Use Case
Use Case
SplitSecure’s is a new kind of PAM/IAM solution, which introduces a concept of secure actions. Under this concept, protected secrets and credentials are never exposed to users. Instead, the user submits a proposal requesting that an action be taken with the protected information. For instance, when a user uses SplitSecure to log in to a protected AWS account, what they are actually doing is submitting a proposal: “Please use the protected credential to mint an ephemeral access token for AWS Account #123456789, valid for the next 15min, then send that token to me.”
This is powerful because it means organizations can write policies not just for when secrets can be accessed, but for specific actions that can be taken with those secrets. For instance, say the secret being protected is a bank account number. The organization using SplitSecure could set different approval criteria for transferring money internally, vs transferring money outside the organization, even though the same secret is being used in both cases.
This can be used for:
This capability can be used internally by large enterprises, to ensure their security software always fits their internal processes. It can also be integrated with new products via SDK, to extend these security claims to an enterprise’s customers or partners.
This customization process is designed to be light and simple. SplitSecure is easy to use and easy to integrate with your existing tools. No large or sophisticated cybersecurity team required – any IT person can have SplitSecure up and running in your institution in as little as half an hour.
Inside your enterprise, you have secrets you protect with other secrets. You might have password managers protected by passwords, PAM platforms you need credentials to access, and so forth. No matter how many layers you add, there’s always a “last secret” protecting the entire system. That last secret is a liability to your organization, and it creates risk of theft or abuse.
SplitSecure solves this problem by offering a way to protect secrets without a persistent “last secret”. It is the foundation upon which your SSO, PAM, Vault, and PKI can securely rest.
SplitSecure solves the “last secret” problem by splitting secrets & credentials across a group of devices called a team. The team can use the protected secret normally, but the secret is never persisted on any device and never leaves the environment.
You can think of this like the classic requirement to launch a nuclear missile, where two users must turn their keys at the same time. Multiple SplitSecure devices collaborate to take an action with the secret, but none of them ever possess the secret.
This architecture is powerful because it offers defense in depth, cryptographic sovereignty, and infinite resolution.
Because no device in the SplitSecure team ever holds the protected secret, it is not possible for an attacker to extract the secret by compromising an employee device. Even if an attacker fully compromised the devices and user accounts of your SplitSecure IT admin, they cannot grant themselves access to protected resources.
Enterprises using SplitSecure retain full control over their secrets at all times. They never have to allow a vendor to hold their secrets – even SplitSecure Inc has no access.
In SplitSecure, the team “sees” how a secret is going to be used before deciding if it should grant an access request. This means CISOs can write policies not just for when secrets may be accessed, but specifically how they may be used.
If you’d like to know more about how SplitSecure can help your organization, or if you’d like to see our technical whitepaper to get a better idea of how it works, please contact our sales team.