Post by Mark Gibson

I read Marius Poskus' post on a funding request for Privileged Account Management (PAM), which was turned down multiple times - like so many requests for cyber funding. I ran Marius' request through Jack Jones FAIR-CAM GPT and got a board-ready response. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗣𝗔𝗠 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘆 (𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥 + 𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥-𝗖𝗔𝗠) 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 Same audit finding 3 years running: “Privileged access not reviewed quarterly.” Convert it to a loss-event scenario and dollars. 𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼 Privileged misuse disrupts core systems or leaks data. Objective: detect misuse fast, contain quickly, and restore safely. Targets: detect ≤5 min, disable/rotate ≤10 min, close the finding with evidence. 𝗜𝗻𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀 (𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲) 2,400 privileged accounts. 600 reviews per quarter at 0.5 hr each → 1,200 hrs/yr. Loaded rate $75/hr → $90k/yr manual reviews. Repeat-audit overhead $25k/yr. Single-event loss: $4–5M. Event rate today P50 0.10/yr, P90 0.05/yr. PAM price $60k/yr. 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀 (𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀) Annual value preserved P50 ≈ $𝟰𝟭𝟱𝗸 = risk reduction $𝟯𝟬𝟬𝗸 + operating savings $𝟳𝟮𝗸 + audit friction $𝟮𝟱𝗸. P90 ≈ $𝟮𝟭𝟱𝗸. Payback ≈ 𝟭.𝟳 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 (P50) and 𝟯.𝟯 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 (P90). 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥-𝗖𝗔𝗠) • 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: vaulting, rotation, MFA, just-in-time elevation reduce standing privilege. • 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (Visibility × Monitoring × Recognition): session recording, real-time analytics, rules for risky use. • 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲: kill session, rotate secrets, disable account in minutes; safe break-glass. • 𝗩𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗴𝗺𝘁: coverage of admin and service accounts, connector health, scheduled rotations. • 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: clear SLOs and a one-page report the auditor can sign. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸 Approve $𝟲𝟬𝗸/𝘆𝗿 starting Q2. 90-day outcomes: coverage ≥95% of admin + service accounts in vault; 100% of tier-0 secrets on ≤24h rotation; access reviews automated with ≤20% manual effort; median disable/rotate ≤10 min on suspected misuse; repeat finding closed with evidence in GRC. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 Even at P90 we clear the finding and pay back inside a quarter. That meets typical operational investment appetite. 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 This replaces “tool request” with a measured plan tied to probability, time, and money. Fund once, fix for good. FAIR-CAM is a trademark of the FAIR Institute.  It is freely available for non-commercial use but a license is required for commercial use.  Contact the FAIR Institute for information regarding licensing. #PAM #FAIR-CAM #cybersecurity #CRQ