什么是特权会话管理？

Privileged Session Management (PSM) is a capability within Privileged Access Management (PAM) that controls, monitors and records privileged sessions in real time. It gives organizations complete visibility into what privileged users do once they connect to sensitive systems and the ability to step in, pausing, locking or terminating a session the moment activity looks dangerous or suspicious.

Because a single privileged session can change system configurations, access sensitive databases or alter critical infrastructure, these sessions carry far more risk than ordinary user activity. Privileged session management reduces that risk by making every privileged action visible, traceable and controllable. Keep reading to learn what a privileged session is, how PSM works, how it differs from PAM and why it matters.

什么是特权会话？

A privileged session is a connection launched by a privileged user to access highly sensitive databases, systems, devices or applications. The session covers everything the user does from the moment they connect to the moment they disconnect, including how long they hold access to the resource and every action they take with it.

Privileged sessions aren't limited to internal administrators. They also include the elevated access granted to third-party vendors, contractors and, increasingly, automated systems and machine identities, all of which can reach critical resources and all of which need to be monitored.

特权会话管理如何工作

Privileged session management has three main functions: monitoring, management, and auditing and reporting.

特权会话监控

Privileged session management enables organizations to watch privileged sessions in real time. With live monitoring, administrators can observe active sessions and spot suspicious activity as it happens. A privileged session manager should also record sessions for analysis, capturing on-screen activity and keystrokes while excluding passwords. Because these recordings contain sensitive details, organizations must protect them from unauthorized access.

特权会话管理

Privileged session management controls how sessions start and whether they continue. A privileged session manager can pause, lock or terminate a live session. If a session looks suspicious, an administrator can pause it to take a closer look, resume it if the activity turns out to be safe or terminate it outright if it's malicious. Leading solutions now also offer automated session termination powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Modern privileged session management tools also broker the connection so credentials are never exposed directly to the user, and they can grant access on a Just-In-Time (JIT), time-bound basis that expires automatically when the task is done.

特权会话的审计和报告

Because privileged session management records privileged sessions, those recordings become an audit trail. They should be stored securely and used for future audit reviews. A privileged session manager should offer reporting that helps organizations meet regulatory requirements and qualify for cyber insurance.

Privileged session management vs privileged access management

Privileged session management is a component of privileged access management, not a replacement for it. Privileged access management is the broader discipline that governs privileged identities, accounts and credentials, determining who gets access to what and enforcing principles such as least privilege and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). Privileged session management focuses on what happens during the session itself: monitoring, controlling and recording privileged activity once access is granted.

Why privileged session management is important

Privileged session management helps organizations improve security and reduce risk. It shows who is using privileged accounts and for how long, so teams can quickly identify and stop potential security breaches by threat actors and misuse by insider threats.

If a breach does happen, a privileged session manager lets an organization look back, trace the source and build a fix. That same visibility helps stop an attacker from moving laterally through the network and escalating privileges, then informs the controls that prevent a repeat.

Benefits of privileged session management

Privileged session management is an important aspect of privileged access management that helps monitor privileged account activity and prevent potential security breaches. Here are the benefits of privileged session management.

改善安全并降低风险

Privileged session management improves security and reduces the risk of unauthorized access. It shows who is accessing privileged accounts and how those accounts are used, and it lets organizations monitor, record and control those sessions to catch dangerous activity early. That reduces the risk of breaches by cybercriminals and misuse by insiders, and it points teams toward the fixes that prevent future incidents.

提供实时监控

Privileged session management lets organizations watch privileged sessions as they happen. With live monitoring, administrators can act the moment they spot suspicious activity, pausing or terminating a session before a malicious user does further damage.

支持监管合规性

Many organizations must meet frameworks that require special handling and auditing of privileged accounts. Built-in auditing and reporting help organizations satisfy frameworks such as GDPR, SOX, HIPAA, PCI DSS and FedRAMP.