Session Intelligence

12Port's Session Intelligence feature is an advanced AI-powered algorithm within our agentless Privileged Access Management (PAM) platform, designed to provide real-time visibility, risk analysis, and enforcement during active remote access sessions.

At its core, Session Intelligence enables dynamic, in-session threat detection and response based on a combination of user behavior analysis and contextual environmental signals. Unlike traditional PAM systems that rely on passive logging or post-session audits, Session Intelligence allows administrators to detect, assess, and act on suspicious behavior, manually or automatically, while the session is still active or marks user activity for future action.

Critically, all analytics and decision-making processes are conducted on-premises, with no reliance on cloud services or the need to deploy endpoint agents. This makes the solution highly secure, scalable, and compliant with stringent data privacy requirements.

How It Works

Session Intelligence operates as an integral layer of our agentless remote access architecture, where all user sessions are proxied through centralized gateways and application brokers. These components mediate and monitor all traffic; data stream, file and clipboard transfers, and keyboard activity; between the user's device and the target systems, regardless of whether access is initiated via a web browser or native client applications.

Within this architecture, Session Intelligence observes and analyzes the following session data in real-time:

Keyboard activity
Clipboard operations (copy / paste activities)
File transfer actions
Protocol-specific interactions (e.g., RDP, SSH, VNC, WEB)
Session metadata (user identity, geolocation, time of access, access purpose, session length)

Using embedded machine learning models and behavioral baselining techniques, Session Intelligence continuously evaluates this telemetry to identify anomalous patterns or signs of misuse.

Key Capabilities of Session Analysis

AI-processed user sessions enable a range of advanced capabilities from real-time monitoring and behavioral analysis to dynamic risk-based controls, that enhance visibility and security during active sessions.

Live Session Monitoring and Intervention
- Pause: Temporarily suspends the user's session, allowing the system or administrator to perform a real-time review. Users may be permitted to resume the session after reauthentication or policy validation.
- Terminate: Immediately ends the session and revokes access. This action can be triggered automatically or manually, and typically requires a new access request to be submitted.
In-Session Threat Analytics
- AI/ML models assess session behavior in real time to identify risky patterns indicative of compromise, lateral movement, or misuse, without waiting for session completion or human review.
- Threat containment actions are triggered based on policy variation thresholds.
Intelligent Alerting and Risk-Based Decisions
- Session Intelligence integrates with a built-in risk scoring engine, which assigns dynamic scores to active sessions.
- Alerts are prioritized based on severity and potential impact, reducing alert fatigue and improving SOC efficiency.
User and Entity Behavioral Analytics (UEBA)
- The software engine establishes individual behavioral baselines for users and assets.
- Deviations from established norms such as abnormal login times, unusual commands, or access to unfamiliar systems, can be logged for immediate review.
Real-Time Anomaly Detection
- Capable of identifying compromised credentials, insider threats, or account misuse during active sessions.
- Behavioral anomalies can trigger automated responses such as session termination, MFA re-challenges, or required workflow enforcement.
Context-Aware Dynamic Access Control

Session behavior is continuously evaluated alongside contextual factors like:
- User activity
- Time of day
- Access justification
- Environmental factors
Progressive Threat Response

As threat levels escalate during a session, gradual enforcement actions, ranging from logging to forced termination or user lockout, can be applied.

This layered defense model helps minimize disruption from false positives while maintaining a strong security posture.

Use Cases for Session Analysis

Real-world use cases highlight how AI-driven analysis of user sessions can enhance threat detection, streamline response actions, and improve overall security posture across diverse access scenarios.

Insider Threat Mitigation: Detects when a legitimate user begins accessing unauthorized resources or exfiltrating sensitive data mid-session.
Credential Compromise Response: Identifies unusual activity (e.g., high-speed lateral movement or script execution) from accounts that have been hijacked, and automatically terminates the session.
Third-Party Access Control: Monitors external vendor sessions in real time, flagging or halting inappropriate activity based on precision tuned rules.
Regulatory Compliance: Supports audit and compliance requirements (e.g., PCI-DSS, NIST, ISO 27001) by ensuring that all privileged access is monitored and controlled.

Why It Matters in Modern PAM

Traditional PAM approaches focus on pre-access authorization and post-session auditing. However, this leaves a significant blind spot during the session itself, precisely when most privilege misuse occurs.

Session Intelligence bridges this gap by providing real-time insight and control, effectively transforming remote access into a continuously verified and adaptively secured interaction.

Combined with our agentless, fully locally processed data, this feature offers:

Stronger threat protection without increasing endpoint complexity.
Immediate response capabilities, minimizing the time to detect and respond to threats.
Lower operational overhead through automation, intelligent alerting and local processing.
Enhanced privacy and compliance, with zero reliance on external cloud services.