In Privileged Access Management (PAM) systems like CyberArk or Delinea Secret Server, the terms Logon Accounts and Reconcile Accounts have distinct roles related to credential management:
1. Logon Accounts:
• Purpose: Used to access target systems or applications on behalf of users or processes.
• Functionality: These accounts contain the necessary credentials (username and password) to log into the target system or application. The PAM system can retrieve and inject these credentials when a user requests access, ensuring secure authentication without exposing the actual password to the user.
• Example: If you want to log in to a database server, the Logon Account would be the account stored in the PAM system to facilitate this access.
2. Reconcile Accounts:
• Purpose: Used to reset, update, or synchronize passwords for managed accounts.
• Functionality: A Reconcile Account has elevated privileges and is specifically responsible for resetting passwords when there’s a mismatch or after they have been rotated. It ensures the credentials stored in the PAM system remain in sync with the credentials on the target system.
• Example: If the PAM system detects that the stored password for a particular account is incorrect, the Reconcile Account can reset that password without manual intervention, ensuring proper access control.
Key Differences:
• Logon Accounts are used for accessing systems, while Reconcile Accounts are used for managing and maintaining the consistency of account passwords.
• Logon Accounts usually don’t have the privilege to change passwords, whereas Reconcile Accounts require higher privileges to perform password resets.
Both accounts are crucial for the seamless operation of a PAM solution, ensuring secure and automated credential management.
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