Xton Technologies Access Manager

Digital transformation is expanding organizational attack surfaces through initiatives such as digital workplaces, DevOps, security automation, and IoT, creating new security risks that must be managed without disrupting business operations. Privileged Access Management (PAM) is positioned as a critical control set for reducing risks tied to privileged access, which commonly undermines least-privilege principles and weakens accountability due to broad, often unmonitored permissions. Two primary privileged user groups are emphasized: privileged business users who access sensitive information assets through application accounts, and privileged IT users who administer infrastructure through system, software, or operational accounts. Core PAM capabilities span shared account password management, privileged session management, application-to-application credential management, session recording/monitoring, controlled privilege elevation/delegation, privileged user behavior analytics, endpoint privilege management, and privileged access governance, with an industry trend toward integrated suites and advanced analytics.

Xton Technologies is presented as a newer PAM entrant focused on a lean, efficient implementation of core PAM capabilities via Xton Access Manager (XTAM). XTAM groups functionality into privileged account management (vaulting of passwords/secrets/keys), privileged session management (browser-based access, monitoring, recording, remote control), and privileged job/task automation (recurring admin tasks like password resets and health checks). Its fully agentless design leverages target system APIs, simplifying deployment and transparency, but limits deep privilege elevation controls on Unix/Linux; baseline CPEDM is addressed through command allow/deny controls.

XTAM organizes target systems and credentials into folders and “records,” supports granular role/user access and approval workflows, logs all access, and integrates with SIEM via syslog. Session features include SSH tooling support, proxy/tunnel options, SSH tunneling for running protocols like SQL with statement recording, and efficient HD RDP/SSH recording. It also proxies HTTP(S) to web portals with credential substitution and records traffic to searchable HAR files. Security includes AD/LDAP integration, MFA, SAML SSO, AES-256 encryption with separate master key storage, and standard database backends; a SaaS option is not yet available.

• Privileged users are categorized into privileged business users and privileged IT users.
• Privileged accounts often provide unrestricted and frequently unmonitored access across IT assets, limiting individual accountability.
• KuppingerCole’s PAM capability set includes SAPM, PSM, AAPM, session recording/monitoring, CPEDM, PUBA, EPM, and PAG.
• Xton Access Manager provides privileged account management, privileged session management, and privileged job/task automation.
• Xton Access Manager operates completely agentless using target system APIs.
• Approval workflows support a four-eye principle for accessing secrets.
• All access to managed accounts and related information is logged and can be sent to SIEM systems using syslog.
• Xton Access Manager supports browser-based remote sessions for GUIs and shell terminals and works with tools such as PuTTY, SecureCRT, and WinSCP.
• HTTP(S) sessions can be proxied to a destination web portal with traffic recorded into a searchable portable HAR format.
• Xton Access Manager does not currently offer an as-a-service deployment option.

• “To remain relevant, organizations must reinvent themselves by being agile and more innovative.”
• “Emerging technology initiatives such as digital workplace, DevOps, security automation and the Internet of Things continue to expand the attack surface of organizations as well as introduce new digital risks.”
• “Security leaders, therefore, have an urgent need to constantly improve upon the security posture of the organization by identifying and implementing appropriate controls to prevent such threats.”
• “Privileged Access Management (PAM) represents the set of critical cybersecurity controls that address the security risks associated with the use of privileged access in an organization.”
• “Xton Technologies positions its Xton Access Manager (XTAM) as a solution that is targeted on these core areas, where security and regulatory compliance requirements must be met with an efficient and rather lean approach.”
• “One consequence of that approach is that Xton Access Manager works completely agent-less using the target systems APIs.”
• “Support for SSH Tunneling is one of the application highlights allowing it to run various protocols (such as SQL) over the SSH tunnel from outside to the internal organization network including high-trust login and monitoring such as recording of SQL statements.”
• “Instead, keystroke and clipboard logging can be activated, which then allows for collecting a variety of data that is indexed in real time and can be searched for identifying critical events using less resources than OCR.”
• “XTAM also uses a very efficient session recording method that allows for HD recordings of RDP and SSH recording to be a small fraction of traditional video files.”
• “They provide a well-thought-out solution that is focused on a lean and efficient implementation of key capabilities within Privileged Access Management, avoiding the overhead and complexity that comes with some of the other tools in the market.”