Imagine if privilege elevation didn’t rely on static policies or permanent admin rights. Instead, what if access was granted through clearly defined roles that precisely control what someone can do - and for how long?
What if users could request access through a central platform, an ITSM solution like ServiceNow, or an identity governance tool such as SailPoint, with built-in approval workflows and automatic expiration? This is the promise of Zero Standing Privilege.
It delivers all the operational benefits of privilege elevation, without the persistent risk of standing access. No always-on admin rights waiting to be exploited. No forgotten privileged accounts expanding your attack surface.
A true Zero Standing Privilege approach is powered by Just-in-Time (JIT) Privileged Access, where:
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Privileged access exists only when it’s needed
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The time window is tightly controlled and automatically revoked
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The scope of access is precisely defined by role
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No permanent privileged accounts are created on target systems
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And the risk of credential abuse during a compromise is dramatically reduced
Implementing JIT may feel daunting - but many of you Secret Society members are already rising to the challenge and have, or are working on, JIT implementations. In fact, one Delinea customer – Steve Rosenquist, Cyber Security Senior IAM Manager at UL Research Institutes - was able to achieve an “80%+ reduction in standing privileged credentials through Just-In-Time access and rotation.”
We applaud you if you are already taking on this challenge and working to achieve Zero Standing Privilege! Many teams, however, don’t realize all that they can do with the Delinea capabilities that they already have, whether it’s maturing from:
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Standing access to credentials, to a point where credentials still exist - but persistent privileged access does not.
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Users having permanent admin or server access, to a state of privilege-on-demand, where privilege is tightly controlled and automatically revoked.
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Users having permanent local admin rights, or sharing local admin passwords across machines, to JIT-enabled endpoint security, where access is tightly controlled, and elevation is temporary and only occurs when necessary.
Secret Society members, I am happy to say that you are probably closer than you even think when it comes to supporting zero standing privilege with JIT. Whether you are using Secret Server, Server Suite or Cloud Suite, or Privilege Manager, please join Delinea technical experts (such as