The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has recognized that Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Operational Technology (OT) environments represent one of the largest threats to
As a former federal CISO, I’ve observed a persistent and dangerous misconception within government agencies: the belief that smart card authentication eliminates the need for enterprise password and Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions. This assumption creates critical security vulnerabilities that deserve closer examination.
The reality beyond primary authentication
While Personal Identity Verification (PIV) and Common Access Card (CAC) credentials provide robust authentication for primary user accounts, they address only a fraction of the authentication challenges that federal agencies face daily. The reality of federal IT infrastructure is far more complex, involving numerous systems and access points that cannot support smart card authentication.
Consider the vast landscape of legacy applications that remain critical to agency operations. These systems, often developed before modern authentication standards, continue to rely on traditional password-based access.
Service accounts, which enable essential background processes and automated tasks, similarly fall outside the scope of smart card authentication.
Shared administrative accounts, while not ideal from a security perspective, remain a necessary evil in many agencies and require careful management and oversight.
Modern enterprise password management solutions offer military-grade protection through AES 256-bit encryption and Elliptic-Curve Cryptography (ECC). These solutions operate on zero-knowledge architecture principles, meaning even the solution provider has no access to user data or decryption keys. All encryption and decryption occur on the user’s device, ensuring that sensitive federal data remains protected at all times.
The external services challenge
A particularly thorny challenge for federal agencies is managing access to external web services that don’t support federated identity management or smart card authentication. Many cloud services, third-party tools and industry-specific platforms used by federal employees still rely on traditional username and password authentication.
These services, while often essential for mission success, exist entirely outside the agency’s primary authentication infrastructure. Marketing teams need access to social media management platforms, research teams require subscriptions to scientific databases and procurement specialists work with vendor portals – all of which typically mandate their own separate authentication systems.
This proliferation of external service credentials creates a significant visibility gap for security teams. Without centralized management, security teams have no way to monitor which external services employees are accessing, how credentials are being stored and shared or whether basic security practices like regular password rotation are being followed.
Shadow IT is a particular concern, as teams may adopt new services without proper security review, creating unknown risks for the organization. When employees leave the agency, identifying and deprovisioning their external service accounts becomes a nearly impossible task, potentially leaving dangerous access points open indefinitely.
Enterprise password management solutions address these visibility challenges by providing a central system of record for all external service credentials. Security teams gain immediate insight into which services are being accessed, by whom and when. These systems can enforce password complexity requirements, automatic rotation schedules and proper access controls, even for services that don’t natively support such security features.
When employees depart, their access to external services can be quickly identified and revoked. The ability to set up multi-factor authentication through TOTP in the Enterprise Password Manager ensures former employees do not retain access to Government accounts after departure. Suspicious access patterns or unauthorized credential sharing can be detected and addressed promptly. Perhaps most importantly, the solution provides comprehensive audit trails of all external service access, helping agencies maintain compliance and detect potential security incidents before they escalate.
Securing the modern federal infrastructure
The modern federal IT environment has grown increasingly complex with the addition of DevOps tools and pipelines, cloud service provider accounts, database credentials and SSH keys. Each of these components represents a critical access point that must be secured with traditional credentials.
Modern PAM solutions address this challenge by implementing record-level encryption, where each piece of data is individually encrypted using AES-256 GCM, with an additional layer of TLS 1.3 protection for data in transit.
Understanding the privileged access landscape
The challenge of privileged access in federal agencies extends far beyond individual user authentication:
Privileged access challenges for federal agencies | How a modern PAM solution addresses these challenges |
---|---|
Unmanaged privileged credentials create dangerous backdoors that are not protected by PIV/CAC authentication. | Remove/rotate shared credentials, enforce least privilege and ensure continuous monitoring to prevent unauthorized access and close backdoors that PIV/CAC alone can’t secure. |
Emergency break-glass accounts must be maintained for critical system access during infrastructure failures. | Implement time-limited access controls that automatically revoke elevated privileges after a specified period, while maintaining detailed audit logs of who accessed these powerful accounts and what actions they performed. |
System-to-system authentication, which enables automated processes and integrations, requires secure credential management that smart cards cannot provide. | Automatically generate and rotate complex passwords on a regular schedule, eliminating the security risks of hardcoded credentials in configuration files or scripts. |
PAM also brings order to the chaos of shared administrative accounts by implementing check-out procedures, where privileged credentials are temporarily issued to authorized users and automatically changed after use.
This ensures that even when multiple administrators need access to the same account, each session can be traced to a specific individual.
Furthermore, PAM solutions can record privileged sessions, allowing security teams to review administrative actions for audits or security investigations.
When it comes to third-party vendor access, PAM solutions provide granular controls that restrict access by time, location and specific system resources. Vendors can be granted just-in-time privileged access that automatically expires, eliminating the risk of forgotten active accounts.
The system can also enforce network microsegmentation, ensuring vendors can access only specifically authorized systems rather than having broad network access.
For temporary administrative elevations, modern PAM solutions integrate with workflow systems to automate the approval process. When a user needs elevated privileges, they can submit a request that routes to the appropriate approvers based on the agency’s security policies. Once approved, the elevation is automatically granted for the specified duration and then revoked, all while maintaining a complete audit trail of the request, approval and usage.
Infrastructure and compliance considerations
Modern PAM solutions are designed to meet the stringent compliance requirements of federal agencies. Leading solutions maintain compliance with critical standards, including ISO 27001, GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA, while also achieving FedRAMP and StateRAMP Authorization. Multiple geographic data centers ensure that agencies can choose their preferred data-hosting region, addressing data sovereignty concerns.
For agencies working to maintain compliance with NIST 800-53 security controls, PAM solutions provide essential capabilities that map directly to numerous control families. In the Access Control (AC) family, PAM implements separation of duties (AC-5) by ensuring that no single administrator has unrestricted access to critical systems. It supports least privilege (AC-6) through granular access controls and temporary privilege-elevation workflows. The system enforces remote access restrictions (AC-17) and monitors all privileged commands (AC-17(1)).
Within the Identification and Authentication (IA) family, PAM solutions fulfill requirements for identifier management (IA-4) by automating the lifecycle of privileged accounts. They support authenticator management (IA-5) through automated password rotation and cryptographic key management. The system’s ability to enforce organization-defined password complexity requirements and change frequencies directly addresses IA-5(1) specifications.
For the Audit and Accountability (AU) family, modern PAM solutions maintain comprehensive audit records (AU-2) of all privileged access attempts and actions. They provide the content of audit records (AU-3), including timestamps, user identities and system components accessed. The system supports audit record retention (AU-11) and provides audit review, analysis and reporting capabilities (AU-6) that help security teams identify suspicious patterns of behavior.
In terms of maintaining Authority to Operate (ATO), PAM solutions contribute to continuous monitoring requirements by providing real-time visibility into privileged access patterns and potential security violations. The detailed audit trails and compliance reports help agencies demonstrate ongoing conformance with security controls during periodic assessments. By automating many security controls that would otherwise require manual intervention, PAM solutions reduce the burden of maintaining continuous ATO while strengthening the agency’s security posture.
Key features that support continuous ATO include:
- Real-time alerts for policy violations or suspicious access patterns
- Automated enforcement of password policies and access restrictions
- Continuous monitoring of privileged session activities
- Regular assessment reports showing compliance with security controls
- Integration with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems for centralized security monitoring
- Automated documentation of control implementation for system security plans
Furthermore, modern PAM solutions provide essential controls for the Configuration Management (CM) and System and Communications Protection (SC) families. They help maintain baseline configurations (CM-2) of privileged accounts and enforce secure system-to-system communications (SC-8) through encrypted channels.
The zero-trust architecture principles implemented by these solutions align with the latest federal cybersecurity directives and NIST guidance on zero-trust architecture.
The DevOps revolution in federal agencies
The federal government’s ongoing shift toward modern development practices has introduced new security requirements that smart card authentication cannot address. Secure secrets management for CI/CD pipelines has become essential, requiring dynamic credential injection and API-based access controls. The transmission security of these solutions ensures that all data transport between client applications and cloud storage is encrypted using 256-bit and 128-bit TLS, with certificates signed using the more secure SHA2 algorithm.
Cloud identity challenges
As federal agencies adopt multi-cloud and hybrid cloud architectures, they face unprecedented identity management challenges. Each Cloud Service Provider (CSP) maintains its own identity system with unique permission models, authentication methods and access controls. AWS uses Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles and policies, Azure implements Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Google Cloud Platform has its own IAM framework. Managing these disparate identity systems creates significant complexity, especially when dealing with temporary credentials, service accounts and cross-cloud access requirements.
The challenge becomes even more acute when considering:
- Dynamic cloud resources that are created and destroyed automatically
- Ephemeral compute instances that require just-in-time access
- Microservices that need to authenticate with multiple cloud services
- CI/CD pipelines that span multiple cloud environments
- Serverless functions that require secure access to cloud resources
- Container orchestration systems that need to manage sensitive credentials
The critical role of cloud-native PAM
A cloud-native PAM solution is essential for addressing these challenges because it’s architected specifically for dynamic cloud environments. Unlike traditional PAM solutions, which were designed for static, on-premises infrastructure, cloud-native PAM solutions understand the ephemeral nature of cloud resources and the need for dynamic access management.
These solutions provide critical capabilities such as:
- Native integration with cloud service provider IAM systems
- Automatic discovery and onboarding of new cloud resources
- Dynamic credential injection for containerized applications
- Just-in-time privilege elevation for cloud resources
- Automated rotation of cloud service account credentials
- Unified access policies across multi-cloud environments
For secure CI/CD operations, cloud-native PAM solutions offer secure secrets management through dynamic credential injection and API-based access controls. The transmission security of these solutions ensures that all data transport between client applications and cloud storage is encrypted using 256-bit and 128-bit TLS, with certificates signed using the more secure SHA2 algorithm.
DevSecOps integration
Modern cloud-native PAM solutions seamlessly integrate into DevSecOps workflows through their API-first architecture, enabling comprehensive automation and infrastructure-as-code implementations. This architectural approach allows security teams to maintain consistent controls while supporting the rapid pace of modern development. These solutions provide native integration with popular CI/CD platforms and container orchestrators, ensuring that security controls are embedded directly into the development pipeline rather than being bolted on as an afterthought.
One of the most critical capabilities these solutions offer is automated secrets rotation, which can be performed without causing application downtime. This ensures that credentials are regularly updated according to security policies while maintaining continuous operations. The system maintains centralized audit logging across all cloud environments, providing security teams with comprehensive visibility into how credentials and secrets are accessed and used throughout the development lifecycle.
Policy-as-code capabilities enable security teams to define and enforce consistent security policies across the entire infrastructure. These policies can be version-controlled, tested and deployed using the same processes as application code, ensuring that security requirements are treated as a fundamental part of the infrastructure rather than a separate concern. The integration with cloud-native security tools and monitoring systems creates a cohesive security ecosystem that can identify and respond to potential threats in real time.
Addressing cloud-specific security requirements
Cloud-native PAM solutions help agencies meet unique cloud security requirements by:
- Implementing fine-grained access controls for cloud resources
- Providing temporary, just-in-time credentials for cloud services
- Managing service principal and managed identity credentials
- Securing cloud-to-cloud and hybrid-cloud authentication
- Automating the lifecycle of cloud service accounts
- Maintaining comprehensive audit trails across cloud environments
Most importantly, these solutions enable federal agencies to maintain a consistent security posture across their entire infrastructure, from on-premises systems to multiple cloud providers. They provide the centralized control and visibility needed to prevent privilege escalation and lateral movement within cloud environments while supporting the agility and automation that modern DevOps practices require.
Disaster recovery and business continuity
A critical aspect often overlooked in federal security planning is the need for robust backup and recovery capabilities. Modern PAM solutions maintain a full revision history of every record, allowing agencies to recover and revert to previous versions of their data without limitations. This capability is essential for maintaining operational continuity and recovering from potential security incidents.
Secure document storage for critical information
Beyond credential management, modern PAM solutions provide secure document storage capabilities that play a vital role in disaster recovery and business continuity planning. Agency teams can securely store and manage critical documents such as:
- Emergency response procedures and playbooks
- System configuration documentation
- Network diagrams and infrastructure maps
- Disaster recovery plans and procedures
- Business continuity documentation
- Emergency contact lists and escalation procedures
- Backup and restoration procedures
- Vendor support contracts and contact information
These documents are protected with the same military-grade encryption used for credential storage, with data encrypted using AES-256 GCM at the record level. This ensures that sensitive recovery documentation remains secure yet accessible to authorized personnel during emergencies.
Secure document sharing for emergency response
During crisis situations, teams need immediate, yet secure, access to critical documentation. Modern PAM solutions address this challenge through sophisticated document-sharing capabilities that maintain security without impeding emergency response.
The systems implement role-based access controls while providing emergency response teams with time-limited access to critical documents, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected even during critical incidents. Every document access is logged in detail, creating an audit trail that helps agencies maintain compliance and assess response effectiveness.
The secure sharing infrastructure extends beyond internal teams to support collaboration with external incident response partners when needed. Teams can securely access current versions of response procedures even when working offline, ensuring continuity of operations during network outages or system failures.
This combination of security and accessibility ensures that response teams have the information they need when they need it, while maintaining the strict access controls and audit capabilities required in federal environments.
Vault replication and high availability
Modern PAM solutions ensure business continuity through sophisticated vault replication across multiple geographic regions. This distributed architecture creates a resilient foundation for credential and document storage, automatically synchronizing vault contents while maintaining strict security controls. The multi-region approach provides continuous access to critical resources, even during regional outages or disasters, with automatic failover capabilities that ensure uninterrupted operations. Agencies benefit from both the redundancy of multiple secure facilities and the performance advantages of local access points, all while maintaining compliance with data residency requirements.
The system’s high-availability design extends beyond simple replication to encompass the entire credential and document management lifecycle. Each vault maintains its own encryption keys and security controls while participating in a larger distributed system that ensures both data consistency and security. This approach allows agencies to maintain strict control over their sensitive information while ensuring it remains accessible to authorized users, regardless of local system status or regional availability challenges.
Recovery scenarios and access continuity
Modern PAM solutions support a comprehensive range of recovery scenarios that federal agencies commonly face. During leadership transitions, the system enables the secure transfer of critical access information and authority delegation, while maintaining protected storage of succession plans. For system recovery operations, teams can access securely stored recovery procedures, backup credentials and detailed documentation of system dependencies and configurations. The solution also facilitates smooth transitions to remote work operations by providing secure access to necessary credentials and documents, along with protected remote access procedures and communication protocols.
Vendor management presents its own unique recovery challenges, which PAM solutions address through secure storage of vendor agreements, protected access to portal credentials and documented escalation procedures.
This comprehensive approach ensures that agencies can maintain operational continuity across the full spectrum of potential disruptions, from routine personnel changes to major system outages. By providing secure, role-based access to critical recovery information, PAM solutions enable agencies to respond quickly and effectively to any operational challenge while maintaining security and compliance requirements.
The combination of secure credential management, document storage and sharing capabilities ensures that agencies can maintain operational continuity while protecting sensitive information, even during crisis situations. This comprehensive approach to disaster recovery and business continuity helps agencies meet their mission requirements while maintaining security and compliance.
Charting the path forward
Federal agencies must recognize that smart card authentication, while crucial, represents just one component of a comprehensive access management strategy. A modern enterprise password and privileged access management solution provides the additional security layers necessary for protecting non-smart card credentials, enabling secure automation, supporting development operations, maintaining compliance and preventing lateral movement in case of a breach.
The future of federal security lies in implementing a defense-in-depth approach that combines the physical security of smart cards with the advanced cryptographic protection of modern PAM solutions. By leveraging zero-knowledge architectures, military-grade encryption and comprehensive access controls, agencies can create a robust security posture that addresses the full spectrum of authentication challenges in today’s complex IT environment.
Success in federal cybersecurity requires a holistic approach that addresses all aspects of authentication and access management. Only by combining the strength of smart card authentication with modern PAM solutions can agencies achieve the level of security required to protect against evolving cyber threats while maintaining operational efficiency and compliance with federal standards.
KeeperPAM® combines enterprise password management, secrets management, connection management, zero-trust network access and remote browser isolation in one easy-to-use interface. Book a demo today to see how KeeperPAM can help secure your agency.