The following is a guest blog by Co-Founder of Brightmind Partners, former Home Depot CISO and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent, Stephen Ward.
Privilege is the ultimate vulnerability. The very systems designed to secure critical access have become prime targets, and traditional Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions are no longer enough. The old model—overprivileged accounts, static credentials, and cumbersome vaulting—creates more risk than it mitigates.
SGNL is changing that.
When I first met the SGNL team, I wasn’t looking for another PAM investment. The category is crowded, the incumbents are entrenched, and the approach hasn’t evolved meaningfully in decades. Organizations continue to spend millions on legacy vendors, yet their security posture remains unchanged. Add the complexity of integrating cloud systems and services into hybrid environments, and it becomes clear that PAM isn’t equipped to handle the challenge. SGNL’s model is fundamentally different. They aren’t tweaking the old playbook; they’re rewriting it.
Instead of relying on vaults and standing privileges, SGNL enforces access dynamically, based on real-time policy and context. Every request is evaluated in the moment, eliminating unnecessary exposure. SGNL’s identity data fabric, powered by an advanced identity graph, ensures that access decisions do not depend on individual data sources being up to date—this novel approach enables seamless, real-time enforcement. This is where security needs to go: continuous verification, zero standing privileges, and policies that adapt as business needs change.
The market timing couldn’t be better. Security teams are frustrated with legacy PAM. Compliance mandates are tightening. Attackers are exploiting persistent credentials at an alarming rate. SGNL delivers what enterprises have been demanding: access that is both secure and frictionless.
Beyond the product, the team sealed the deal for me. They have deep expertise in enterprise security, a clear vision for where identity and access control are headed, and the ability to execute at scale. SGNL is delivering what PAM was supposed to achieve but never could. They’re setting a new standard for securing privileged access in a way that’s dynamic, scalable, and built for modern enterprises.