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BNM RMiT Section 10 · PCI DSS Req 7/8 · ISO 27001
PAM-as-a-Service Malaysia
Privileged Access Management hardware leased on a 36-month bundle. Every admin login vaulted, every privileged session recorded, every vendor access time-boxed and approved.
Threat Profile
Privileged accounts are the highest-value target in any enterprise breach
Security analysts consistently observe that the difference between a contained security incident and a catastrophic breach is whether the attacker gains access to a privileged account. A workstation compromise is recoverable. A domain administrator account compromise is an existential event — the attacker can access every system, disable all monitoring, exfiltrate the entire data estate, and deploy ransomware across every endpoint simultaneously.
Malaysian organisations face three privileged-account risk patterns that PAM directly mitigates: (1) Credential reuse — administrators who use the same password across multiple systems mean a single phished credential unlocks the entire estate. PAM replaces known passwords with vault-managed credentials that rotate automatically. (2) Dormant accounts — ex-employees, departed contractors, and forgotten service accounts retain privileged access indefinitely unless explicitly removed. Quarterly PAM access reviews surface and remove these. (3) Vendor remote access — maintenance contractors typically use their own device and personal VPN credentials, with no session recording and no automatic expiry. PAM brings these sessions under recorded, time-boxed, approval-gated control.
For organisations subject to BNM RMiT, PAM is not discretionary — Section 10 specifically requires privileged account inventory, MFA, session monitoring, and periodic review. See the managed security leasing overview for procurement comparison, and consider pairing with SOC Sensor-as-a-Service for network-layer visibility alongside privileged-session recording.
Why Lease PAM Hardware
On-prem PAM hardware versus cloud PAM for Malaysian regulated organisations
Cloud-delivered PAM solutions — where credentials are vaulted in a foreign cloud — create the same data-sovereignty tension as cloud SIEM for BNM-licensed financial institutions. An FI's privileged credentials are operational secrets of the highest classification. Vaulting them in a US-hosted cloud means a foreign court order or a cloud-provider breach could expose the master keys to your production environment.
On-prem PAM hardware keeps the vault physically on your premises, within your network perimeter, under your physical security controls. The leasing model delivers this architecture without the upfront capital cost. CyberArk and BeyondTrust appliances are available from RM 3,500 per month on a 36-month lease — a fraction of the RM 200,000+ cost of buying the CyberArk enterprise stack outright, including licences and professional services.
The PDPA 2024 amendment, while primarily a data-protection regulation, also reinforces the importance of access controls for organisations holding personal data — which describes virtually every Malaysian enterprise. Privileged access to the systems holding personal data should be controlled, recorded, and reviewed. See our HSM-as-a-Service if your organisation also requires hardware-protected key management alongside privileged access control.
Frequently asked questions
What does BNM RMiT Section 10 specifically require for privileged access?
BNM RMiT Section 10 addresses access control and privileged account management for financial institutions. The key requirements include maintaining an inventory of all privileged accounts, enforcing multi-factor authentication for privileged access, implementing session monitoring and recording for privileged sessions, conducting periodic reviews of privileged access rights (typically quarterly), and ensuring separation of duties between administrators. PAM-as-a-Service delivers all of these with an RMiT-specific audit pack covering each control requirement, which nCrypt uses as the primary artefact during BNM regulatory reviews.
What is the difference between PAM and general identity access management?
General identity and access management (IAM) governs which users can access which applications — typically implemented via Active Directory, Azure Entra ID, or an identity provider like Okta. Privileged Access Management (PAM) is specifically focused on the highest-risk accounts — administrators with domain admin, root, or database admin rights — and adds vaulting (no one knows the actual password), session recording (every keystroke and screen action is logged), just-in-time access (privileges are elevated only when needed), and approval workflows for high-risk operations. PAM is a layer on top of IAM, not a replacement for it.
How does PAM help contain insider threat risk?
Insider threat — whether malicious or accidental — is most damaging when a privileged account is involved. An administrator with unchecked access to the production database, the backup system, and the domain controller can cause damage that an ordinary user cannot. PAM mitigates this in three ways: credential vaulting ensures no individual permanently knows the admin password, removing the ability to act outside a recorded session; session recording means every privileged action is attributable and reviewable; and quarterly access reviews ensure that ex-employees and departed contractors are removed promptly rather than leaving dormant privileged accounts active.
Can PAM cover third-party vendor remote access?
Yes. Vendor access management is a standard component of the PAM bundle. Third-party vendors — maintenance contractors, ERP consultants, managed IT providers — access systems through the PAM portal with time-boxed access, MFA, and full session recording. Access is granted via an approval workflow (your IT or security team approves each session) and automatically revoked at the end of the approved window. This satisfies the vendor access control requirements under RMiT and ISO 27001.
Does this integrate with our existing Active Directory and Microsoft Entra ID?
Yes. Both CyberArk and BeyondTrust integrate natively with Active Directory for account discovery and with Entra ID (Azure AD) for cloud privileged accounts. CyberArk also integrates with AWS IAM, Google Cloud IAM, and Kubernetes for DevOps privilege management. We map your environment during onboarding and configure the integrations as part of the week-1 to week-2 discovery phase.
What happens if the PAM appliance goes offline — can our admins still work?
Mid-Market and Enterprise tiers run HA pairs, so single-appliance failure does not cause an outage. For SMB single-appliance configurations, a break-glass procedure is documented in the runbook — your IT manager holds an emergency credential in a sealed envelope that grants direct access during any PAM unavailability. The break-glass use is logged and reviewed. Appliance restoration targets 4 hours under our hardware SLA.
Hardware-as-a-Service · 36-month bundle
Privileged Access Management hardware, leased. From RM3,500/month.
CyberArk or BeyondTrust appliance — every privileged login recorded, every credential vaulted, every session reviewable. RMiT-aligned.
What's included in the bundle
PAM appliance (HA pair on Mid-Market+)
Privileged account discovery and onboarding
Session recording with searchable transcripts
Quarterly privilege reviews + access certification
BNM RMiT / ISO 27001 audit pack
Hardware refresh at month 30
Who this is for
- ✓BNM-licensed FIs onboarding to RMiT
- ✓Healthcare with privileged access to PHI systems
- ✓Enterprises with insider-threat concerns
- ✓Companies needing third-party / vendor privileged access control
Deployment timeline
Week 1-2
Privileged account discovery, vendor account categorisation
Week 3-4
Appliance install, vault onboarding, first 50 accounts
Week 5-8
Phased rollout to remaining privileged accounts
Ongoing
Monthly access reviews, quarterly certifications, session-recording sampling
Sample bundles by company size
SMB
RM 3,500 – 5,500 / month
Single appliance, <100 privileged accounts
MidMarket
RM 5,500 – 12,000 / month
HA pair, 100-500 accounts, vendor access management
Enterprise
RM 12,000 – 30,000+ / month
Multi-DC, 500+ accounts, DevOps secret management, just-in-time access
Aligned to your regulatory obligations
BNM RMiTPCI DSS Req 7 / 8ISO 27001PDPA
Frequently asked questions
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Financing available via our partner financial institutions. Indicative monthly figures based on standard 36-month terms; final pricing subject to credit assessment and signed master service agreement.