Implementing Privileged Session Monitoring

When to Use

• Deploying or configuring session recording for all privileged access to critical servers and databases
• Meeting compliance requirements (PCI-DSS 10.2, SOX, HIPAA, ISO 27001) that mandate privileged activity monitoring
• Investigating an incident where an administrator or third-party vendor may have performed unauthorized actions
• Implementing real-time alerting for high-risk commands executed during privileged sessions
• Establishing a forensic audit trail of all administrative actions on production infrastructure

Do not use for monitoring standard user sessions or endpoint activity; use EDR/UBA solutions for general user behavior monitoring. Privileged session monitoring focuses specifically on elevated-access sessions.

Prerequisites

• CyberArk PAM Self-Hosted or Privilege Cloud deployment with Digital Vault configured
• CyberArk Privileged Session Manager (PSM) or PSM for SSH (PSMP) installed on a hardened Windows/Linux jump server
• Network architecture where all privileged access is routed through the PSM proxy (no direct RDP/SSH to targets)
• PVWA (Password Vault Web Access) deployed and accessible for session review
• Active Directory integration for authenticating PAM users