Cybersecurity Awareness: the need of the Hour for Businesses

Enterprise Security, Network Threat Detection, Software Security

Article | June 19, 2023

Love and romance can be a costly affair when it comes to personal cybersecurity. Identify the common red flags in romance scams and their types, and learn how to avoid romance scams for a secure living. Contents 1. The Lure of Love: Superior Cyber Vigilance in Romance 2. Top 5 Tactics and Red Flags in Romance Scams 3. Cybercrime Update: Romance Scams and their Types 4. Guarding the Heart: Practicing Cyber Vigilance at its Best In the digital age, online romance is a double-edged sword. While it has fostered genuine connections for many, it has also given rise to costly romance scams in 2024. So, what are romance scams? These scams exploit the human desire for companionship, causing financial and emotional harm. In 2022 alone, these scams led to losses of $1.3 billion, marking a 78% increase from 2020. Cybersecurity authorities like the FTC and FBI warn of increasing romance scams, with a focus on vigilance in online dating to ensure personal cybersecurity. 1. The Lure of Love: Superior Cyber Vigilance in Romance Relentless pursuers and masters of deceit, lies and filth are the best traits of dating scammers. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that romance scams are one of the most profitable ventures for online dating scammers. How much money is lost in a romance scam? In 2023, nearly 70000 consumers of online dating apps have reported a romance scam, with losses hitting $1.3 billion. The median reported loss was $4400. In 2023, consumers reported that romance scammers’ favorite lies include claims to have excellent investment advice to offer and to need money because a friend or relative was ill, injured, or in jail. Romance scams lead to significant financial losses in romance scams and cause emotional distress and erode trust in online platforms. 2. Top 5 Tactics and Red Flags in Romance Scams Identifying online dating scammers is crucial. How do you know if someone is romance scamming you? Here are a few red flags to check out for: 2.1 Red Flags to Detect Romance Scams 2.2 How to Avoid Romance Scams and What Are the Warning Signs? Romance scams are a serious issue and it’s important to be aware of the warning signs. Here are some tips to avoid online dating scams: Reluctance to meet in person: They might say they’re living or traveling outside the country, working on an oil rig, in the military, or working with an international organization. Requests for money: Once they gain your trust, they’ll ask for your help to pay medical expenses, buy their ticket to visit you, or pay for their visa. They may also ask you to help them pay fees to get them out of trouble. Specific payment methods: They’ll tell you to wire money through a company like Western Union or MoneyGram. Other requests may include putting money on gift cards and giving them the PIN codes, sending money through a money transfer app, or transferring cryptocurrency. Always traveling or living far away from you: They might say they’re living or traveling outside the country. Refusing to video chat or always cancel: This could be a sign that they’re not who they say they are. If you suspect a romance scam, stop communicating with the person immediately and talk to someone you trust. You can also search online for the type of job the person has, plus the word ‘scammer’. Remember, never send money or gifts to a sweetheart you haven’t met. 3. Cybercrime Update: Romance Scams and Their Types Love in the digital age has a dark side, and it’s not just heartbreak. Welcome to the world of romance scams, where cybercriminals don’t just break hearts, they break the bank, too. Let’s explore various types of romance scams and learn how to protect ourselves. 1) Catfishing: In ‘catfishing’, scammers create fake online profiles to trick people into thinking they're in a relationship with someone who doesn't exist. They use stolen or made-up photos using AI and manipulate victims with strong emotions and convincing life stories. The scammer's goal can be financial gain, asking for money for fake emergencies or travel, or emotional exploitation, seeking attention without reciprocation. Romance scams victims can feel betrayed and lose trust in future relationships. It's important to verify online identities through video chats or reverse image searches, and be cautious with fast-progressing relationships that quickly involve money. 2) Romance Scammers Asking for Money with Gift Cards: In romance scams, the gift card scam is especially harmful because it seems harmless and hard to trace. Scammers, after gaining trust, create situations that need urgent money—for example, medical bills or blocked funds. The scammer asks for payment in gift cards, saying they are convenient and fast, and that other methods are not possible or too slow. Online dating scam victims, worried and caring, buy gift cards and share the codes, sending cash to the scammer. This scam shows the importance of being alert to any request for gift cards in an online relationship. It reminds us that real financial transactions, especially in personal relationships, rarely require payment in such ways. 3) Fake Online Dating ‘Hookup’ Sites: Fake online dating ‘hookup’ sites are one of the types of romance scams that target singles looking for love. Scammers create fake profiles and websites, promising genuine relationships and meetups. However, these websites are scams designed to steal the user’s information or money. Scammers may use manipulation tactics, such as catfishing, blackmail, or extortion, to create a feeling of trust and then ask for money or personal details. This scam shows the importance of being careful when using online dating sites or apps and verifying the identity and legitimacy of the person you are talking to. 4) Blackmail and ‘sextortion’: Blackmail and ‘sextortion’ are types of dating scams that involve threatening to expose the victim’s private or sensitive information, such as explicit photos or videos. Scammers may pose as potential romantic partners on dating sites or apps, chat with the victim and send explicit content. They may also ask for similar content in return. If the victim sends photos or videos, the scammer then blackmails them, demanding money or more content. Scammers may also claim to have hacked the victim’s device or account or to have recorded them visiting an adult site. This scam highlights the importance of being careful about what you share online and not giving in to blackmail demands. 5) Inheritance Scam: In this scam, the fraudster claims to have a large inheritance but needs help with legal or tax issues to access it. They ask the victim for a small financial contribution, promising to share the wealth once it's released. The victim sends money, assuming they're investing in their future, only to find out the inheritance doesn't exist. This scam exploits the victim's willingness to help and the promise of shared wealth. It's crucial to verify any large money claims from an online romantic interest. 6) Phishing of Personal Information (Identity Theft Romance Scams): Phishing of personal information is a type of romance scam that involves tricking the victim into revealing their personal or financial details, such as passwords, bank accounts, or credit cards. Scammers may create fake profiles on dating sites or apps, or they may contact the victim through social media and pretend to have a romantic interest in them. They may then ask for personal information, such as their address, phone number, or date of birth, under the pretext of sending gifts, booking travel, or verifying their identity. Scammers may also send phishing emails or links that direct the victim to fake websites that collect their information. This scam underlines the importance of being mindful about what you share online and verifying the identity and legitimacy of the person you are talking to. 7) Online Dating Cryptocurrency Investment Scam: In the world of digital currencies, romance scams are on the rise. Scammers, posing as savvy investors, lure victims into fake crypto investments. They promise high returns with low risk. They may even show bogus profits on a sham website. This scam exploits the victim's trust and their limited knowledge of the volatile crypto market. The fallout is not just financial loss but also the harsh truth that their romantic partner was a sham. It's a stark reminder to tread carefully when mixing romance and finance, especially in the complex world of cryptocurrency. 8) Sending you to Phishing and Malware-Infected Websites: This type of romance scam involves sending you to phishing and malware-infected websites. These websites are used to steal personal information or infect devices with harmful software. Scammers tend to send links to these websites through online dating platforms or messaging apps and claim that they are for booking travel, sending gifts, verifying identities or investing in cryptocurrency. However, these websites are designed to capture the victim's details, such as passwords, credit cards, or bank accounts, or to download malware or viruses that can damage their devices or access their data. This fraud illustrates the need of checking website sources and security before clicking. 9) Military Romance Scam: In military romance scams, fraudsters pose as military personnel on fake profiles. They claim to be stationed overseas, explaining why they can't meet. They build emotional connections over time, leading to trust and affection. They then spin stories of needing money for various reasons like travel, medical costs, or securing leave. The victims, swayed by the emotional bond and respect for the military, often send money, gift cards, or personal information. The victims face not just financial loss but also emotional pain when the scam is revealed. This cautions about online connections that quickly request money, especially if the person claims a hard-to-verify occupation. 10) Medical Emergency Scam: In the medical emergency scam, fraudsters build a relationship with the victim and then claim a sudden health crisis or a family member's urgent need for medical care. They ask for funds for costly treatments, exploiting the victim's sympathy and desire to help. This scam, which forces victims to make hasty decisions under the guise of life-or-death situations, can lead to substantial financial losses. Skepticism and independent verification before donating money in such instances are crucial. Other types of romance scams include loan or debt relief scams, The scammers offer to help you consolidate, lower or eliminate your debt. However, they charge you upfront fees, access your personal information, or enroll you in a costly program that doesn’t reduce your debt. Moreover, there are real estate or rental scams where scammers advertise fake or unavailable properties. They ask for money before showing the property or use stolen photos and details. They may also pose as landlords, agents, or tenants and ask for deposits, rent or personal information. A few other scammers use online shopping scams by creating fake websites or social media pages that sell products or services that don’t exist, are counterfeit or never arrive. They may also ask for payment through unsecure methods, such as wire transfers or gift cards. Many naïve youngsters in love fall prey to education or career opportunity scams. Such scammers offer scholarships, grants, loans, jobs or internships that require you to pay fees, provide personal information or attend seminars. They may also claim to be affiliated with legitimate organizations or institutions. A travel or visa scam in romance scams is when a scammer fakes love and asks for money to visit you. However, they have travel problems or emergencies. They deceive you into paying more out of pity, but they never appear. People are increasingly being deceived by romance scammers who pretend to be interested in them and ask for money for various reasons. These include travel, emergencies, investments, or gifts. 63% of women were victims of romance scams in 2018. The largest reported scams were paid in cryptocurrency, i.e., $139 million in 2021. With the rise in such incidents at an alarming rate, it is important for people to be more alert than ever before, be more aware of personal cybersecurity and safeguard their digital presence. 4. Guarding the Heart: Practicing Cyber Vigilance at its Best Instead of being blindfolded in love, practice vigilance and take control of the situation before it is too late. Learn from the stories and experiences of romance scam victims, and analyze scams by yourself or involve trustworthy people in your life. Educate yourself and your family, spread romance scams related public awareness, and be vigilant. Report incidences through the right channels and keep yourself safe from these scams. Scammers are resilient and find new ways to scam. Be aware of their methods to avoid further damage and consequences. Romance scammers leave victims in a state of emotional damage, with feelings of being betrayed, humiliated, and ashamed of being deceived. Victims tend to suffer from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The financial costs of online dating scams to those who become the bait for romance scammers include losing thousands of dollars and having their credit cards or bank accounts compromised or stolen. Learn how to catch a romance scammer and also explore how to spot and avoid romance scams. Practical advice to dodge romance scammers includes: Research the Person: Use search engines or social media to look up the person's name, photo, and any details they share with you. Be wary if their online presence is scarce or if they seem too good to be true. Guard Personal Information: Never share personal information, such as your address, phone number, or financial details, with someone you've only met online. Be Cautious with Overseas Relationships: Many romance scams involve individuals from other countries. Be extra cautious if the person claims to be living or traveling outside of your country. Never Send Money: Scammers frequently use the tactic of asking for money for unexpected expenses, travel, or a plane ticket to come visit you. Never send money to someone you've only met online. Be Skeptical: If the person professes love quickly, refuses to meet in person, always has an excuse to not video chat, or asks for financial help, these are red flags. Report Suspicious Behavior: If you suspect you're being scammed, report it to the local authorities and the platform where you met the person. Consult with Friends and Family: Share your online romantic interactions with people you trust. They can provide a fresh perspective and may notice red flags that you didn't. These scams are a serious threat in the online world, where fraudsters prey on people’s emotions and money. To prevent these scams, everyone needs to work together and stay alert. The question arises about how to stay safe from romance scams online. The best way to protect oneself is to learn about the scams, practice cybersecurity best practices to avoid them, and use strong cybersecurity tools. Online dating can be rewarding, but only if one is careful and smart.

Enterprise Security

Article | November 16, 2021

Securing data, assets, and transactions is ever critical especially now with increased innovation, customer demand, and the need to navigate a complex regulatory landscape — not to mention staying ahead of evolving cyber threats. As a result, organizations of all sizes and in every country around the world require implementing cryptography solutions to help secure everyday business. This includes managing and securing transactions, managing encryption keys, authenticating identities, providing message integrity, and encrypting data and applications. From the largest global banks and payment processors that process thousands of transactions a second to the micro merchants that are newly accepting payments, cryptography works behind the scenes to ensure payments are secure and sensitive information is protected. Whenever and wherever cryptography is at work, organizations turn to either hardware or cloud options (or a combination of both) to ensure data and transactions are secure and compliant. Common cryptographic themes across industries and across countries: 1. Cloud adoption is happening across the board with payment processing taking the lead 2. Smaller FinTechs are innovating big time 3. Companies are continually seeking help to meet regulations, especially when it comes to data localization Since writing Cryptographic Management Trends Around the Globe, I talked again with Futurex team members from our offices around the world, including Ruchin Kumar, vice president, South Asia; Mark Howland, senior business development, EMEA; and Santos Campa, vice president, LAC, for more cryptographic insights and perspectives, including drilling down on cryptographic use cases to see what’s similar and what’s unique across regions. Let’s take a look at each region: South Asia, EMEA, and LAC. South Asia: Payment Ecosystem Thriving in South Asia Ruchin Kumar emphasized that the payment ecosystem in South Asia, particularly India, is thriving — indicating that financial services are the largest consumers of hardware security modules (HSMs) and cryptography in the entire region. HSMs play an important role in South Asia, securing the root of trust, keeping the private keys secure, managing Public Key Infrastructures (PKIs), and managing digital signing for non-repudiation and message integrity. In fact, he said, India represents almost 95% of HSM use cases in all of South Asia. Payment systems and securing payments go hand-in-hand with the standards and regulations required for payments/financial services. These include regulations set by Unique Identification of India (UIDAI), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Payments Council of India (PCI), Information Technology Act of India, 2000 and its amendments 2008/2011/2016. Kumar sees organizations use general purpose HSMs for digital signing for non-repudiation and message integrity and payment HSMs used for acquiring, switching, card issuance, green PIN, and other payment application security needs (these types of HSMs are required by regulations). What’s on the horizon? From Kumar’s perspective, organizations are doing a lot of testing and evaluation for cryptography inclusion in their infrastructure and many organizations are looking into tokenization for security and agility, especially with Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and AI emerging. Additionally, remote key loading is becoming more sought after because every device in the field these days — ATMs, point-of-sale devices, handheld devices — requires key exchange with centralized servers. Companies in South Asia See Cryptography-as-a-Service and Local Data Centers Critical for Data Residency and Localization Over the past two years, most organizations in South Asia have adopted the cloud on a large scale, including using the cloud as a resource to host their critical applications. Security has played a big role in this cloud migration, with organizations wanting to retain ownership and control of their encryption keys. As a result, many organizations have turned to Futurex’s VirtuCrypt cloud HSM and key management service for both security and meeting regulatory compliance. Futurex’s data centers in India West and India Central help to power cryptographic automation, speed, latency, and data residency and data localization. “Local data centers provide customers a lot of assurance in terms of data residency, data localization, and key localization, which earlier was a barrier to move to the cloud. Now that Futurex’s cryptography services are hosted within Indian geography, we have seen a big difference in organizations migrating to HSM-as-a-service,” says Kumar. India is well-known as a FinTech hub for start-ups and innovation, with many unicorns emerging, according to Kumar. Progressive companies look to service-based, OpEx models for their applications as well as for cryptography. OpEx models offer flexibility, money savings, and serve as a resource for those needing help with cryptographic management. EMEA: Cloud and Payments Dominate HSM Use in Europe, Middle East, and Africa Cloud adoption is also rapidly increasing in EMEA, with many organizations looking to HSM virtualization technology, especially for payment applications. According to Mark Howland, “Customers are asking, ‘can we cut down our use of hardware, our reliance on hardware, and have the payment applications that we are heavily invested in, spun up and spun down seasonally?” Howland notes that smaller companies and VC-backed companies are more nimble and lean toward innovation by implementing such things as cryptography-as-a-service to meet PCI regulations. The early adopters are those organizations in the finance and payment industry, as consumer demand and pandemic adjustments have led to innovative payment processing including mobile payments and SoftPOS. Like South Asia, smaller companies including those in financial software and services, see the value of OpEx-based HSM cloud services, such as Futurex’s VirtuCrypt. Organizations across EMEA are deploying HSMs for POS key management, PIN management, and virtualization. What’s ahead? Howland sees that many organizations are, again, moving to a service-based model, looking at application encryption, encrypting data at rest, and the overall protection of data in all industry sectors, not just traditional high-security finance customers. LAC: Trends in Cryptography Use in Latin America and the Caribbean What’s trending in LAC? According to Santos Campa, he is seeing a mixture of both on-premises cryptographic architecture and cloud payment demands. Several banks already have a huge investment in their hardware infrastructure — their own data centers, racks, servers, etc. However, at least 35% of customers are converting from these on-premises architectures to cloud HSMs. Many are opening new branches or are creating new FinTechs inside their organizations. “We’re seeing the majority of organizations moving to the cloud, or at least moving part of their operations to the cloud,” says Campa. “It's very important for many organizations to keep control and management of the key lifecycle.” Again, much like other parts of the world, the financial sector is the big mover and shaker in terms of cryptographic implementations, using cryptography for PIN validation, key management, and tokenization. According to Campa, the cloud continues to be very important and beneficial, especially the ability to integrate cloud payment HSMs with the public cloud including AWS, Azure, and Google. As organizations are adding new models, such as transaction processing models, a must-have is a secure, compliant cryptographic solution — compliant with PCI and local and regional regulations throughout Latin America — that will allow them to scale. A nice-to-have is an OpEx option to give flexibility and cost savings. Pandemic trends have paved the way to make cryptographic management more streamlined — such as visualization and remote key management — and not needing to physically go to the data center. “Organizations are looking to a cryptographic platform that is future-proofed, one that is going to provide the best quality of service and support in the market,” says Campa. All around the globe, organizations are looking to innovate payments and embrace the cloud, keeping security, agility, and cryptography top of mind.

Enterprise Security, Network Threat Detection, Software Security

Article | July 18, 2023

Remote working and cybersecurity risks, unfortunately, go hand in hand. As the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be far from over, cyber threats to individuals and businesses continue to loom large. The only solution at the moment is to invest in robust technology solutions that protect your network and to train employees in cybersecurity so that they develop healthy remote working practices. If you allow a bulk of your employees to work remotely, it is important to adopt a few basic habits to protect your devices and your business network from cyber criminals. Here’s a quick look at a few basic tips for remote workers that can go a long way in enhancing the overall security posture of your organisation. Passwords provide the first line of defense against unauthorized access to your devices and personal information. By creating a strong, unique password, you increase protection levels tremendously. You make it more challenging for cybercriminals to gain access and disrupt your systems networks. Rule number two is never to ignore those little pop-up windows that tell you that software updates are available for your device. Once you get such a notification, be sure to install the latest software as soon as possible. Timely software updates (including antivirus updates) help patch security flaws and safeguard the computer system. Are you busy with your work and don’t like to be distracted by such notifications? We highly suggest you encourage your employees to select auto-update for software on both mobile devices and computers. It will help you and your staff to prevent problems caused by delayed system updates.

Article | April 11, 2022

“PAM is part of the journey, not the destination, so have a roadmap and make sure you communicate with your team and wider operation, which will allow for your overall security strategy to progress.” - Terence Jackson, Thycotic CISO and Privacy Officer. In a corporate context, "privileged access" refers to special access or capabilities that go beyond the scope of a standard user's profile. With the help of privileged access, businesses can protect their infrastructure and applications, operate more efficiently, and keep important data safe. Privileged access can include human and non-human users but does not necessarily represent a human user. For example, a human user’s privileged access can be domain administrative accounts, superuser accounts, and secure socket shell (SSH) keys. On the other hand, some examples of non-human privileged access are service accounts, application accounts, secrets, and SSH keys. In the last decade, there have been numerous security breaches involving privileged access. Among them are the following: The massive breach happened at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Bangladesh bank breach The attack on the Ukrainian power grid Uber’s highly publicized breach All of these hacks used privileged credentials to plan, organize, and execute cyber-attacks. Privileged Access Management Privileged access management (PAM) is used by organizations to safeguard against the hazards caused by credential theft and misuse of privilege. PAM refers to a holistic cybersecurity approach that includes people, procedures, and technology for controlling, monitoring, securing, and auditing all human and non-human privileged identities. It also allows actions to be taken throughout an enterprise's information security environment. Privileged access management (PAM) works on the concept of least privilege, where the users have access to what is necessary to accomplish their jobs. The idea of least privilege is generally regarded as a recommended practice in cybersecurity and is a critical component of safeguarding privileged access to high-value data and assets. To cut down on their attack surface, companies may be able to reduce the risk of costly data breaches from hostile insiders or cyberattacks from outside the company. Key Challenges When it comes to protecting, controlling, and monitoring privileged access, organizations face numerous challenges. Some of them are as follows: Many IT organizations rely on manual-intensive, error-prone administrative processes to rotate and update privileged credentials. This can be a costly and inefficient approach. While centralized monitoring and controlling privileged sessions puts the business at risk for compliance violations and cybersecurity threats, enterprises also put the business at risk. Many businesses do not use threat analysis tools, so they cannot proactively remediate security incidents. Organizations often struggle to control privileged user access to social media, Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, cloud platforms, and others. As a result, it creates compliance risks and operational complexity. Attackers can use flaws in the Kerberos authentication protocol to impersonate authorized users and get access to important IT resources and confidential data. Why does Your Business Need PAM? The statistics below highlight, in brief, the necessity of PAM for businesses: 3% of organizations lack a mature approach to access management, resulting in two times the number of breaches U.S. enterprises lose $7.91M from a breach, almost double the global average of $3.68M 56% of breaches take months or longer to discover 49% of organizations don’t have policies for assigning privileged user access 80% of security breaches involve compromised privileged credentials 90% of organizations feel vulnerable to insider attacks Traditional Cybersecurity Vs. Privileged Access Management (PAM) Regrettably, traditional cybersecurity is no longer a viable solution. It is complicated, difficult to manage, too costly, and time-consuming. As a result, businesses have to speed up their transition to simpler solutions that don't depend much on IT staff and have more secure, easy-to-use interfaces. Privileged access management is currently a priority for many CISOs to mitigate the risk of cyberattacks, empower their staff, and safeguard their enterprises from unwanted access. Read on to understand some of the critical reasons why you should shift from traditional cybersecurity to privileged access management (PAM). Quick Response When Privileged Accounts Are Hacked Many businesses are afraid to think about what can happen if an administrator account is compromised. However, it is still possible. All accounts can be hacked. A company can't always rely on administrators to take the proper steps, even if they should. A well-designed PAM (privileged access management) system will safeguard against privileged account attacks. Privileged accounts can be disabled swiftly to prevent further damage. The more quickly threats are addressed, the less damage is done to the system. Zero or Lower Chances of Insider Threats Malicious insiders can be a major threat to the organization. Once someone has accessed your system, your data may be readily compromised. With PAM, an insider's ability to harm your system is significantly restricted. They cannot install malware on machines and access documents and data that they are not authorized to view. Also, they will not be able to change the network settings. Improved Regulatory Compliance Regulations are either constantly changing or upgraded. Businesses must adhere to these standards to avoid substantial fines and penalties. PAM promotes regulatory compliance by giving administrators more power and employees less. Employees who don’t pay much attention may violate these restrictions. Either they are unaware, or they are not concerned. By not giving employees access to things they don't need, it's possible to reduce the chances of regulatory compliance issues. An organization is more likely to be in compliance if it uses privileged access management software and learns how to use it in real life. Lower Chances of Malware Risk Employees may install malware, even without recognizing it. For example, they may download anything from the web or accidentally click on a link in an email. They may also unknowingly permit a download or installation that they should not. Privileged access management prevents employees from making these types of catastrophic errors by restricting them from making such modifications. As a result, potential hazards are decreased, and the assault surface is lowered. Proactive PAM Program Protect Endpoints and Workstations Effectively In a business, every endpoint (laptop, smartphone, tablet, desktop, and server, for example) comes pre-configured with privileges. While built-in administrator accounts assist IT staff in resolving local problems, they also present a significant amount of risk. Attackers attack admin accounts and then go from one workstation to the other, hacking new credentials until they accomplish their objective. Workstations are less likely to be hacked if their local administrative privileges are taken over by a privileged access management program in the early stages. Summing Up Privileged access management (PAM) is a cybersecurity term that refers to the techniques and technologies used to control privileged access and rights in their accounts, processes, and systems in an IT environment. Privileged access management helps businesses reduce their attack surface and prevent data breaches. It can, at least, lessen the damage caused by outside threats and internal misuse or neglect. Frequently Asked Questions Is there any difference between IAM and PAM? IAM, also known as identity and access management, is concerned with the management of all users. On the other hand, PAM makes sure that administrative and privileged users can have access to specific information. It can be done by defining and regulating the roles of the admin users. Why do businesses need PAM? PAM allows enterprises to protect themselves against accidental or deliberate misuse of privileged access by facilitating the authorization and monitoring of privileged users Who is a privileged user? A user who is permitted (and hence trusted) to perform duties that involve sensitive data. Regular users do not usually perform these duties.