Best PAM solution for finance: One Identity Safeguard

The finance industry is heavily regulated, and rightly so. A small security mistake can lead to direct financial loss, legal action, loss of customer trust, and even wider market impact. One of the biggest risks comes from excessive or open-ended access. Users often keep high level privileges long after they need them, or gain access that was never properly limited in the first place.

Attackers know this and often target privileged accounts first. Once they get hold of such access, they can move fast and cause serious damage. Learn why One Identity Safeguard is the best privileged access management solution – a must-have for financial organizations.

Privileged access management is a security approach used to control and monitor access to critical systems and data. It ensures that high level access is granted only when needed and removed once the task is done.

Why financial organizations need PAM security systems

• Financial systems store sensitive customer data and transaction records that must stay protected at all times
• Regulatory requirements (like PCI DSS) demand strict control over who can access core systems and when
• Insider threats become harder to manage as teams grow and access spreads across departments
• Third party vendors often need temporary access that must be tightly controlled
• Audit teams require clear records of privileged activity to meet compliance checks

Financial security challenges without PAM

• Privileged accounts remain active longer than necessary and become easy targets
• Lack of visibility makes it hard to track who accessed what and why
• Manual access processes increase the chance of mistakes and policy gaps
• Breaches involving privileged access lead to higher fines and deeper reputational damage

One Identity Safeguard is a complete Privileged Access Management platform built to protect high risk accounts in complex environments. It helps financial organizations limit exposure through Just In Time access, and maintain clear oversight across hybrid systems.

Core capabilities and architecture

• Automated discovery of privileged accounts across directories and network assets
• Secure storage of privileged credentials in a hardened vaul
• Time limited access with approval workflows tied to roles and policies
• Full session recording with detailed activity capture
• Real time monitoring with alerts and blocking based on behavior analysis
• Indexed audit logs stored in signed files for compliance and forensics
• Support for on-prem deployments and a fully managed cloud option
• Centralized control and reporting for sudo based access

Use cases

• Banks: Safeguard helps banks control administrator access to core banking systems and enforce short lived access for critical tasks.
• Investment Firms: Investment firms use Safeguard to secure trading platforms and monitor privileged activity without slowing down operations during high pressure periods.
• Payment Processors: Payment processors use Safeguard to restrict access to card data environments and manage vendor access safely.

In financial setups, access should be limited to exactly what is needed and nothing more (i.e., the principle of least privilege). Administrators can use One Identity Safeguard to enforce this by:

1. Granting privileged access only when a specific task is approved and for a defined time window
2. Removing permanent admin rights and replacing them with request-based workflows
3. Limiting access scope so users can reach only the systems required for their role
4. Monitoring all privileged activity in real time to catch misuse early

Real time session monitoring and recording provide clear visibility into what privileged users are doing on sensitive systems. When something goes wrong, security teams need facts, not assumptions, and recorded sessions make it possible to review actions and respond quickly to incidents.

Here is how a typical privileged session workflow works with One Identity Safeguard.

1. A user requests privileged access to a system for a specific task and time period
2. The request goes through an approval workflow based on role and policy
3. Once approved, the user connects to the target system through Safeguard
4. Safeguard acts as a proxy and starts recording the entire session automatically
5. Activity is monitored in real time and alerts are triggered if any risky behavior is detected
6. The session is closed once the task is complete or the time window ends
7. The recorded session is stored and made available for audit or review

Privileged passwords are one of the most targeted assets in financial environments, and Safeguard puts strong controls in place to keep them protected at all times.

• Automatically discovers privileged accounts across systems and applications
• Stores credentials in a secure vault with restricted access
• Rotates passwords on a scheduled basis or after each use
• Enforces approval workflows before credentials are released
• Keeps a full audit trail of every password request and usage event

The Safeguard Authentication Services module strengthens centralized access control in financial organizations by:

• Allowing users to authenticate with a single set of credentials across Windows, Unix, Linux and macOS systems
• Centralizing identity management for easier oversight and compliance across all platforms
• Supporting Single sign-on to reduce password sprawl across multiple operating systems
• Applying consistent access policies across diverse environments