ManageEngine upgrades PAM360 with AI-driven cloud access controls

ManageEngine has introduced new artificial intelligence-powered capabilities and advanced automation features to its privileged access management platform, PAM360.

The updated PAM360 platform now includes AI-governed cloud access policy recommendations and a privileged task automation module, which is enabled through Qntrl, Zoho's workflow orchestration platform. These additions are intended to help organisations automate administrative routines, enforce the principle of least privilege at scale, and decrease security risks through automated remediation processes.

PAM360's Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) module now benefits from AI enhancements that facilitate the creation of intelligent least privilege policies and offer risk remediation policy recommendations. This improvement aims to provide organisations with greater control over access governance, particularly as the number of both human and non-human digital identities grows in complex, hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

ManageEngine referenced findings from its 2024 Identity Security Insights report to highlight the demand for more advanced security controls. According to the company, "68 per cent of the respondents are looking for AI-driven improvements in risk-based access control."

Ramanathan Kannabiran, Director of Product Management at ManageEngine, commented on the challenges facing organisations as they address access management in diverse digital ecosystems. 

He stated, "Today's hybrid, multi-cloud environments have led to an explosion of human and non-human identities, creating complex access workflows and rampant privilege sprawl. To tackle this, organisations require dynamic policies that can intelligently enforce the principle of least privilege across their identity stack. With the AI-driven CIEM module in PAM360, IT security teams can now generate intelligent least privilege policies, proactively flag risky entitlements and automate remediation, helping enterprises close critical identity security gaps before they're exploited."

The updated CIEM module in PAM360 can now generate AI-driven least privilege policies, automate remediation of shadow admin risks, and provide real-time access and session summaries. These features are intended to enable organisations to address issues such as access sprawl and misconfigurations in complex IT environments with lower reliance on manual intervention.

ManageEngine is also introducing new automation controls through its partnership with Qntrl, which powers the new privileged task automation feature in PAM360. Historically, automation in business workflows - such as robotic process automation (RPA) or script-driven routines - has relied on manual access provisioning, which can introduce delays and increase the risk of errors and privilege misuse.

Kannabiran explained the impact of the new automation module, noting, "Privileged task automation in PAM360 eliminates the need for administrators to manually grant and revoke necessary access privileges for every automated routine. Access is provisioned just in time, based on the task context, and revoked automatically once the task ends. This not only preserves admin bandwidth, but also reduces the risk of privilege misuse caused by excessive or standing access."

Through deep integration within the Zoho ecosystem, PAM360's automation capabilities are designed to function natively, removing the necessity for other third-party automation tools. The platform now offers streamlined vendor access with automated onboarding and offboarding, provisions temporary just-in-time access with fine-grained controls, and supports secure, hands-free transfers of privileged data. The aim is to increase operational speed and consistency while reducing security risks.

ManageEngine stated that PAM360 is intended to enforce stronger governance of access to sensitive corporate assets, supporting both core privileged access management requirements and integration with other IT management tools. According to the company, the platform is used by over 5,000 organisations and more than one million administrators globally.