Protect CyberArk admin accounts with Privileged Session Manager to secure privileged access and improve auditing.

Outline (for clarity)

• Opening: admin accounts are high-risk, PSM offers a strong guardrail

• Why admin accounts deserve special protection

• How Privileged Session Manager (PSM) works in CyberArk

• Real-world benefits: accountability, least privilege, and audit readiness

• A simple path to implementation: policies, monitoring, and culture

• Quick recap: the clear stance and why it matters

PSM: the digital bouncer for admin sessions

Let’s start with a question you’ll recognize from any security briefing: why do admin accounts get hit so hard in the news? The short answer is power. Admin accounts hold the keys to systems, networks, and data. A single compromised admin account can cascade into a full-on security breach. That’s where Privileged Session Manager (PSM) comes in. Think of the PSM as a digital bouncer that sits between admin users and the systems they touch. It doesn’t just halt trouble; it watches, records, and helps you understand what happened, when, and by whom.

The why behind protecting admin accounts

Admin accounts aren’t ordinary user accounts. They wield elevated privileges—sometimes across multiple platforms. If those credentials slip into the wrong hands, the impact can be swift and serious. What makes PSM so valuable isn’t just blocking access; it’s about controlling how admin sessions begin, how they’re run, and how they’re observed afterward.

Roughly speaking, here’s what can go wrong without a guarded path:

• Unauthorized access: someone siphons in using stolen credentials, and there’s no clear trail of what they did.

• Privilege abuse: elevated rights are used for unsupported tasks or for longer than necessary.

• Compliance gaps: audits reveal gaps in who touched what, when, and why.

With PSM in place, those risks are significantly reduced. PSM gates each privileged session, enforces policies, and creates a documented trail. It’s not just about stopping a breach; it’s about making breaches less likely and, if they happen, easier to understand and respond to.

How CyberArk’s PSM actually works

Here’s the practical side. In CyberArk ecosystems, PSM sits in the path between admin identities and the environments they manage. When an admin initiates a session, PSM can:

• Authenticate the user and verify authorization according to policy.

• Route the session through a controlled, isolated channel so commands and data don’t travel in unmonitored ways.

• Enforce session rules, like time limits, command restrictions, or approvals for certain actions.

• Record the session for later review, including keystrokes, commands issued, and screens visited (where enabled by policy).

• Provide real-time monitoring and alerts if something unusual happens.

Why the combination of control and visibility matters

Visibility isn’t just nice to have; it’s essential for accountability. If you can see what an admin did, you can confirm that every action aligns with policy and intent. And when something does go off the rails, you have the context to escalate or remediate quickly. PSM makes “who did what, when, and why” a practical, auditable reality rather than a vague memory after an incident.

A practical lens: least privilege in action

You’ll hear a lot about “least privilege” in security circles. It’s a straightforward idea: grant only the access needed to perform a task, and no more. PSM directly supports this by limiting how long an admin can stay in a session, what commands they can run, and which systems they can touch. It’s not about policing curiosity; it’s about reducing the attack surface while preserving productivity.

A real-world mood check

Imagine a multinational network with dozens of critical systems. Without PSM, an admin might log in, run a handful of powerful commands, and drift into maintenance tasks late at night. You’d have little to no trace of risky behavior beyond vague memory or siloed logs. With PSM, every session is chaperoned. You can set rules for treating sensitive actions as high-risk, require additional approvals for changes that affect security or compliance, and still keep things moving smoothly for the people who actually do the work. It’s a balance—protective without being a roadblock.

Benefits that go beyond security

Yes, the main aim is protection, but the payoff touches many parts of an organization:

• Audit readiness: security teams can produce clear, actionable reports that show who accessed what and when.

• Compliance alignment: many standards want traceable, accountable privileged activity; PSM helps you demonstrate it without digging through a mountain of ad-hoc logs.

• Operational clarity: with policy-driven access, administrators know exactly what is allowed, reducing guesswork and accidental misconfigurations.

• Incident response speed: when an anomaly appears, teams can review the session history quickly to verify intent and respond appropriately.

What good practice looks like in the wild

If you’re considering adopting PSM-centric protection for admin accounts, here are practical anchors to guide the journey:

• Define who qualifies as an admin and what their typical tasks are. Start with the most sensitive systems first.

• Create session policies that reflect actual roles. For example, a DBA’s policy might be different from a systems engineer’s policy, yet both should be strict about what they can do in privileged mode.

• Require approvals for high-stakes actions. A simple, auditable approval workflow can save headaches later.

• Enforce session recording and retention aligned with your legal and regulatory needs. It’s not about surveillance; it’s about understanding security events after the fact.

• Establish a routine review cadence for permissions and policies. Admin roles evolve; your protections should, too.

• Embed security into the culture. Encourage developers, operators, and admins to ask: “Do I really need this access, and for how long?”

Common concerns, answered with clarity

You might wonder, “Is this too heavy a lift?” In truth, many organizations find that the initial setup pays off quickly through fewer security incidents and smoother audits. Some worry about performance impact or workflow friction. Smart policy design, phased rollouts, and clear communication with admins can keep integration seamless. The goal isn’t to slow people down; it’s to give them a reliable guardrail that shines a light on privileged activity.

Stumbling blocks are normal, but avoidable

• Overly broad policies: if the rules apply to everything, you’ll slow down essential work and frustrate teams. Start focused, then expand thoughtfully.

• Silent risks in disconnected logs: if you rely on disparate logs, you’ll miss the coherent story. Centralized session management ties actions to identities and contexts.

• Inadequate review: permissions can drift. Schedule regular checks and adjust as roles evolve.

Connecting the dots: a simple, human-friendly takeaway

Here’s the thing about admin protection: it’s not a bolt-on feature. It’s a fundamental shift in how privileged work gets done. PSM is the mechanism that brings policy, visibility, and accountability together. When you protect admin sessions, you’re not just stopping bad stuff; you’re enabling better governance, clearer audits, and more confident operations.

A few practical questions to ground the idea

• If you don’t guard admin sessions, who watches the watchers? The answer often reveals itself in post-incident reviews and audit gaps.

• When a change is made, do you know who authorized it, and what its security impact was? PSM helps you answer yes, with an auditable trail.

• How do you prove you’re following least privilege in day-to-day work? By enforcing strict session controls and time-bound access that aligns with actual tasks.

Final thoughts: the recommended stance in one line

Yes, it is recommended to protect CyberArk admin accounts with the Privileged Session Manager. It’s not just a checkbox; it’s a practical approach to securing elevated access, lowering risk, and keeping your environment auditable and disciplined. Admins stay productive, auditors stay satisfied, and the whole organization benefits from a clearer picture of who touched what and why.

If you’re part of a security or IT operations team and you’re weighing the benefits, start with a pilot focused on the most sensitive systems. Gather feedback from admins, adjust the policy levers, and watch as the routine becomes smoother—without compromising safety. The goal isn’t fear of breaches; it’s confident, well-governed privilege that serves the business without becoming a bottleneck.

In the end, CyberArk’s PSM gives you a practical, reliable way to keep privileged sessions under a steady, watchful gaze. It’s the kind of control that doesn’t shout from the rooftops but quietly earns its keep every single day. And that’s exactly the kind of security that modern organizations need.