From Password and Account Management to Identity and Privileged Access Management: these terms, which seem abstract at first glance, are not necessarily light fare. That is why we have prepared a special comparison for you and evoke some beautiful images in you at the cold time of year: Do you still remember your last holiday?
You book your hotel: IdentityManagement
Your last vacation: You have already booked the overnight stay in advance – including the duration of your stay, catering option, room selection and additional bookable extras. For this, you had to register online with your personal data. So we start with Identity Management: the hotel checks your data and sends you a booking confirmation with which you can check in. Nothing else happens in Password Safe, when the administrator (the hotel) uses your data to create a personal account including access permission for you.
Your hotel stay: Password Management
Well prepared and relaxed, you arrive at the hotel in the early evening, check in and drop off your luggage. The receptionist will hand you a plastic card that will act as a room key. The plastic card gives you exclusive access to your room for the limited time of your stay. Your luggage (your passwords) will be securely delivered (encrypted) to your room, to which only you have access (password management). A clear case of password management!
No matter if you have booked only one night with breakfast or a week all inclusive. Or, whether you are the hotel manager, an employee or a guest: At this point, password management says nothing about permissions or privileges, which we’ll get to later. And off we go into the city!
Grant or prevent access:Privileged Account Management
Late in the evening you arrive back at the hotel and pull the door – locked. You’re anxious to see if there’s anyone left at the front desk to open up for you. Then you notice a notice on the door: “Reception opening hours: daily from 06:00-23:00. In the meantime, please use your digital room key.” So you dig out the plastic card again, insert it into the slot and the door opens willingly humming (Password Safe Login). So they were granted guest access to the hotel lobby.
Privileged account management at its finest: a hotel thief – i.e., a physical hacker of the system – would have already failed here. Also, if you were to attempt to use your card to enter the spa or another room that has not been added (e.g., to reveal the password of another department), this would be prevented and the attempted violation would be logged on your card for tracking purposes. Comparable to auditing and reports in Password Safe.
Guest or employee? Privileged Access Management
The next morning you startle because someone is trying to get into your room by pushing down the handle. “Room service!” it calls from outside (password retrieval only by reason). The cleaning staff must have overlooked the notice on the door. No matter. Because Privileged Access Management has ensured that no one can gain access without your authorization.
A role comparison: The hotel manager – or administrator – has privileged access to all premises. The “Cleaning Service” role enables temporary access to all hotel rooms (remote access via Remote Desktop Control). However, only with the authorization to clean up and not to stay overnight, of course. The “Do not disturb” notice on the room door is similar to the notification system in Password Safe. Since you have booked breakfast, you can enter the dining room in the morning and eat there. However, you have no business in the kitchen: For that, you would need the role Employee and the authorization to “work in the kitchen”. Learn more about password security at Password Safe here.
Check-in und Check-out: Privilegierte Passwortverwaltung
When you check out, you return your room key: in other words, you log out. Now you no longer have access to your hotel. The room (your account) and the corresponding plastic card (your accesses) are already prepared for the next guest (password reset). So the lock is changed regularly: Privileged Password Management.
And that’s where the Password Life Cycle comes full circle. There is one thing in common after all: just like when choosing a hotel, you should only settle for the best when it comes to your Password Manager. With Password Safe you have definitely booked the 5-star category!
Check out the new Life Cycle here!
