Understanding PIM vs PAM difference

PAM and PIM are two essential access management strategies that can be of assistance to you in this endeavor.

IAM is subdivided into privileged identity management (PIM) and privileged access management (PAM).
PIM and PAM pertain to the management of access to an organization’s most vital resources, including servers, databases, applications, and Kubernetes clusters. By implementing the principle of least privilege, these systems restrict access to sensitive data and secure systems to a restricted number of users.

Privilege Identity Management (PIM)

Privileged Identity Management (PIM) is a service provided by Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) that enables the administration, control, and surveillance of access to vital organizational resources. These resources include Azure AD, Azure, and other Microsoft Online Services, such as Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Intune.
A privileged account is an administrator account that, among other things, has the ability to acquire software, modify configuration settings, and add users. Private accounts are protected by a privileged identity management system. Super administrators are individuals who possess authorized access to sensitive information.
By enabling timed and approved role activation, Privileged Identity Management reduces the risk of unauthorized, unnecessary, or excessive access permissions to resources that are important to you.

Privileged Identity Management has several significant aspects.

• Provide privileged access to Azure AD and Azure resources on a per-request basis.
• With start and end dates, assign moment access to resources.
• Activate privileged roles only with permission.
• To activate any role, set up multi-factor authentication.
• To learn why people, activate and use reasoning.
• If privileged roles are turned on, you’ll be notified.
• Perform access audits to confirm that users’ roles are still required.
• During internal or external audits, download the audit history.
• The previous active Global Administrator role allocation will not be removed.

Privilege Access Management (PAM)

A set of tools and technology known as privileged access management (PAM) empowers an organization to protect, restrict, and monitor access to even the most sensitive data and resources. Subcategories of PAM include privileged access control, shared folder password policy, vendor privileged access management (VPAM), and application access management.

Many well-known companies, including BeyondTrust, Centrify, CyberArk, SecureLink, and Thycotic, have begun to offer enterprise PAM solutions.

The following features are commonly seen in PAM tools and software:

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is required for administrators.
• Authorizations and confidential user data manage
• A password vault that securely stores privileged passwords.
• Once you’ve been granted privileged access, you’ll be able to track your sessions.
• Dynamic authorization capabilities, such as providing access just for a set amount of time
• To reduce insider threats, automate provisioning and de-provisioning; and
• Audit logging software that assists organizations in achieving compliance.

Summary

PIM refers to the access that has already been granted to a user, whereas PAM concerns itself with monitoring and controlling access whenever a user requests entry to a resource.