Visibility & Governance: Why Your PAM Program Lives or Dies on the Privileged Account Inventory
- Pravin Raghvani MSc
- Aug 11
- 4 min read
Analogy — You can’t defend what you can’t see Imagine running a fire safety program for a skyscraper without knowing where all the rooms are, who has
the keys, or whether some doors even exist. You could spend heavily on alarms, sprinklers, and security staff — but if half the building is hidden from your blueprint, you’re gambling with disaster.
In Privileged Access Management (PAM), the “blueprint” is your Privileged Account Inventory — a complete, current, and authoritative record of every privileged account, across every system, application, and environment. Without it, all other controls are significantly weak.
The critical question for CISOs
How are you answering security questionnaires without a Privileged Account Inventory?
Can you respond to a regulator with absolute confidence?
Can you assure your cyber insurer that you’ve identified every privileged account and back it up with evidence?
If you can’t answer “yes” to both, you’ve already identified a gap, and you’ve also identified the reason this objective is non-negotiable. The good news? It’s challenging, but entirely achievable with the right phased approach.
NIST CSF Alignment: ID.AM — Asset Management
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework’s Identify Function begins with Asset Management (ID.AM) for a reason: you can’t protect what you don’t know exists. Privileged accounts are critical
cyber assets, and under NIST CSF 2.0, knowing their full scope — including ownership, access rights, and usage — is fundamental to risk-based security.
This is more than a static list. It’s a living, integrated dataset that is continuously updated to reflect changes in your IT and cloud landscape.
Why this is hard — and why it’s worth it
A complete Privileged Account Inventory is one of the most challenging maturity objectives in PAM. Why?
Architectural complexity — On-prem, cloud, SaaS, legacy systems, and third-party access each have unique privilege models.
Data fragmentation — Privileged data is scattered across directories, databases, endpoint configs, and application stores.
Constant change — Accounts are created, privileges escalated, and roles changed daily.
Source system limitations — Not all platforms expose privileges in a uniform or automated way.
Despite these challenges, the business case is unshakable:
Risk Reduction — Attackers can’t exploit accounts you’ve removed, disabled, or locked down because you know they exist.
Regulatory Alignment — DORA, NIS2, UK Cyber Resilience Act, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 all expect asset and access inventories.
Incident Response Efficiency — When a privileged credential is compromised, your team can identify it in seconds, not days.
Cost Control — Eliminating unused accounts reduces licensing, support, and audit overhead.
A phased approach to success
Trying to discover everything in one go often stalls programs. A phased approach is far more effective:
Start with high-value targets — Tier-0 systems, domain admins, cloud root accounts.
Leverage HR and IGA/IAM data — Integrate with authoritative identity sources to link accounts to people or roles.
Layer in technical discovery — Use PAM tools, directory queries, and API integrations to expand coverage.
Add context and classification — Define business owners, risk ratings, and usage patterns for each account.
Automate continuous refresh — Replace manual discovery with automated sync and alerting for changes.
The Smart Access PAM Capability Framework Connection
Within the Smart Access PAM Capability Matrix, Visibility & Governance is the core pillar that supports all others:
Access Control & Enforcement — You can’t enforce least privilege or dynamic access without knowing the accounts in scope.
Monitoring & Detection — Session monitoring is only meaningful if you’re tracking all privileged accounts.
Policy Compliance & Reporting — An incomplete inventory means compliance reporting is unreliable.
Identity Lifecycle Integration — Joiner-Mover-Leaver processes fail if unknown accounts are never touched.
The Privileged Account Inventory is the connective tissue of your PAM program. Without it, every other pillar is weakened.
Measuring Progress: The Smart Access PAM Maturity Framework
In the Smart Access PAM Maturity Framework, Privileged Asset Inventory is a defined strategic objective.
We measure maturity by asking:
To what extent has your organisation identified and inventoried all systems, applications, and devices that grant or require privileged access?
What we look for:
Maintaining an up-to-date inventory of privileged assets (e.g., domain controllers, firewalls, databases)
Identifying systems where administrative rights are configured or needed
Tracking systems with embedded or hardcoded credentials
Why it matters: This objective establishes foundational visibility and governance for privileged access, enabling informed decision-making and clear accountability.
Maturity Levels:
Level 0 — No visibility into systems, accounts, or services with privileged access.
Level 1 — Manual tracking of systems with admin access; inconsistent coverage.
Level 2 — Privileged systems/accounts are catalogued; some coverage of service accounts.
Level 3 — Regular updates; includes accounts, credentials, and criticality.
Level 4 — Automated discovery of privileged access; integrated with PAM/IAM tools.
By assessing your current level and setting a target, you create a clear roadmap from partial visibility to comprehensive, automated, and continuously updated coverage.
The bottom line for CISOs and IAM leaders
If your Privileged Account Inventory is incomplete or outdated, your organisation is at risk, even if you’ve invested in vaulting, session monitoring, or adaptive access. You wouldn’t let a building operate with undocumented rooms and keys. Don’t let your digital infrastructure operate with undocumented privileged accounts.
Make the inventory your first and most persistent objective. Build it in phases, integrate it deeply, and keep it alive. Only then will your PAM controls deliver the protection, compliance, and resilience you expect.
