The explosion of remote work and digital transformation has unleashed a tidal wave of new systems and software. Even smaller or ‘old-school’ companies are juggling more applications than ever before to keep pace with collaboration and automation in the remote age. 

Yet, every exciting new system requires login credentials, secrets, and access privileges, creating potential entry points for cybercriminals. IBM’s 2024 Data Breach Report found that phishing and stolen or compromised credentials were the two most prevalent attack vectors, leading to significant financial impacts.

As a result, IAM tools act as the unsung heroes of modern working, providing the control and oversight needed to ensure that only authorized users access the right resources at the right time. 

What are IAM tools?

Identity and Access Management (IAM) tools provide a robust framework to ensure that only authorized users access sensitive data and critical systems while also streamlining employee requirements and boosting productivity.

These tools offer a range of powerful features, including automated user provisioning, multi-factor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), and a centralized directory to manage user identities and enforce security policies.

These platforms work by authenticating users (confirming who they are), authorizing access (determining what they can do), and keeping thorough audit logs of system interactions. Through role-based access control (RBAC), IAM tools automatically grant or restrict permissions based on job roles, simplifying administration and ensuring that users have the appropriate level of access.

Benefits of IAM Tools

Here are some key advantages of incorporating IAM tools into your infrastructure:

• Protect against unauthorized access by implementing robust authentication and authorization protocols.
• Meet regulatory requirements with audit trails and policy enforcement.
• Automate user provisioning, saving time and reducing human error.
• Easily manage and scale user access as your organization grows.
• Improved user experience by simplifying login processes with single sign-on (SSO) features.

Key Features to Look for in an IAM Tool

When evaluating IAM tools, consider the following features:

• User Lifecycle Management: Automates the creation, modification, and deletion of user accounts across systems.
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Simplifies access management by assigning permissions based on job roles.
• Directory Services: A centralized repository for user identities and attributes.
• Centralized Management Console: A single interface to manage users, groups, policies, and configurations.
• Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with existing IT systems, including HR systems, cloud applications, and on-premises infrastructure.

Top IAM Tools by Category

Cloud-Native IAM

1. AWS IAM

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AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a cloud-based service that helps you manage and control access to AWS resources. 

Main Features:

• Control access to AWS resources at a granular level. 
• Manage identities across all of your AWS accounts from a single location.
• Cross-account access without creating separate IAM users for each account. 

Best For: Managing granular permissions and access control within the AWS ecosystem. 

Price: AWS IAM is free to use. Charges may apply for IAM users accessing other billable AWS services.

Review: “[AWS] IAM makes access management very easy and enables it pod and application level.”

2. Apono

https://www.apono.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/cpa-mini-dashboard-1-2.png

Just-in-time access is a key element of IAM, which helps organizations mitigate risks of attacks on identities by reducing the attack surface for users who access cloud resources. Apono enables users to be granted access on demand and is the perfect tool to automate just-in-time (JIT) access management. 

Main Features:

• Automated Just-In-Time (JIT) access flows.
• Auto-expiring permissions to mitigate privileged access risks.
• Deploys in under 15 minutes.
• Enables on-demand, self-serve, granular permissions directly from Slack, Teams, or your CLI.
• Break-glass and on-call access flow for faster production issue resolution.
• Streamline deployment with cloud-native connectors and infrastructure as code (IaC) to auto-scale with your environment.

Best For: Cloud-native organizations looking to implement automated Just-In-Time (JIT) access and least privilege security.

Price: Contact Apono for customizable pricing plans tailored to your needs.

Review: “Ideal for startups that want to onboard operational excellence DevOps in a quick turnaround! […] As head of IT, It gives me peace of mind when I know that only the right users get proper access to the system’s DB at the right time.”

3. Google Cloud IAM

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Google Cloud IAM provides granular access control and visibility for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) resources.

Main Features:

• Manage IAM policies using the Google Cloud Console, APIs, and command-line tools.
• Integrate with Cloud Identity to manage user identities and access across Google Cloud and other applications.
• Automated access control recommendations based on machine learning and security best practices.

Best For: Managing granular permissions and compliance tools within GCP.

Price: IAM is included with your Google Cloud account at no additional cost.

Review: “Easy to use, flexible, and the best thing is we can integrate this with all Google services.”

4. Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD)

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Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure Active Directory, is an IAM solution by Microsoft running, offering strong authentication and risk-based Conditional Access policies.

Main Features:

• Single sign-on (SSO) for fast, easy sign-in experience across a multicloud environment. 
• Employees can securely manage their own identity with self-service portals, including My Apps and My Groups.
• Manage all Microsoft Entra multicloud identity and network access solutions in the unified admin center. 

Best For: Identity management across cloud and on-premises systems for businesses using Microsoft 365 or Azure.

Price: Microsoft Entra ID P1 plans start at $6, P2 at $9, and Entra Suite at $12 per user/month. Each plan includes a free tier.

Review: “Microsoft Entra is one of the best solutions Microsoft offers for verifying and identifying enterprise technology assets such as laptops and mobile phones.”

5. Wiz

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Wiz is a cloud infrastructure security platform that contains IAM governance capabilities.

Main Features:

• Auto-generated least privilege policies across the cloud. 
• Security posture management for AI models, training data, and AI services. 
• Query cloud entitlements based on identity, access type, and resource.

Best For: Securing cloud infrastructure with automated risk prioritization and anomaly detection, rather than strictly IAM.

Price: By inquiry.

Review: “Wiz has been a most valuable solution for our organization in terms of cloud security. They regularly change with new features and keep us updated with the newest threats.”

Hybrid IAM

6. OneLogin

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OneLogin is a cloud-based Identity and Access Management platform that provides a single unified portal for users to access both cloud and on-premises applications.

Main Features:

• Single sign-on (SSO) for cloud and on-premises apps.
• Offers various MFA options, like authenticator apps, SMS codes, and security keys.
• Automated user onboarding and offboarding and managed changes to user roles and permissions.

Price: OneLogin offers pricing plans for Workforce, B2B, Customer (CIAM), and Education Identity use cases. Advanced and professional tiers start at $2 per user/month. Free trials and custom plans are also available.

Best For: Organizations with hybrid IT environments looking for SSO and MFA across cloud and on-premises applications.

Review: “Being able to remember one passphrase that gets me access to all my corporate applications is as simple as it can get.”

7. Okta

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Okta is a leading independent identity provider that offers a broad set of IAM capabilities like SSO, MFA, and identity threat protection. 

Main Features:

• Single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for fine-grained authorization protocols. 
• Universal Directory for user management.
• 7,500+ pre-build and ready-to-use integrations.

Best For: Ranking in Gartner Peer Insights. 

Price: Okta provides pricing plans for Workforce Identity Cloud (with MFA and Universal Directory) for $2 per user/month and Customer Identity Cloud for B2B, B2C, and enterprise app authorization.

Review: “Not only is it user-friendly with a modern interface, but it also [has] high-security standards and supports working with thousands of users simultaneously.”

8. SailPoint IdentityIQ

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SailPoint IdentityIQ is an identity governance platform that helps organizations manage access to on-premises and cloud environments.

Main Features:

• Tracks user activity, access changes, and certification results, providing evidence of compliance.
• Integrates with cloud apps, on-premises systems, and databases.
• Facilitates role-based access control (RBAC) by allowing organizations to define roles and assign permissions to those roles. 

Best For: Large enterprises in highly regulated industries that require advanced identity governance and separation-of-duties enforcement.

Price: By inquiry.

Review: “Identity IQ from Sailpoint has been a boon for us in managing the accounts of all our users at one spot and simplifying the process of provisioning and de-provisioning.”

On-Premises IAM

9. CyberArk

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CyberArk’s Workforce Identity solutions focus heavily on Privileged Access Management (PAM) and identity security. While they offer broader identity management capabilities, their core strength and focus is on securing privileged access. 

Main Features:

• Vaulting, aka. securely storing and isolating privileged credentials (passwords, keys, secrets) to prevent unauthorized access.
• Granting temporary privileged access only when needed, reducing the attack surface.
• Controlling and monitoring privileged sessions, including recording and auditing activity.

Best For: Enterprises managing a high volume of privileged accounts.

Price: By inquiry.

Review: “CyberArk provides you with an easy user interface to connect with your machines. Also, it gives the environment for scalable security and RBAC.”

10. Oracle Identity Management

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Oracle Identity Management offers integrated IAM capabilities for both cloud and on-premises Oracle platforms (so it could really go into two categories). 

Main Features:

• Automating the provisioning, deprovisioning, and modification of user accounts across various systems.
• Regular reviews and certifications of user access rights to ensure compliance.
• Enforcing policies to prevent conflicts of interest and fraud by ensuring that no single user has excessive privileges.

Best For: Organizations using Oracle apps and databases.

Price: By inquiry.

Review: “Enterprise-grade IAM solution with on-premise and cloud offerings, and it is well suited for large-scale implementations.”

Apono: The Standout Solution

IAM tools are necessary for the security of modern enterprises, improving the security and efficiency of processes like user provisioning and just-in-time access through automation. These IAM solutions provide granular access controls, least privilege enforcement, and strong auditing and reporting capabilities to help monitor activity and identify threats.

Apono stands out with its automated JIT access flows, self-serve permissions, and fast deployment, making it an ideal choice for organizations prioritizing security and productivity. Visit Apono today to transform your IAM strategy.

Some traditional security methods are no match for evolving cyber threats, which is why zero trust is an essential addition to every organization’s arsenal. Unlike perimeter defenses, zero trust secures access at every level, verifying every device and user continuously to create a security posture that is far harder to penetrate. 

Gartner reports that 63% of organizations now use a zero trust strategy, a shift driven by the rising costs and frequency of successful breaches. If your organization hasn’t made the transition yet, now is the time to start. This guide walks you through the practical steps of zero trust implementation, helping you build a resilient security strategy that is ready to handle today’s threats.

What Zero Trust Implementation Really Means

Zero trust is a cybersecurity strategy that shifts away from the old perimeter-based defenses to a model where trust is never assumed, regardless of whether they are within or outside of the network perimeter. The framework insists on verifying every access request for users and devices, integrating tightly with the principle of least privilege. 

Beyond least privilege access, this strategy involves principles like micro-segmentation of access, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and continuous monitoring of the security environment. Each principle reduces the attack surface, prevents unauthorized access, and minimizes the potential impact of breaches.

Zero trust is part of a broader, proactive approach to cybersecurity that helps iron-clad organizations’ assets. Implementing zero trust principles also demonstrates a commitment to risk mitigation, which puts you in the good books of cyber insurance companies and regulatory bodies. 

Challenges in Zero Trust Implementation

Implementing zero trust is a major shift in how organizations handle network security. It operates on the simple rule of “never trust, always verify.” While that sounds simple, integrating this strategy into existing systems comes with its own set of challenges:

• Mixed Infrastructure: Many organizations operate with a mix of cloud-based services and on-premises equipment. This may include legacy systems not originally designed with zero trust in mind.  

• Cultural Hurdles: Adopting a zero trust approach usually requires a cultural change within your organization. Resistance can come from both IT teams accustomed to traditional security methods and users accustomed to less stringent access controls.

• Vendor and Solution Sprawl: There’s no shortage of security tools promising to secure your network. Organizations might find themselves wrestling with multiple overlapping tools that don’t integrate well. This lack of interoperability can lead to security loopholes that attackers can exploit.

• Cost Concerns: Implementation often requires major investment in new technologies and the training or hiring of security specialists. The costs can be a barrier for many organizations, especially if there’s a need to upgrade or replace incompatible legacy systems.

How to Implement Zero Trust in 10 Steps

1. Identify and Define the Attack Surface

Instead of a broad attack surface, focus tightly on defining the “protect surface” by identifying assets that are absolutely critical to your operations. This step involves not just a simple listing but an in-depth analysis using advanced asset discovery tools that classify data, applications, and systems based on their value and risk exposure. Maintain an updated inventory at all times and leverage automated scripts or APIs to integrate these findings with your security systems.

2. Map Transaction Flows

You’ll need to deeply understand and document how data moves within your network. Identify which applications and services interact and the nature of their interactions, and you can consider network traffic analysis (NTA) tools to help visualize and manage these flows.

Analyze the pathways through which data travels and pinpoint potential vulnerabilities or unnecessary access privileges. This mapping will help you implement precise controls and reveal the most effective points to apply zero trust protections to prevent data loss throughout its lifecycle.

3. Architect a Zero Trust Network

Use micro-segmentation to divide your network into smaller, isolated zones (virtual network technologies like VLANs, firewalls, and software-defined networks (SDN) can help). SDN can adapt access controls dynamically based on real-time network traffic and threat assessments.

Each zone should operate under the strictest access controls, limiting user and device access to the bare minimum required to perform specific functions. This architecture restricts lateral movement within the network and simplifies the management of security policies by reducing the complexity of each segment.

4. Create Zero Trust Policies

To build robust zero trust policies, you can use the Kipling Method. This method examines each aspect of the network interaction to ensure every access is fully justified and secured:

• Who: Identify who is making the request. The policy should stipulate that credentials must be verified against an active directory or a similar trusted source to confirm that the person seeking access is who they claim to be.

• What: Determine what resources they are trying to access. Policies should limit user access to resources essential for their specific roles through role-based access control (RBAC).

• When: Define when they are allowed to access these resources. This stipulation can include time-based access controls restricting access to sensitive resources outside defined business hours or during unusual activity periods.

• Where: Specify where the access requests are coming from. Geo-restrictions and IP whitelisting can limit access from regions or networks that are not pre-approved. 

• Why: Understand why they need access. Policies should require that every access request includes a justification logged for audit purposes. The reason should, of course, match the user’s role and current tasks.

• How: Establish how they will access the systems. Stipulate using secure connection protocols such as VPNs, HTTPS, or end-to-end encryption to mitigate data interception or unauthorized access risks.

5.  Achieving Least Privilege with Just-In-Time Access

Least privilege is a fundamental zero trust building block that limits users’ access rights to only the resources required for their job duties. The attacker’s access remains severely limited even if an account is compromised. Just-In-Time (JIT) access is a crucial technique for implementing least privilege in modern cloud-native environments—instead of granting standing permissions, which remain active even when not needed, JIT grants temporary access only when needed for a specific task.

The dynamic approach of granting access on a per-request basis helps organizations drastically shrink the window of opportunity for malicious activity. JIT reduces the attack surface by minimizing the number of users with standing access to sensitive resources. It improves overall security posture by automatically revoking temporary permissions after the task is completed. In addition, JIT simplifies compliance audits by providing a clear record of who had access to what and when.  

6. Enforce and Automate Policies

The next step is guaranteeing that your policies are enforced consistently and automatically. You’ll likely need a few automation platforms and tools that address different aspects of your zero-trust policies. Automate as much as possible to reduce the need for manual intervention and the associated risks and guarantee that policies are applied uniformly across all network touchpoints.

7. Deploy Endpoint Verification

Confirm that all devices meet your security standards, like running up-to-date patches and active antivirus, before granting access. Non-compliant devices should be flagged or blocked to protect your network from vulnerabilities introduced by outdated or insecure endpoints. This approach creates a consistent security baseline across all devices accessing your resources. 

8. Continuous Monitoring and Analytics

Rather than relying on occasional audits or static assessments, a security information and event management (SIEM) system with behavioral analytics provides a continuous, real-time view of your environment’s activity. You can establish baseline profiles for normal user activities and quickly flag deviations that could indicate a security incident.

9. Conduct Regular Security Assessments and Response Drills

Establish a routine of continuous security assessments, including automated vulnerability scans and periodic red team exercises. Use the insights gained to refine and adapt your zero trust policies and controls over time.

10. Educate and Train

Make sure everyone on your team is in the loop and sharp on the latest in cybersecurity, including the newest threats and zero trust tactics. Offer regular, role-specific training that doesn’t just talk theory but ties in with real incidents to show what those threats look like in the wild.

For example, simulate a phishing attack to demonstrate how easily credentials can be compromised and then guide employees on how to identify and avoid such threats. This practical approach helps them understand the importance of zero trust principles like ‘never trust, always verify’ and encourages them to remain vigilant against potential attacks.

Final Thoughts…

All in all, verifying every user, device, and application before granting access minimizes the risk of breaches and lateral movement within your network. Zero trust helps dramatically reduce the potential for data loss and system compromise, which could save your organization thousands (or even millions) of dollars wasted on security incidents. 

While zero trust requires an upfront investment in tools and training, the long-term cost savings from preventing breaches, downtime, and regulatory fines make it a smart financial and security strategy for every organization. 

Using Apono As Part of Your Zero Trust Strategy

The “never trust, always verify” guiding principle is a simple one, but building a zero trust foundation is not. Managing permissions and access for all devices and users, closing security gaps, and ensuring that every tool works in unison toward a common goal can quickly become complicated and resource-intensive. 

Apono is a smart addition to any zero trust strategy to address the challenges of managing access and permissions in complex environments. With automated Just-In-Time access and auto-expiring permissions, Apono minimizes risks from standing privileges while maintaining user productivity. 

Apono’s robust auditing capabilities, automated access management, and granular control make it easier to meet compliance requirements like HIPAA, CCPA, and SOC2, and maintain a clear view of who has access to what and why. 
Learn how Apono can simplify your access management and strengthen your security by booking a demo.

Storing sensitive values is a problem as old as software itself. In 2016, Uber experienced a massive data breach that exposed 57 million users’ personal information—all traced back to a hardcoded AWS credential discovered in a GitHub repository.

While we have successfully established that hardcoding secrets such as API keys and passwords is bad practice, correctly storing them is a different story, and the issues from 2016 are still prevalent today (8 years later…). In a 2024 report by Sophos, 77% of attacks saw compromised credentials as an initial access method and 56% as a root cause. 

With organizations going cloud-native and moving their workloads to Kubernetes (k8s), it is only right that they know how to avoid these issues in Kubernetes. In this post, we will discuss Kubernetes secrets—the Kubernetes built-in security resource—and how to use them properly to secure your applications on Kubernetes. 

Kubernetes secrets: What are they, and what are they used for?

Secrets in Kubernetes are a resource used to store sensitive values or credentials. In practice, this removes the need to hardcode your API keys within your deployment manifest or pod definition. Out of the box, Kubernetes provides eight types of secrets, each with a unique function. Here’s a breakdown:Each secret type enforces specific data field requirements, helping prevent configuration errors when storing different credentials. 

1. Opaque: The default type for storing arbitrary data like API keys or application passwords. Example: storing a third-party API key for a payment gateway.
2. kubernetes.io/service-account-token: Stores tokens that pods use to interact with the Kubernetes API. Example: allowing a monitoring pod to query cluster metrics.
3. kubernetes.io/dockercfg: Contains credentials for private container registries using the legacy Docker config format. Example: pulling images from a private Docker Hub repository.
4. kubernetes.io/dockerconfigjson: Similar to dockercfg but uses the newer JSON config format. Example: authenticating with multiple private container registries.
   
5. kubernetes.io/basic-auth: Stores credentials for HTTP basic authentication. Example: protecting an internal dashboard with username/password.
   
6. kubernetes.io/ssh-auth: Holds SSH credentials. Example: allowing pods to clone private Git repositories.
   
7. kubernetes.io/tls: Contains TLS certificates and private keys. Example: setting up HTTPS for your ingress endpoints.
   
8. bootstrap.kubernetes.io/token: Used during node registration to authenticate new nodes joining the cluster. Example: automating node addition in an auto-scaling cluster.

Why You’d Use Kubernetes Secrets 

One excellent example of how secrets can be used is the popular Kubernetes tool, cert-manager. This controller automatically generates TLS certificates and stores them back into the cluster as kubernetes.io/tls type secrets, which your workloads can then use to encrypt traffic. In addition, you can also use Kubernetes secrets to:

• Store database credentials that your applications need to establish connections, eliminating the need to hardcode these values in your application code or environment variables.
• Manage API keys for external services like payment processors, email providers, or monitoring tools your applications depend on.
• Store SSH keys needed by CI/CD pipelines to clone private repositories during build processes.
• Keep registry credentials for pulling container images from private repositories, ensuring your deployments can access proprietary container images.
• Store OAuth tokens and other authentication credentials used by microservices to communicate securely within your cluster.
• Maintain JWT signing keys used by authentication services to generate and validate user tokens.
  

Are there any limitations to using Kubernetes secrets?

Lack of Encryption by Default

While Kubernetes provides a good range of choices for secret management, it still has a few limitations, the largest being the lack of encryption by default. While Kubernetes does support encryption at rest through KMS providers, this requires additional configuration and maintenance.

Kubernetes Secrets are Immutable

Another limitation is that Kubernetes secrets are immutable by default. Immutable means that they cannot be modified after creation. This immutability is intended to promote stability but creates some challenges when you need to rotate credentials or update sensitive values. Each update requires creating a new secret and updating all references to it.

Limited RBAC Configuration

While functional, Kubernetes’s built-in RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) system offers limited granularity for secret access control. This factor can become a challenge in larger organizations where different teams need varying levels of access to different secrets. 

For example, you cannot grant a team read access to specific fields within a secret—they either get access to the entire secret or none at all. This limitation often forces teams to create separate secrets for each access level, increasing management complexity.

How to Use Kubernetes Secrets Securely

Securely using secrets in Kubernetes often requires a combination of techniques and tools. In this section, we will explore a few best practices for using them. 

Enable Encryption at Rest

As we mentioned earlier, Kubernetes secrets are stored as plaintext in etcd by default. While this provides convenience, enabling encryption at rest for production environments is crucial. Configure a KMS provider to encrypt your secrets. While no team wants their cluster breached, this adds an extra layer of security and one more hurdle an attacker must overcome.

A WAF (Web Application Firewall) complements these measures by providing an additional layer of protection specifically designed for web traffic, regardless of how secrets are managed within the cluster.

You can configure encryption at rest using the EncryptionConfiguration resource, which typically looks like this:

apiVersion: apiserver.config.k8s.io/v1

kind: EncryptionConfiguration

resources:

  - resources:

      - secrets

    providers:

      - aescbc:

          keys:

            - name: key1

              secret: <32-byte-key>

The resources.resources field is an array of Kubernetes resource names (resource or resource.group) that should be encrypted, such as Secrets, ConfigMaps, or other resources. The providers field can be used to specify one of the supported providers. 

Implement RBAC Controls

While not the most robust, there are ways to ensure you follow the principle of least privilege with your secrets. Here is a quick example:

Create a cluster role:

kubectl create clusterrole secrets-manager \

    --verb=get,list,create,update \

    --resource=secrets \

    --namespace=production-apps

Create a dedicated service account:

kubectl -n production-apps create serviceaccount app-secrets-manager

Bind the role to the service account with a cluster role binding:

kubectl create clusterrolebinding manage-production-secrets \

    --role=secrets-manager \

    --serviceaccount=production-apps:app-secrets-manager \

    --namespace=production-apps

Restrict Secret Access to Specific Containers

When deploying applications, limit secret access to only the containers that require them. Instead of mounting secrets at the pod level, specify secret mounts or environment variables for individual containers. This step reduces the exposure surface of sensitive data within your pods.

You can achieve this by:

• Mounting secrets as volumes to specific container paths rather than pod-wide shared volumes.
• Setting environment variables from secrets only in containers that need them.
• Using subPath when mounting secret volumes to prevent exposing the entire secret volume to a container.
  

In practice, this looks like:

apiVersion: v1

kind: Pod

metadata:

  name: multicontainer-pod

spec:

  containers:

  - name: app-container

    image: app:latest

    volumeMounts:

    - name: api-creds

      mountPath: "/etc/api/credentials"

      readOnly: true

  - name: sidecar-container

    image: sidecar:latest

    # No access to api-creds secret

  volumes:

  - name: api-creds

    secret:

      secretName: api-credentials

      defaultMode: 0400

Consider Using External Secret Store Providers 

If you’re running Kubernetes in a cloud environment, you likely already have access to a Key Management System (KMS). The External Secrets Operator (ESO) bridges the gap between Kubernetes and these external secret stores.

ESO allows you to integrate your cloud provider’s secret management systems with your Kubernetes clusters. Rather than storing sensitive data directly in Kubernetes, ESO fetches secrets from your external store and injects them as regular Kubernetes secrets into your cluster. Here’s what it looks like:

apiVersion: external-secrets.io/v1beta1

kind: ExternalSecret

metadata:

  name: aws-secret

spec:

  refreshInterval: "15s"

  secretStoreRef:

    name: aws-store

    kind: SecretStore

  target:

    name: secret-to-be-created

  data:

  - secretKey: api-key

    remoteRef:

      key: production/api-credentials

      property: api-key

The manifest defines an ExternalSecret resource that:

• Checks for updates every 15 seconds (refreshInterval).
• References a configured secret store (aws-store).
• Creates a Kubernetes secret named secret-to-be-created.
• Pulls the api-key value from a remote secret path production/api-credentials.

The main advantage of this approach is that ESO handles all the synchronization between your external secret store and Kubernetes, automatically creating and updating the Kubernetes secret when the source changes.

Implement Auditing and Monitoring

In addition to fine-grained access control, it’s crucial to have a big picture of what’s happening within your cluster, which is exactly what Kubernetes audit logs provide. It is particularly useful for continuously monitoring secrets usage. As the Kubernetes docs put it:

1. Auditing allows cluster administrators to answer the following questions:

• What happened?
• When did it happen?
• Who initiated it?
• On what did it happen?
• Where was it observed?
• From where was it initiated?
• To where was it going?

Bringing Outside Secrets In 

Kubernetes secrets provide robust capabilities for managing sensitive data within your cluster, from basic credentials to TLS certificates, with multiple layers of security controls. However, not all your resources and sensitive data live within Kubernetes.

The Apono Connector for Kubernetes helps bridge this gap by securely connecting your Kubernetes cluster with outside resources. By running within your environment, the connector maintains a clear separation between your infrastructure and external services while providing unified access management. 
Book a demo to see Apono in action.

Company’s achievements and new appointments set the stage for groundbreaking advancements and growth in secure, automated access management solutions

New York City, NY. January 22, 2025 – Apono, the leader in privileged access for the cloud, today announced a series of significant milestones achieved in 2024, alongside strategic growth plans for 2025. These accomplishments underscore the company’s commitment to driving advancements in cloud access governance, ensuring users are only granted the minimum necessary permissions required for their tasks, ultimately reducing the risk of internal threats and external attacks.

In 2024, Apono announced the successful completion of its Series A funding round, raising $15.5 million to fuel the company’s mission of disrupting traditional access security with AI-driven least privilege solutions. This funding is being used to accelerate product development, support continued growth, deliver unparalleled value to customers, and solidify Apono’s position as a leader in the identity security space. As part of its growth plan, Apono has expanded its leadership team by appointing Dan Parelskin as Senior Vice President of Sales, Stephen Lowing as Vice President of Marketing, and most recently Arik Kfir as Vice President of Research and Development. Kfir brings over 20 years of extensive experience in engineering, system and software architecture, and management to Apono. Most recently Kfir has held senior leadership roles at Zesty, Qubex and Zscaler. In his role at Apono, he will lead research and development, specifically spearheading initiatives that increase scalability and expand the platform. His expertise will provide significant value and integrate with Apono’s strategic objectives. These appointments are significant steps forward for Apono as it positions itself to capitalize on the increasing demand for cloud-privileged access solutions across markets.

Apono also launched a significant update to the Apono Cloud Access Platform, which enables users to automatically discover, assess, and revoke standing access to resources across their cloud environments. With complete visibility across the cloud, seamless permission revocation, and automated Just-in-Time, Just-Enough Access, this update helps organizations mitigate major risks while fostering rapid innovation within secure guardrails.

In December, Apono was recognized in the IDC Innovators: Software Development Life-Cycle Identity and Access, 2024 report, highlighting emerging vendors introducing new technologies and providing groundbreaking solutions to existing challenges. Using AI and context-driven insights, Apono was recognized by IDC for its ability to enforce role-based access controls and dynamically adjust permissions to align with organizational policies, ensuring that users have only the permissions they need when they need them. Following their presence at AWS re:Invent, Apono was also named a winner of the Winter 2024 Intellyx Digital Innovator Award, which honors trailblazers who demonstrate innovative approaches to solving complex challenges in the digital landscape.

“In a cloud development world where permissions are often unused and identities can lie dormant, Apono offers DevOps teams and engineers a cloud identity and access management platform that allows them to embed ‘access flow’ permissions with just-in-time policy monitoring that dynamically validates least-privilege user access in the workflow context of the application,” said Jason English, director and principal analyst, Intellyx, in SiliconANGLE from AWS re:Invent.

Apono was highlighted in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Privileged Access Management as a sample vendor for Just-in-Time Privilege (JITP) tools. This recognition underscores Apono’s role in providing innovative solutions for mitigating PAM risks. Gartner noted the increasing traction of JITP tools due to their usability and efficiency in implementation, which aligns with Apono’s commitment to delivering user-friendly and effective access management solutions.

“Apono’s fearless development team is at the heart of our achievements,” said CEO of Apono, Rom Carmel. “Their dedication and innovation drive our mission to provide secure, automated access management solutions. By developing cutting-edge technology, we empower organizations to manage access efficiently and securely. Our solutions streamline access control, reduce risks, and enhance operational efficiency, allowing our clients to focus on their core business objectives.”

For more information, visit the Apono website here: www.apono.io.

About Apono:

Founded in 2022 by Rom Carmel (CEO) and Ofir Stein (CTO), Apono leadership leverages over 20 years of combined expertise in Cybersecurity and DevOps Infrastructure. Apono’s Cloud Privileged Access Platform offers companies Just-In-Time and Just-Enough privilege access, empowering organizations to seamlessly operate in the cloud by bridging the operational security gap in access management. Today, Apono’s platform serves dozens of customers across the US, including Fortune 500 companies, and has been recognized in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Privileged Access Management.

AWS and other cloud infrastructure exposed to after attacks uncovered in the wild

Cloud networking solutions provider Aviatrix has published a new vulnerability (CVE-2024-50603) in its controller. This vulnerability allows unauthenticated actors to run arbitrary commands. 

This Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability, rated CVSS 10 (critical), has been exploited in the wild.

A patch is already available on GitHub. Alternatively, users can update to the secure versions 7.1.4191 or 7.2.4996.

What is the Aviatrix Controller?

Aviatrix’s platform enables its customers to manage and secure their cloud infrastructure across providers. It is used across AWS, Azure, GCP, and more. Including in enterprise environments.

What is the Vulnerability in CVE-2024-50603?

According to researcher Jakub Korepta of SecuRing, who disclosed the vulnerability, the issue stems from improper handling of user-supplied parameters in the Aviatrix Controller’s API. A malicious actor can inject arbitrary commands to breach their target’s publicly exposed machines in the cloud.

Researchers have observed malicious actors using CVE-2024-50603 to install XMRig crypto miners and Sliver backdoors. This can potentially lead to more significant attacks on target organizations’ VMs. 

Read Korepta’s technical writeup here: https://www.securing.pl/en/cve-2024-50603-aviatrix-network-controller-command-injection-vulnerability/

Apono’s Assessment

The vulnerability in Aviatrix’s API essentially breaks the authentication mechanism, opening the door to abuse by attackers. 

“We see that sometimes even the best lock on the door can be made ineffective, like in this case where the authentication mechanism is broken,” says Apono CTO and Co-founder Ofir Stein. “This is an important reminder of why we must adopt a layered approach to securing our infrastructure. Apono enables organizations to implement Just-in-Time access to their networking tools, allowing them to add a critical layer of protection.”  

Organizations often struggle to secure their cloud resources. Due to their dependence on cloud service providers controlling the infrastructure and the sheer scale of their cloud, they lack critical visibility into what they have in their cloud. Moreover, they have great difficulty understanding who has access to which resources, which impedes their ability to control access. 

Even though visibility and access control have always been challenges in security, the cloud service providers’ shared responsibility model places the organization’s responsibility for the sprawling infrastructure with its complex and diverse permissions squarely on its shoulders.

While authentication is a critical element of security, the industry understands that it is insufficient to ensure protection against attacks. Security needs to be designed in layers. This is why we have seen the growth of MFA as part of system building and the development of cross-industry regulations.  

However, in this case, and many others, vulnerabilities in the authentication mechanism or clever social engineering ploys can enable attackers to bypass even the most capable authentication protections, leaving resources exposed. 

Effective access control mechanisms, like Just-in-Time, are essential in reducing the attack surface. When technical failures like this CVE occur, organizations can mitigate risks from a breach or abuse by limiting access to sensitive resources like administrative controls. 

Recommendations 

1. Patch vulnerable versions of Aviatrix or upgrade to a secure version.
2. To restrict access to the controller, use defense-in-depth techniques, such as ZTNA, IP filtering, and Just-in-Time network tunneling.

Contact one of our experts today to learn more about Apono’s Cloud Access Platform.

Even the simplest mistakes can leave your data wide open to cyber threats. If the worst happens and there’s an attack, cybercriminals gain free-for-all access to your cloud resources. 

They tamper with your data, disrupt workflows, and steal sensitive information, meaning the need for Privileged Access Management (PAM) best practices are more indispensable than ever for any robust cloud security strategy. According to a recent study, the global PAM market is expected to grow from $2.9 billion in 2023 to $7.7 billion by 2028, cementing its position in the cybersecurity landscape.

Privileged Access Management in a Nutshell

Privileged Access Management (PAM) centers on securing privileged accounts with elevated permissions. It is a cybersecurity strategy that controls and monitors access to critical systems and sensitive information from unauthorized access. Without it, privileged accounts can become the primary targets for cybercriminals, putting the entire organization at risk.

Here’s how PAM works in a nutshell:

• It identifies all privileged accounts across the network.
• After identification, credentials like passwords and keys are securely stored in an encrypted vault.
• The principle of least privilege is applied to restrict access based on user roles and necessity.
• Finally, you can use auditing to track who accessed what, when, and why to detect anomalies and generate reports to help maintain security and compliance.

Types of Privileged Accounts

1. Service Accounts

Applications, automated processes, and IT systems commonly use service accounts. Consider the devastating SolarWinds hack in 2020, where attackers found vulnerabilities in the service accounts and gained access to critical data and systems.

2. Domain Administrator Accounts

Domain administrator accounts have full control over an organization’s IT infrastructure, making them attractive targets for attackers. An example is the Microsoft Exchange Server attacks in early 2021, where hackers gained control through privileged accounts, escalating their access across domains.

3. Emergency Accounts or “Break-Glass” Accounts

Break-glass accounts are special accounts that can bypass authentication, monitoring processes, and standard security protocols. If not properly managed, they present significant risks.

3 Key Challenges of Implementing Privileged Access Management Best Practices

1. Forgotten and Overextended Privileges

In implementing Privileged Access Management (PAM) best practices, you must ensure that access to critical resources is both temporary and purposeful. Often, privileges are left open long after a task is completed, such as contract or consulting engineers retaining production permissions and indefinite access to sensitive data lakes.

2. Lack of Efficient Access Management

As your business grows, so does the complexity of managing privileges, especially in environments with many resources and frequently changing requirements. A solution that works for an organization of ten might crumble under an organization of 1,000. In this case, managing permissions for each cloud resource every time access is required becomes inefficient.

3. Ensuring Data Privacy While Managing Access

Another PAM implementation challenge is managing access to sensitive data while ensuring privacy. Many solutions require storing or caching sensitive credentials, posing a data security risk. 

8 Privileged Access Management Best Practices for Cloud Infrastructure

1. Use Strong Password Policies

Implementing strong password policies can help reduce the chances of credential theft. Use complex, unique passwords and enforce regular password rotations. Employees should already know to steer clear of the classic phone numbers or dates of birth!

Source

2. Implement the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP)

PoLP is and has always been the first principle of the cloud. The principle of least privilege states that users should only have the minimum level of access necessary to perform their tasks. In other words, a user who does not need admin rights should not have them.

3. Use Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Role-based Access Control (RBAC) Policies

IAM allows organizations to define who can access resources under what conditions. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), on the other hand, helps manage who has access to cloud resources by defining roles and associating them with the required permissions.

For example, in AWS, you can create custom IAM roles for developers, admins, and security personnel, each with tailored permissions. Use managed policies and avoid using root accounts for daily operations. 

4. Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)

Another best practice is to use multiple forms of verification (e.g., a mix of your password and biometric scan, a time-based code from your device, or a hardware token) before gaining access to privileged accounts. MFA adds an extra layer of security, reducing the risk of compromised credentials by requiring something the attacker doesn’t have. So, even when attackers get hold of your credentials, they still won’t be able to gain access to your account.

Integrate MFA into your Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution for all privileged accounts and enforce it for high-risk accounts like administrators or service accounts. You can use cloud-specific solutions like AWS MFA, Azure Multi-Factor Authentication, or Google Cloud’s Identity Platform.

5. Automate Access Management and Provisioning

Over 68% of security breaches are caused by human errors. Manually managing access can cause these errors, particularly as your organization scales. Use automation tools like Apono to ensure that permissions are granted and revoked in a timely, accurate, and consistent manner.

6. Secure Privileged Access with Encryption

Encrypting privileged access is essential for maintaining confidentiality, especially for access to sensitive data and resources. This best practice ensures the data remains secure even if an attacker gains unauthorized access to privileged credentials.

Encryption protocols like AES-256 protect sensitive data in transit and at rest. Another tip is to ensure that cloud credentials, secrets, and other sensitive data are stored securely in encrypted vaults such as AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, or Google Cloud Secret Manager.

7. Segmenting Critical Systems

Segmenting critical systems limits access to sensitive data. It reduces the risk of lateral movement in case of a breach, involving isolating high-risk systems and implementing access control for every segment of your workload. This way, your organization can ensure that unauthorized users cannot easily traverse the entire network, making it even harder for attackers to compromise multiple systems at once.

8. Educate and Train Privileged Users

Privileged users should be trained on security best practices, as they play a vital role in managing sensitive systems and resources. The training could focus on the latest external and insider threats, including phishing, malware, and social engineering tactics, with real-world examples of how mishandled privileges can lead to breaches. Rewarding users who identify vulnerabilities or report suspicious activity can encourage proactive behavior.

Cloud environments often require privileged users to access programmatic APIs, which requires secure handling. In this example, training should highlight best practices for securing API keys using tools like AWS Secrets Manager or Azure Key Vault.

For developers, additional emphasis should be placed on avoiding hardcoding credentials into code or scripts, as these can easily be leaked or exploited. Take a look at this Python script, which exposed the AWS access and secret keys:

If the above code is shared, pushed to a public repository (e.g., GitHub), or leaked, anyone with access to it can misuse your AWS credentials. Alternatively, you can use a secrets management tool like AWS Secrets Manager to securely store and access credentials:

Finally, effective training is not a one-time event but an ongoing process. Cloud security is an ever-evolving field; privileged users must stay updated on emerging threats and best practices. Providing documentation, maintaining an up-to-date knowledge base, and delivering periodic refresher training ensures that users remain informed and vigilant. 

Reduce Access Risks by 95% With Apono 

Failing to implement Privileged Access Management (PAM) best practices is like leaving the keys to your castle lying out in the open. As we’ve explored, PAM is crucial for controlling and monitoring access to your most critical assets, preventing devastating breaches that can disrupt operations, compromise sensitive data, and damage your reputation.

With Apono, you can reduce your access risk by a huge 95% by removing standing access and preventing lateral movement in your cloud environment. Apono enforces fast, self-serviced, just-in-time cloud access that’s right-sized with just-enough permissions using AI. 
Discover who has access to what with context, enforce access guardrails at scale, and improve your environment access controls with Apono. Book a demo today to see Apono in action.

It’s 9:00 AM, and your team is ready to tackle the day. But before they can start, access issues rear their ugly head. A developer can’t get into the staging server and IT is buried under a mountain of permission requests. Sounds familiar? 

Employees lose up to five hours weekly on IT access issues, while IT teams spend 48% of their time handling manual provisioning. These inefficiencies cost both time and valuable progress.

So, how do you fix it? Enter Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC), two powerful frameworks that streamline managing permissions.

RBAC: What is it and how does it work?

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is a no-nonsense way to manage who gets access to what in your organization. Instead of juggling permissions for every individual user (which gets messy fast), you create roles based on job functions. Then, you assign permissions to those roles, not people. 

Why use RBAC?

RBAC is about keeping control without wasting time or risking data loss. Want to prevent an intern from accidentally messing with your production environment? RBAC has your back. 

RBAC works because it’s predictable. It reduces human error, keeps access levels consistent, and makes audits straightforward. Plus, it’s scalable. Whether you have a team of 10 or 10,000, RBAC helps you avoid access sprawl while keeping your environment secure.

Source

How does RBAC work?

1. Define Roles: First, figure out what your team actually does. Are there engineers or incident response teams? Each role should represent a specific job function.
2. Assign Permissions: Next, decide what each role needs to access. Keep it limited to the essentials—RBAC is about “need to know,” not “nice to have.”
3. Assign Users to Roles: This is the easy part—just assign people the right roles. For example, a new hire in DevOps can be assigned the “Junior DevOps Engineer” role, and they’ll instantly get the correct permissions to access source code repositories, deployment pipelines, and monitoring dashboards. No tedious, one-off setups are required.
4. Enforce Access: The system does the rest. It checks the user’s role before granting access, and if someone tries to step outside their permissions, they’re blocked. 

ABAC: What is it, and how does it work?

Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) takes access management up a notch by adding context to permissions. Instead of just asking, “What’s your role?” ABAC asks, “Who are you? Where are you? What are you trying to do, and why?” ABAC best practices offer a more flexible and detailed approach designed for situations where a simple role doesn’t cut it.

What is ABAC used for?

ABAC shines in complex environments where access needs depend on more than just job titles. Think about healthcare systems, where a doctor might need access to patient records but only for patients they’re actively treating. Or global organizations, where access policies might depend on a user’s location, time of day, or even their device. ABAC adds these layers of nuance, ensuring access is granted under the right conditions.

How does ABAC work?

1. Define Attributes: Start by identifying the relevant attributes. These could include:
   • User attributes (e.g., department, clearance level)
   • Resource attributes (e.g., file type, sensitivity level)
   • Environmental attributes (e.g., time, location, IP address)
2. Set Policies: Next, create rules that tie attributes together. For example:
   • “Allow access to financial reports only if the user is in the Accounting department and the request is during business hours.”
   • “Grant editing permissions to customer data if the user is a manager and on a company device.”
3. Evaluate Requests: When someone tries to access a resource, the system evaluates the attributes against the defined policies. If the attributes match the rules, access is granted. If not, they’re denied.
4. Enforce Dynamic Access: Unlike RBAC, which relies on static roles, ABAC decisions are made in real time. ABAC allows for much finer control over who can access what and under what circumstances.

Source

RBAC vs. ABAC: The Pros and Cons of Each

Each model has unique strengths, and choosing the right one depends on your organization’s needs.

Pros and Cons of RBAC

Pros:

• Simple to Implement: Roles are predefined and easy to assign, making setting up RBAC nice and fast.
• Scalable: Works well for growing organizations with clear job hierarchies.
• Predictable: Access permissions are consistent and easy to audit.
• Compliant: Meets requirements for most compliance management needs and standards, like HIPAA and GDPR.

Cons:

• Limited Flexibility: RBAC can’t adapt to contextual factors like time, location, or device.
• Role Explosion: As organizations grow, the number of roles can get out of hand, complicating management.
• Static Nature: Changes to roles or permissions often require manual updates, which can slow things down.

Pros and Cons of ABAC

Pros:

• Highly Flexible: Access decisions are dynamic and consider multiple attributes, such as user, resource, and environment.
• Granular Control: Ideal for complex environments with nuanced access needs.
• Context-Aware: Supports policies based on real-time conditions, such as location or device type.
• Scalable Across Complex Systems: Works well in industries like healthcare or finance, where access needs vary widely.

Cons:

• Complex to Implement: Requires detailed planning to define attributes and policies.
• Higher Resource Needs: Real-time evaluation of attributes can demand more system resources.
• Harder to Manage: Maintaining and auditing policies can be overwhelming without proper tools.
• Steeper Learning Curve: Teams need time and expertise to understand and maintain ABAC systems.

Summary Table

Feature	RBAC	ABAC
Ease of Implementation	Simple to set up, predefined roles	Requires detailed policy setup
Flexibility	Limited, based on static roles	Dynamic, context-aware
Scalability	Good for clear hierarchies	Best for complex environments
Management	Straightforward but prone to role sprawl	Complex and requires expertise
Performance Impact	Minimal resource demands	Higher due to real-time evaluations
Best Fit For	Organizations with clear, stable job roles	Dynamic, high-stakes environments

When Should You Choose RBAC vs. ABAC?

Choosing between RBAC vs. ABAC depends on your organization’s size, complexity, and specific access control needs. Each model serves a purpose, and the best choice often depends on the context in which you operate. Both RBAC and ABAC fit into wider zero trust strategies by enforcing least privilege principles. Here’s a breakdown of when to use RBAC, ABAC, or a mix of both.

Source

When to Use RBAC

RBAC is the better fit if:

• Your Organization Has Clear Job Roles: If your workforce operates within defined roles—like “DevOps Manager,” “Incident Responder,” or “IT Admin”—RBAC simplifies access management challenges. It’s easy to implement and scales well with structured hierarchies.
• Compliance Is a Priority: RBAC aligns seamlessly with regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA, GDPR, and SOX. If your organization needs to demonstrate strict control over audit access, RBAC ensures consistency and traceability.
• You Need Predictability and Simplicity: Organizations with stable access requirements benefit from RBAC’s straightforward role assignments. For example, assigning employees to predefined roles is usually sufficient in a small-to-mid-sized company.

Example: A mid-sized retail company uses RBAC to manage employee access to point-of-sale systems, inventory databases, and HR portals. Employees in the “Store Manager” role get broad permissions, while “Cashiers” only access sales tools.

When to Use ABAC

ABAC is the clear choice if:

• You Operate in a Complex or Dynamic Environment: Organizations with variable access needs—where context like time, location, or device matters—thrive with ABAC’s granularity. It adapts to real-time conditions, making it ideal for global or highly regulated industries.
• You Need Context-Aware Access: ABAC’s ability to evaluate attributes such as user identity, device type, or IP address is critical for nuanced decisions. For example, only allowing access to sensitive financial data during office hours, from authorized devices, and by verified users.
• Granular Control Is Non-Negotiable: ABAC enables fine-tuned access policies that go beyond job roles. It is invaluable for sectors like healthcare, where a doctor may only access patient records they’re treating.

Example: A multinational bank adopts ABAC to grant access based on department, location, and user clearance levels. A branch manager in New York might access regional reports, while one in London is restricted to EU-specific data.

When to Use Both

In some cases, a hybrid approach makes the most sense. Many organizations use RBAC as the foundation for day-to-day operations but layer ABAC on top for more sensitive or nuanced scenarios. For instance:

• RBAC for Broad Access: Assign employees to roles for general access, like department-level tools or shared drives.
• ABAC for Sensitive Data: Implement attribute-based rules for high-risk scenarios, like accessing customer data or financial systems.

Example: A tech company uses RBAC to give engineers access to development tools while using ABAC to ensure that senior engineers can only access production servers during deployments on secure devices.

Simplifying Access Control with Apono

RBAC and ABAC each bring unique strengths to access control, and the right choice depends on your organization’s needs. RBAC offers simplicity and predictability, while ABAC delivers unmatched flexibility for dynamic environments.

Apono makes managing both RBAC and ABAC seamless. By automating access flows with features like Just-In-Time permissions and granular, self-serve controls, Apono ensures that your team stays productive without compromising security. Whether you need to simplify compliance or eliminate standing permissions, Apono integrates with your stack in minutes, helping you confidently scale access management.

Book a demo to see Apono in action today. 

Another re:Invent has come to a close and as always, the largest AWS event of the year leaves us with a lot to think about. 

First off, here are a few words from our CEO, Rom thanking everyone for making the conference such an incredible success:

Based on what we saw, a couple major trends seem to be emerging coming out of the conference:

When it comes to cloud security, identity is the new frontier:

With identity-based attacks on the rise and growing utilization of sensitive and proprietary data in the cloud for AI experimentation, getting identity right has emerged as a critical priority for organizations with mature cloud footprints. Approaches to identity and access management must provide appropriate compensating controls to balance increased risk without hampering business operations, driving innovation across both the AWS ecosystem and cloud security partners. 

Given Apono’s position at the forefront of the space, we were thrilled to see many of the organizational priorities that we’ve partnered with customers to achieve get serious attention at this year’s conference, both in sessions and in conversations with cloud and technology leaders.

Data Classification and Management

Another key initiative which received significant attention centered on better understanding what data organizations are collecting, where it resides and how it can and should be leveraged.

Workflows and processes to improve data management and classification are critical for ensuring effective and safe training/adoption of LLMs in an enterprise setting. New challenges and use cases in this area are ushering in next-gen approaches for everything from backup to cost optimization to access control.

Over the next year, smarter classification and categorization of data will enable more performant applications of the latest AI models as well as opportunities to employ more streamlined and efficient approaches to data security and access.

It all comes back to AI

Belief in the transformative impact AI will have across industries remains front and center. Empowering fast, secure and flexible adoption of the latest models is a clear imperative for AWS and their customers.

That manifests in the explosion of new technologies that are supporting that goal as well as the strategic investments AWS and its partners are making to ensure that organizations have the flexibility and optionality to adopt AI in a way that makes sense – avoiding potential dependence on any one model or manufacturer.

Prevailing sentiment indicates that the gold rush is just getting started, and prospectors will have plenty of options when it comes time to stock up on picks and shovels.

Stay tuned as we continue exploring these trends and providing solutions that keep you at the forefront of cloud innovation.

In this edition, Rom discusses four essential capabilities to consider when using a solution to manage cloud privileges and access to resources. He emphasizes the importance of visibility across all cloud access, planning for scale upfront, speaking the language of both security and DevOps, and ensuring easy onboarding and fast adoption. 

These four points are a great starting point for making the right PAM buying decision.

Essential Capabilities for Cloud Access Management

1. Visibility across all cloud access

The importance of having discovery capabilities that continuously monitor the dynamically expanding cloud environment as it changes is crucial.  

Cloud environments are highly dynamic, with new assets, users, and access points being created and modified continuously. This fluidity introduces both opportunities and risks, making visibility across all cloud access an indispensable component of any robust security and compliance strategy.

2. Planning for scale upfront 

Scale is a significant reason for moving to the cloud, and a solution that can automatically scale with the environment is necessary.

When choosing a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution, planning for scale upfront is a strategic necessity. Organizations increasingly adopt cloud environments for their ability to dynamically scale to meet evolving business demands. Similarly, a PAM solution must align with this scalability, ensuring it can handle growing workloads, users, and access requirements without compromising performance, security, or manageability.

3. Speaking the language of security and devops

Rom emphasizes that a successful PAM solution must seamlessly integrate with DevOps workflows while enabling security teams to enforce access guardrails that align with business needs.

• DevOps teams operate with speed and agility, often favoring automation and efficiency, while security teams prioritize control and compliance.
• A solution that unites these priorities ensures faster deployments without compromising security.

By adopting a PAM solution that “speaks the language” of both teams, organizations can foster collaboration and reduce friction in their operations.

4. Easy onboarding and fast adoption

One of the most overlooked factors in cloud access management is the ease of onboarding. A solution that aligns with how users work ensures quicker adoption and faster ROI.

• Studies suggest that 83% of employees cite ease of use as a top factor in adopting new security tools.
• Organizations adopting user-friendly solutions report seeing value within weeks, compared to months or even years with cumbersome alternatives.

When onboarding is simple, and the solution integrates seamlessly with existing workflows, users are more likely to embrace it, ensuring its success in the long term.

The Bottom Line

While many factors influence the choice of a cloud access management solution, these four capabilities—visibility, scalability, integration, and simplicity—are indispensable. As Rom aptly puts it:

“These capabilities are your foundation for success in managing cloud privileges and access. By starting here, organizations can make informed decisions and build a secure, scalable, and user-friendly cloud environment.”

By focusing on these priorities, organizations can safeguard their assets, enhance operational efficiency, and maximize the value of their cloud investments.

We recently started a new blog series featuring our CEO and co-founder Rom Carmel. In this series, we discuss real issues from the field. So, check out what Rom Carmel has to say about the three complaints he hears the most in access management.

“I speak to CISOs and security leaders all the time. There’s a lot they want to fix about the way identity works today, especially in their cloud environments. The three most common complaints I hear are listed below.”

1. Too much access risk. 

Organizations are juggling a growing array of systems, tools, and data. While these resources are essential for productivity and innovation, they also come with significant risks. One of the most overlooked yet critical risks is excessive standing privileges—permissions that employees or systems retain long after they’re needed.

This issue isn’t just about tidiness in managing permissions; it’s about security, resilience, and minimizing potential damage during an incident. Every person with access they don’t need right now is a liability, creating unnecessary risk and potentially catastrophic consequences.

The Danger of Standing Privileges

Standing privileges are like leaving all the doors in a house unlocked because someone might need to use one in the future. While convenient, it dramatically increases the potential for a break-in.

Here’s how excessive privileges create compounding risks:

1. Expanding the Blast Radius
   In cybersecurity, the blast radius refers to the extent of damage an incident can cause. When too many people have unnecessary access, the blast radius of a breach grows exponentially. A compromised account with access to sensitive systems becomes a gateway for attackers, allowing them to move laterally across the network, exfiltrate data, or cause widespread disruption.
2. Human Error Magnified
   Employees with unnecessary privileges might unintentionally misuse them, delete critical data, or make configuration changes that create vulnerabilities. The more permissions granted, the greater the chance of accidental missteps.
3. Attackers’ Dream Opportunity
   Excessive privileges are a goldmine for bad actors. Phishing attacks and credential theft are more effective when attackers know that any compromised account could yield the keys to sensitive systems. Standing privileges eliminate friction for attackers, offering them a direct route to the heart of your operations.

Why “Just in Case” Is Dangerous

Granting broad access “just in case” or failing to revoke permissions when they’re no longer needed is common. It’s often rooted in a combination of trust and convenience:

• Trust: “We know our team won’t misuse their access.”
• Convenience: “It’s easier than managing access dynamically.”

However, these rationalizations ignore the reality of modern security threats. Trust is not a control, and convenience is no defense against attackers who thrive on exploiting lapses in access management.

Principles for Managing Access Risks

Organizations need to shift to a least privilege model, granting users and systems only the permissions necessary to perform their current tasks. When access is no longer needed, it should be revoked immediately. Here’s how to approach this transformation:

1. Implement Just-In-Time (JIT) Access
   JIT access ensures that permissions are granted only when they’re actively required. For example, a developer needing to deploy code might gain temporary admin privileges for the duration of the task. Once the task is complete, access is automatically revoked.
2. Audit and Monitor Continuously
   Regular audits can identify users with unnecessary access. Automated monitoring tools can flag unusual activity or permission creep, ensuring risks are caught early.
3. Adopt Zero Trust Principles
   In a zero-trust framework, no user or system is trusted by default, regardless of their position or historical behavior. Access requests are verified in real-time, with strict controls on who can do what.
4. Educate Your Teams
   Often, employees don’t realize the risks associated with unnecessary privileges. Training on secure access practices can build awareness and foster a culture where security is a shared responsibility.

The Bottom Line

Standing privileges are a ticking time bomb, unnecessarily inflating the potential impact of security incidents. By adopting a least privilege approach, implementing dynamic access controls, and fostering vigilance, organizations can dramatically reduce their exposure to risk.

In a world where cyberattacks are inevitable, the size of the blast radius is something you can—and must—control. Every unnecessary access point closed is another step toward a more resilient, secure future.

Don’t wait for an incident to expose the gaps in your access management strategy. Act now to shrink the blast radius and protect your organization.

2. Reducing User Permissions.

Reducing user permissions is one of the most challenging tasks in access management. Engineers and other privileged users often resist the idea, fearing it will slow them down or hinder their ability to work effectively. And let’s be honest—they’re not entirely wrong.

Permissions often feel like tools of efficiency: the more you have, the less you need to wait for approvals or navigate access bottlenecks. But what’s often overlooked is the hidden cost of excessive permissions: increased security risks and operational chaos during incidents.

The good news? It’s possible to balance security and productivity if we approach the issue with the right mindset.

Why Permissions Need to Be Tightened

Excessive permissions are a liability. Each unnecessary access point expands the potential damage of a breach. Attackers and malware don’t care if permissions are unused; they exploit them the moment they’re available. Reducing permissions isn’t about making life harder—it’s about protecting systems and people.

How to Reduce Permissions Without Alienating Users

1. Collaborate, Don’t Dictate

Start by involving the users affected. Engineers, developers, and admins know their workflows best. Work with them to understand their needs and identify areas where permissions are genuinely required versus where they’ve become “nice to have.”

2. Introduce Temporary Access Solutions

Adopt Just-In-Time (JIT) access models that grant permissions for specific tasks or timeframes. This way, users can still get the access they need without holding on to it indefinitely.

3. Communicate the Why

Explain the risks of standing permissions clearly. Users are more likely to accept changes when they understand the stakes—both for the organization and for their own work.

4. Showcase Improved Efficiency

Demonstrate how well-implemented access controls can streamline operations. For example, automated request systems or pre-approved workflows can reduce the time spent chasing approvals.

Reducing user permissions is never going to be entirely painless, but it doesn’t have to be disruptive. By involving users in the process, implementing temporary solutions, and focusing on clear communication, organizations can create a secure environment without sacrificing productivity.

After all, the goal isn’t to limit capability—it’s to ensure that the right people have the right access at the right time.

3. No Centralized Location for Managing Access.

Managing access in today’s tech landscape often feels like a scavenger hunt. You’re working in your Identity Provider (IDP), navigating multiple cloud environments, diving into databases, configuring servers, and manually tweaking policies across your infrastructure. Each step adds complexity, making it difficult to enforce secure policies and turning access audits into a logistical nightmare.

This fragmented approach doesn’t just slow you down—it also increases risk. When there’s no centralized way to manage access, it’s easy for permissions to slip through the cracks, leading to over-privileged accounts and potential vulnerabilities.

Centralized access management isn’t just about convenience—it’s about creating a safer, more efficient environment for your teams. With Apono, you can reduce friction, enforce least privilege, and maintain security without the headaches of juggling countless tools.

It’s time to simplify access and focus on what really matters.

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Apono: Centralizing Access for Security and Simplicity

We built Apono to solve these exact challenges. With Apono, your team can:

• Manage All Access in One Place: No more hopping between systems—Apono provides a unified platform for managing access to all your modern resources and environments.
• Enable Least Privilege: Grant users the exact access they need, exactly when they need it, without unnecessary standing privileges.
• Streamline Just-In-Time (JIT) Access: Allow temporary access for specific tasks, ensuring permissions expire when they’re no longer required.
• Simplify Auditing: With everything centralized, access audits become fast, transparent, and straightforward.

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