---
title: Hardening PingAM authorization
description: To protect sensitive resources, AM policies can use additional conditions to harden the authorization. When AM communicates a policy decision to PingGateway, the decision includes advice to indicate extra conditions the user must meet.
component: pinggateway
version: 2026
page_id: pinggateway:gateway-guide:stepup
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pinggateway/2026/gateway-guide/stepup.html
revdate: 2026-01-15
---

# Hardening PingAM authorization

To protect sensitive resources, AM policies can use additional conditions to harden the authorization. When AM communicates a policy decision to PingGateway, the decision includes advice to indicate extra conditions the user must meet.

Conditions can include requirements to access the resource over a secure channel, access during working hours, or a higher authentication level. Learn more in AM's [Authorization](https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingam/8.1/am-authorization/preface.html) documentation.

The following pages build on the policies to [Enforce AM policy decisions](pep.html):

* [Stepping up the PingAM authentication level](stepup-sso-session.html)

* [Authorizing a single transaction with PingAM](stepup-sso-trx.html)