Privileged access management, service accounts

Privileged accounts can change configurations, read any data, create other accounts and disable security controls. They include domain and local administrator accounts, root on Unix and Linux systems, database administrator accounts, cloud console owner accounts and network device admin logins. Because attackers who gain privileged access can do almost anything, these accounts deserve the strongest protections, and privileged access management (PAM) is the discipline and toolset that provides them.