7 Benefits of Using RPAM in Multi-Cloud Security

Business leaders are no longer asking whether to move to the cloud – they're deciding how to best manage multiple cloud environments. According to Flexera's 2024 State of the Cloud Report, nearly 90% of organizations have already adopted a multi-cloud strategy.¹ This widespread adoption makes sense: leveraging two or more cloud platforms can help businesses build more scalable, flexible, and resilient operations. 

Unfortunately, managing access to sensitive data becomes increasingly complex as organizations spread resources across multiple cloud providers. In this guide, we'll explain how Remote Privileged Access Management (RPAM) can help you overcome these challenges and strengthen multi-cloud security.

What Is RPAM’s Role in Multi-Cloud Security?

A 2024 survey found that 65% of business leaders say cloud security is their organization's top priority.² RPAM – a cybersecurity solution that protects and controls remote access to privileged data and systems – is a critical component in protecting cloud environments. It ensures that only users with proper authorization can access sensitive resources while maintaining strict security controls against unauthorized activity.

In multi-cloud environments, RPAM centralizes remote access management across Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and private cloud infrastructures. This unified approach eliminates the security gaps that often appear when organizations handle identity management and access policies separately for each platform.

Security Challenges in Multi-Cloud Environments

Multi-cloud environments come with their own set of security hurdles that increase breach risks, which could be why 40% of data breaches in 2024 involved data stored across multiple cloud environments.³ Some of the most common multi-cloud security challenges include:

Identity Sprawl

Managing privileged accounts across multiple cloud providers creates identity sprawl, where credentials are scattered across various platforms. This makes it difficult to track access rights and identify security vulnerabilities.

Unauthorized Access Risks

Without strict access controls, cybercriminals can exploit misconfigured permissions to gain unauthorized access to cloud resources. Insider threats, compromised credentials, and supply chain attacks multiply this risk.

Compliance and Audit Challenges

Modern businesses must navigate regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and ISO 27001, which demand strict control over privileged access. Multiple cloud platforms with different policies make maintaining and demonstrating compliance particularly difficult.

Lack of Centralized Monitoring

Traditional security solutions fail to provide complete visibility across multiple cloud platforms. Security teams need real-time monitoring and session tracking capabilities for effective threat detection and response.

7 Ways RPAM Strengthens Multi-Cloud Security

RPAM offers a unified, secure approach for managing remote privileged access in cloud environments. Here’s how:

1. Centralized Access Management

RPAM consolidates privileged access management across multiple cloud platforms to ensure security policies are consistent and enforceable. Features like role-based access control (RBAC) and least privilege principles enable organizations to maintain consistent security policies while limiting user access to only the resources users need.

2. Secure Credential Management

RPAM reduces the risk of account exposure by storing privileged credentials through secure vaulting and encryption. Regular automated password rotation adds an extra layer of protection against credential compromise.

3. Privileged Session Monitoring

Real-time session monitoring makes it easy to track privileged activities in the cloud as they happen. Security teams can watch user actions, spot unusual behavior, and generate audit logs for compliance purposes.

4. Advanced Access Controls

RPAM offers advanced access controls like just-in-time (JIT) privileged access, which grants users temporary permissions only when needed. It also works with multi-factor authentication (MFA) solutions to verify user identities before granting access. Even if credentials fall into the wrong hands, unauthorized users remain locked out of privileged accounts.

5. Automated Policy Enforcement

RPAM automatically enforces security policies across all cloud platforms, which eliminates human error and helps ensure consistent security standards. Additionally, the system can revoke access when suspicious activities are detected or access periods expire.

6. Cross-Platform Activity Correlation

Advanced RPAM solutions can correlate user activities across different cloud platforms to help security teams identify potential threats that might go unnoticed when examining each platform separately.

7. Emergency Access Management

RPAM provides controlled break-glass access procedures for emergency situations, ensuring organizations can quickly grant necessary access during incidents while creating detailed audit trails of emergency access events.

How Can Businesses Use RPAM in Cloud Security?

There are several ways businesses use RPAM to enhance their multi-cloud security strategies, including:

Insider Threat Prevention

Insider threats pose a major security risk in cloud environments, with 83% of organizations reporting at least one insider attack in 2024.⁴ RPAM mitigates this risk by monitoring privileged access, enforcing strict session controls, and detecting suspicious activities in real time.

Cloud Infrastructure Management

Cloud administrators and DevSecOps teams often need remote privileged access for infrastructure configuration, deployment management, and troubleshooting. RPAM provides this access securely through time-based controls and comprehensive activity logging.

Third-Party and Vendor Access Control

Many organizations rely on external vendors, contractors, and service providers for cloud-based operations. RPAM enables granular, role-based access for these third parties, ensuring vendors can only access authorized resources for a limited time.

Strengthen Your Cloud Cybersecurity With Safous

As more businesses expand their cloud presence, RPAM offers the comprehensive controls and visibility needed to protect sensitive data across multiple cloud environments. The ability to centrally manage, monitor, and secure remote privileged access has become indispensable for maintaining a strong security posture in today's complex cloud landscape.

Safous Zero Trust Access integrates powerful RPAM capabilities with a user-friendly platform designed specifically for enterprise environments. Key features include:

• Granular access control with role-based permissions
• Integrated MFA for privileged access attempts
• Session monitoring with real-time recording and analysis capabilities
• Centralized management of privileged remote access across all systems

Struggling to navigate the challenges of multi-cloud security? Contact us today to learn how Safous can secure remote privileged access across your entire enterprise.

Sources:

1. https://info.flexera.com/CM-REPORT-State-of-the-Cloud
2. https://cpl.thalesgroup.com/cloud-security-research
3. https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach
4. https://securityintelligence.com/articles/83-percent-organizations-reported-insider-threats-2024