Privileged Identity Management

Key takeaways

• What PIM is: A security discipline that controls and audits access to high-impact roles and systems, ensuring users get access only when necessary.
• How it works: PIM provides temporary, “just-in-time” access that is activated when needed and automatically revoked after a set time. A user requests access, provides justification, and receives time-limited permissions once approved.
• Why it’s important: By removing permanent administrative access, PIM reduces the risk of insider threats and credential misuse. This is crucial, as over 80% of security breaches involve compromised privileged credentials.
• PIM vs. IAM/PAM: Unlike broader IAM (all users) or PAM (long-term admin accounts), PIM focuses specifically on the just-in-time, temporary elevation of user privileges.

What is Privileged Identity Management (PIM)?

Privileged Identity Management (PIM) is a security discipline that controls, monitors, and audits access to high-impact roles and systems.

It ensures that only authorized users can access sensitive systems only when necessary. This reduces an application’s attack surface and enforces least privilege across cloud and on-prem environments.

How does PIM work?

PIM provides temporary, auditable access to privileged roles and is activated only when needed and revoked automatically afterward.

A typical PIM workflow would look like the following: A user requests access to a sensitive role. The system may prompt for multi-factor authentication and a justification. If the role requires it, an approval workflow is triggered. Once approved, access is granted for a short duration and automatically expires. All actions are logged for auditing.

This just-in-time model prevents standing permissions from being abused and ensures that sensitive access is tightly governed.

How is PIM different from PAM and IAM?

PIM is a subset of access management that focuses on just-in-time, temporary elevation of privileges, unlike broader Identity and Access Management (IAM) or traditional Privileged Access Management (PAM), which primarily focus on internal controls and infrastructure security.

While IAM governs identity and access for all users, and PAM manages long-term admin accounts and credentials, PIM zeroes in on when and how users receive elevated access. For example, in Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), PIM is used to grant time-limited access to resources.

What are the benefits of PIM?

PIM reduces long-term privilege exposure, enforces compliance, and distributes security responsibility across teams.

PIM provides visibility into who holds privileged access, a threat vector that is often dangerously unobserved. For instance, only 62% of financial institutions report having complete visibility into all their managed privileged identities, and on average most industries have less than 65% visibility. This lack of visibility coincides with a greater potential for security breaches as Gartner reported more than 80% of security breaches involve the misuse or compromise of privileged credentials.

By removing permanent administrative access, organizations lower the risk of insider threats and credential misuse. This model also supports zero trust architecture by requiring continuous verification and purpose-specific access. 

PIM is particularly valuable in industries with strict compliance requirements like healthcare, finance, and SaaS, where data protection is non-negotiable. Microsoft, for example, highlights PIM as a key tool in its zero trust strategy for Entra ID.

What does a typical PIM workflow look like?

A standard PIM workflow activates privileged access only after validation and expires it automatically after use.

Imagine a DevOps engineer needs temporary access to update production infrastructure. They initiate a request through a PIM solution. The system might require multi-factor authentication and a reason for access. 

If the request meets policy rules or is approved by a manager, access is granted for, say, one hour. During that time, every action is logged. Once the window closes, access is revoked without manual intervention.

This ensures every privilege grant is purposeful, time-bound, and accountable.

How do you implement PIM?

Implementing PIM starts with identifying privileged roles and enforcing policy-based access controls via your IAM system.

To implement PIM, you’ll begin by auditing which accounts and roles have elevated access. Then, you need to define policies for when access is required, who approves it, and how it should be logged.

Many organizations integrate PIM through platforms like Microsoft Entra ID or by layering on top of their existing setup. As they mature, they expand coverage across cloud infrastructure, SaaS apps, and internal tools.

A key step in rollout: training teams on when and how to request privileged access. This avoids delays and misuse.

What are best practices for PIM?

Effective PIM aligns access with intent and granting privileges when needed, revoking them when they’re not, and making everything auditable.

Success with PIM depends on more than just tooling. It requires a thoughtful approach to how and when privileged roles are assigned.

Start by defining which roles and resources are considered privileged. This could include production access, security settings, customer data, or even feature toggles.

From there, apply these core best practices:

• Use just-in-time access to avoid standing privileges that linger and invite risk.
• Set up approval workflows for sensitive role activations, with clear justification.
• Automate access expiration so privileges end without manual cleanup.
• Conduct regular access reviews to catch unused or outdated permissions.
• Distribute control so security and product teams can manage access without relying on developers.
  

The goal isn’t just to lock things down, it’s to make privileged access purposeful, temporary, and traceable. 

Who uses PIM?

Security teams, IT admins, DevOps engineers, and auditors all rely on PIM to manage access to sensitive functions.

PIM sits at the intersection of operational agility and security. Dev teams need rapid access to troubleshoot production issues. Infosec needs assurance that those privileges are granted appropriately and not lingering indefinitely. Auditors want records showing that privileged access is reviewed and justified.

Everyone benefits when PIM is implemented well.

How does Frontegg support PIM?

Frontegg simplifies privileged identity workflows by giving product and security teams direct control over role assignments, approvals, and access reviews without ticketing.

In many SaaS environments, waiting on engineering to assign roles or revoke access adds unnecessary risk and delay. Frontegg removes this bottleneck. Teams can assign privileged roles through a self-service portal, configure approval workflows, and conduct access reviews independently of developers.

Support for integrations and fine-grained RBAC makes Frontegg a strong fit for scaling PIM practices, especially for teams that want to move faster while staying in control.