Privileged Access Breaks When Identity Becomes the Perimeter

StrongDM's Amol Kabe on Fixing Privileged Access Management Adoption Failures Tom Field (SecurityEditor) • December 30, 2025

As identity management replaces the network perimeter as the cybersecurity frontline, privileged access management has failed to keep pace. Legacy PAM tools weaken security, while modern, identity-first approaches simplify access and strengthen controls across cloud and SaaS environments, said Amol Kabe, chief product officer at StrongDM.

See Also: Proof of Concept: Rethinking Identity for the Age of AI Agents

Kabe said privileged access can no longer rely on static credentials or complex deployments. He framed the problem as structural, not operational. Legacy PAM systems fail because they ignore end-user experience, which limits adoption and undermines security outcomes.

"Most PAM projects are at most 30% complete. They [customers] celebrate when it's 30% complete, but what we find with our customers is they enjoy the fact that they can get 80% adoption, and it ...