of privileged users’ activities. For example, PAM is used to monitor the activities of IT and security administrators at your organization. PAM tracks what each administrator is doing with their privileged permissions because the data and systems they have access to are more sensitive than what regular employees can access based on their role.

When to implement IAM vs PAM in your organization

Typically, organizations should implement both IAM and PAM, depending on the types of users and data they have.

When to implement IAM

Your organization should implement IAM if the following scenarios apply:

• Managing general user access: IAM should be implemented when you need to determine who can access specific resources within your organization, whether you’re a new organization or are growing rapidly. With IAM, you can control which users have certain access, reducing the risk of data breaches.
• Broad user access management across your organization: If your organization has a wide range of users who need access to various systems, IAM can assist in assigning permissions based on user identity on a larger scale. This ensures every user has the correct access to systems while reducing the risk of human error when updating permissions manually.

When to implement PAM

Your organization should implement PAM if the following scenarios apply:

• When you need to control, monitor and audit privileged access: If your organization needs to limit who can use privileged accounts, monitor what users with privileged access do and audit their activity, you should implement PAM. This will ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive information and provide a record of activity in sensitive systems.
• When monitoring and auditing elevated user activities: Elevated users have access to some of your organization’s most important information, so implementing PAM will help you track and review their activities. PAM ensures privileged users are engaging in authorized activities by providing real-time visibility into privileged user activity and audit trails.

Both IAM and PAM are important for cybersecurity

It’s not a question of which will better protect your organization; IAM and PAM are both essential and work hand-in-hand to provide the best access management for all accounts. After understanding what IAM and PAM are and how they can work together, you should invest in the solutions that best suit your organization, such as KeeperPAM^®. With KeeperPAM, you can deploy privileged access management through a zero-trust cloud architecture that is easy to use on a large scale within your organization.

Request a demo of KeeperPAM today to experience full visibility and control over privileged user activity in your organization.