Privileged access is often the weakest point in your stack. Identity-based attacks now comprise 30% of all cybersecurity incidents, marking the second consecutive year that credential compromise has dominated the threat landscape. IBM's 2025 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index reveals a devastating trend: threat actors have abandoned brute-force tactics in favor of simply logging in with stolen credentials.
Attackers are scaling infostealer operations through bot-style frameworks that make it easy to customize infostealer behavior and run server-based management panels where stolen data is collected. That scale is showing up in phishing volume: in 2024, there was an average 84% increase in infostealers delivered via phishing emails per week compared to 2023. Early 2025 data suggests the weekly volume is even higher, up 180% versus 2023.
Thankfully, to combat this, we have Privileged Access Management (PAM), a cybersecurity framework that controls, monitors, and secures privileged access to critical systems and data.
What Effective PAM Requires
Here are the best practices and common threads to look out for:
Zero Standing Privileges
Permanent admin access is an attack vector, not a convenience. Every always-on privilege is a key left in the open.
Comprehensive Visibility
What cannot be seen cannot be secured. Most organizations have no inventory of their privileged accounts across cloud, on-premise, and hybrid environments.
Cloud-Native Architecture
On-premise PAM solutions lack the scale, intelligence, and integration capabilities required for modern infrastructure.
Automated Access Workflows
Manual approval processes create security gaps and operational bottlenecks. Automation ensures consistency and eliminates human error.
Credential Invisibility
When humans see passwords, those passwords can be phished, shared, or stolen. Modern PAM makes credentials invisible through injection and brokering.
Developer-First Platforms
Infisical
Infisical focuses on developer-first secrets management: native CI/CD and K8s workflows, secret injection, and managed rotation, via an API-first, cloud-native architecture with self-host options.
Best for: Cloud-native organizations requiring secrets management and access control.
Core Capabilities:
- Universal secrets management across all environments
- GitOps-native workflows for developer adoption
- Fine-grained access policies with attribute-based controls
- Real-time secret rotation and dynamic credentials
- Comprehensive audit trails with immutable logging
- Native Kubernetes and container support
- Session recording with full query capture all resource (SSH, RDP, Database, etc.) connections
- SSH certificate-based authentication with short-lived credentials
- Just-in-time access with approval workflows for breakglass scenarios
- Policy-based access controls with time-bound permissions
Strengths: Developer experience drives adoption, reducing shadow IT and credential sprawl. The platform scales effortlessly with cloud infrastructure and provides the granular controls enterprises need without the complexity legacy solutions impose.
Ideal For: Engineering teams, DevOps organizations, cloud-native companies, and enterprises modernizing their security stack.
StrongDM (Acquired by Delinea)
StrongDM enforces least-privilege via RBAC, ABAC, and PBAC policies (including Cedar), JIT access with approvals, and full session replay across SSH/RDP/Kubernetes (K8s), plus broad hybrid support.
Best for: Infrastructure access and zero-trust networking.
Core Capabilities:
- Clientless access to databases, servers, and Kubernetes
- Just-in-time access with automated approval workflows
- Session recording with keystroke-level granularity
- Policy-based access control with continuous authorization
- Multi-cloud and hybrid environment support
- API-driven automation and integrations
Strengths: Provides infrastructure access without credential exposure. The zero-trust approach eliminates shared accounts, reduces the attack surface, and provides comprehensive visibility into infrastructure activity.
Ideal For: Infrastructure teams, DevOps organizations, and companies with distributed technical teams requiring secure access to production systems.
Teleport
Teleport delivers certificate-based privileged access with comprehensive audit capabilities, targeting infrastructure teams that prioritize compliance and cryptographic identity over traditional password-based authentication.
Best for: Infrastructure teams requiring detailed audit trails and certificate-based authentication.
Core Capabilities:
- Certificate-based authentication eliminates shared credentials
- Comprehensive session recording with video playback
- Native Kubernetes and SSH access management
- Identity-aware proxy for databases and web applications
- Role-based access control with temporal restrictions
- Compliance automation for SOC2, FedRAMP, and HIPAA
- API-driven access workflows and automation
Strengths: Teleport's certificate-based approach eliminates credential theft vectors entirely while providing forensic-quality session recordings that satisfy the most demanding audit requirements. The platform's identity-native design scales naturally with cloud infrastructure, providing granular access controls without credential complexity.
Limitations: Certificate management requires operational expertise that traditional password-based teams may lack. The learning curve can be steep for organizations unfamiliar with PKI concepts. Session recording generates significant storage requirements for high-activity environments.
Enterprise-Only Solutions
While many of the developer-first solutions, including Infisical, are built for enterprises, there are a few solutions that strictly sell to enterprises.
CyberArk
CyberArk pioneered the PAM market and remains the enterprise standard for comprehensive privileged access management. The platform offers the broadest feature set, but at the cost of complexity and expense.
Best for: Large enterprises with complex legacy requirements.
Core Capabilities:
- Privileged account discovery and onboarding
- Credential vaulting with automatic rotation
- Privileged session management and recording
- Threat analytics and behavior monitoring
- Secrets management for DevOps workflows
- Cloud infrastructure entitlements management (CIEM)
Strengths: Mature platform with extensive integrations and proven enterprise deployment capabilities. The comprehensive feature set addresses most PAM requirements within a single vendor relationship.
Limitations: Complex deployment and management overhead. Expensive licensing model. Legacy architecture struggles with cloud-native and DevOps requirements.
Veza
Veza’s Access Graph unifies human & non-human entitlements across clouds/SaaS with 300+ integrations and 500+ prebuilt security queries for rapid access reviews and governance.
Best for: Identity security and comprehensive access intelligence.
Core Capabilities:
- Access intelligence across 300+ integrations
- Automated access reviews and certifications
- Real-time permission analysis and risk scoring
- Identity lifecycle management with automated provisioning
- Compliance automation for SOX, GDPR, HIPAA
- Non-human identity (NHI) management
Strengths: Solves the visibility problem that blinds most PAM implementations. Unlike tools that manage known privileged accounts, Veza discovers and analyzes all access relationships across your entire environment.
Ideal For: Large enterprises with complex access landscapes, organizations with strict compliance requirements, and security teams seeking comprehensive access intelligence.
BeyondTrust
BeyondTrust combines traditional PAM with endpoint privilege management, providing control over both server-based and desktop-based privileged access.
Best for: Organizations requiring comprehensive endpoint privilege management.
Core Capabilities:
- Endpoint privilege management with application control
- Password safe with automated rotation
- Privileged remote access without VPN requirements
- DevOps secrets management
- Vendor privilege access management
- Session monitoring and recording
Strengths: Strong endpoint protection capabilities distinguish BeyondTrust from server-focused competitors, offering comprehensive privilege management across all computing environments.
Limitations: A complex product portfolio requires multiple licenses for complete functionality. Higher cost than specialized alternatives.
Delinea (Thycotic + Centrify)
Delinea combines secret management with privileged behavior analytics, providing both credential security and threat detection capabilities.
Best for: Organizations with significant Unix/Linux environments.
Core Capabilities:
- Secret Server for credential management
- Privilege Manager for endpoint controls
- DevOps Secrets Vault for CI/CD security
- Privileged behavior analytics
- Cloud infrastructure security
- Identity governance integration
Strengths: Excellent Unix/Linux support and privileged behavior analytics provide advanced threat detection. Strong integration with identity governance platforms.
Limitations: Multiple products are required for complete functionality. Complex pricing model. Limited cloud-native capabilities compared to newer platforms.
Ecosystem Plays
Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD)
For organizations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, Entra ID provides integrated PAM capabilities at competitive pricing. However, the feature set remains limited compared to dedicated PAM platforms.
Best for: Microsoft-centric organizations
Core Capabilities:
- Privileged Identity Management (PIM)
- Conditional access policies
- Privileged access workstations
- Identity governance
Strengths: Native integration with Microsoft 365 and Azure services. Cost-effective for existing Microsoft customers.
Limitations: Microsoft-only environments. Limited session monitoring. Basic privileged account management.
Your PAM Selection Framework
Here are key considerations when deciding which PAM solution to implement.
Critical Evaluation Criteria
Architecture
Cloud-native platforms provide superior scalability, security, and operational efficiency compared to on-premise solutions. Evaluate the vendor's cloud-first design and multi-tenancy capabilities.
Coverage
Assess the platform's ability to manage all privileged access types, human accounts, service accounts, API keys, SSH keys, and cloud identities. Partial coverage creates security gaps.
Developer Experience
PAM adoption depends on developer acceptance. Platforms that integrate with existing workflows and provide self-service capabilities achieve higher adoption and reduce shadow IT.
Automation
Manual processes create security gaps and operational overhead. Evaluate approval workflows, credential rotation, access provisioning, and incident response automation.
Compliance
Built-in compliance reporting for SOX, GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS saves significant audit preparation time. Assess the platform's ability to generate audit-ready reports automatically.
Scalability
Your privileged access footprint will grow exponentially with cloud adoption. Ensure the platform can scale without architectural limitations or cost explosions.
Common Pitfalls
Here are some mistakes to look out for when implementing your PAM solution and how to avoid them:
Over-Engineering
Don't deploy every PAM feature simultaneously. Start with high-impact security controls and build operational maturity before adding complexity.
Ignoring Developer Experience
PAM implementations that frustrate developers create shadow IT and credential sprawl. Prioritize developer adoption through seamless workflows and self-service capabilities.
Focusing Only on Human Accounts
Service accounts, API keys, and machine identities often outnumber human privileged accounts 10:1. Ensure comprehensive coverage from day one.
Underestimating Change Management
PAM transforms how people work. Invest in training, communication, and support to ensure successful adoption.
The Bottom Line
Privileged access management in 2025 isn't about password vaults. It's about intelligent access control that adapts to modern infrastructure and threat landscapes. The platforms that succeed provide comprehensive visibility, eliminate standing privileges, and make security transparent to users.
Traditional PAM vendors built for yesterday's perimeter-based security models struggle with today's cloud-native, API-driven infrastructure. Platforms like Infisical were designed for this reality from the ground up.
If you’re standardizing privileged access, prioritize eliminating standing privileges, expanding auditability, and covering non-human identities early.
Explore Infisical's approach to cloud-native PAM and see how intelligent access control eliminates complexity while strengthening security.
