The Difference Between Privileged Access Management and Application Control

How Privileged Access Management (PAM) and Application Control improve security posture 

Understanding the differences and between PAM and Application Control  

When we talk to customers, the use of Privileged Access Management (PAM) to control application execution is often raised. 

At Airlock Digital, we firmly believe PAM and Application Control are both important, but distinctly different, approaches to security. 

Privileged Access Management (PAM) 
Gartner defines PAM as “tools that provide an elevated level of technical access through the management and protection of accounts, credentials and commands, which are used to administer or configure systems and applications.” 

In practice, PAM tools control, monitor, and secure accounts and credentials across an organization.  

These tools typically: 

• Manage privileged credentials 

• Control privileged sessions, and 

• Monitor and record privileged account activity 

Modern PAM solutions may also support permission discovery, secrets management, and cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM).  

PAM strengthens accountability, reduces insider threat risk, and provides valuable audit evidence — but it does not directly prevent malicious code from running. 

Application Control 
The Australian Cyber Security Centre describes Application Control as a technology designed to "prevent execution of unapproved/malicious programs including .exe, DLL, scripts and installers”.  

Application Control solutions prevent unauthorized software from running on computers and servers, by allowing only pre-approved software to execute.  At Airlock Digital, we refer to this as an ‘allowlist’.  

Some Application Control solutions (including Airlock Digital) also incorporate ‘blocklists’, which: 

• Prevent execution of known malicious files 

• Block unwanted administrative tools or frameworks 

• Defend against “Living Off the Land” attacks (e.g. misuse of PowerShell) 

Who Is Allowed Access Versus What Code Is Permitted to Run 

The difference between PAM and Application Control can be summed up in the following:  

PAM tools focus on management of credentials and accounts, controlling who has privileged access and to what.  

 

Application Control aims to prevent the execution of unapproved or malicious programs. Its focus is on what code runs. 

Crucially, the threat model each technology addresses is different. 

• PAM  protects privileged accounts and records their use. If an attacker compromises an account, PAM may detect the activity but typically cannot stop them running malicious programs. 

• Application Control  blocks unauthorized execution outright. Even if an attacker has valid privileged credentials, they cannot run malware, ransomware, or unapproved tools unless policy allows it. 

While each solution has its advantages, ultimately they address different attack vectors. 

To decide whether to invest in PAM, Application Control, or both as part of a layered defense security model, organizations need to determine which option best meets their security objectives.  If you'd like to speak with someone at Airlock Digital about Application Control, please contact us.