|
NEWS RELEASE
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Leading Appliance for Secure Creation and Storage of Administrative Passwords Now Includes Support for Single-Factor Authentication against LDAP and Active Directory, FIPS-140 Validated Encryption and Comprehensive Performance Monitoring Capabilities
CONTACT:
|
Ellen Libenson
Symark Software (800) 234-9072 |
Dan Borgasano/Myron
Lee
Schwartz Communications (415) 512-0770 |
SYMARK SOFTWARE ANNOUNCES POWERKEEPER®
2.0
Leading Appliance for Secure Creation and Storage of Administrative Passwords Now Includes Support for Single-Factor Authentication against LDAP and Active Directory, FIPS-140 Validated Encryption and Comprehensive Performance Monitoring Capabilities
AGOURA HILLS, Calif. – July 16, 2007
– Symark Software, the leading provider
of information security solutions for
managing privileged account access,
today announced PowerKeeper 2.0, the
industry’s most advanced privileged
password management solution for the
secure creation, control, storage and
retrieval of privileged administrative
account passwords in heterogeneous IT
environments. PowerKeeper 2.0 includes
support for single-factor authentication
against Active Directory or LDAP, as
well as a new performance monitor that
ensures all the processes and services
needed by PowerKeeper are running properly.
These features—along with a sealed operating
system and enhanced encryption that
is supported by FIPS 140-2 validated
software—strengthen an organization’s
overall security posture and secure
privileged accounts across the entire
IT environment.
According to a recent Gartner report by Research Vice President Ant Allan, “Shared-account/service-account password management (SAPM) tools enable effective and efficient password management for shared accounts, without the need for passwords to be shared among staff members who are sanctioned to use those accounts…Through 2009, large organizations will adopt automated methods, including (but not limited to) SAPM tools, to minimize the risks of shared passwords for shared accounts. Through 2009, large organizations will eliminate hard-coded passwords by adopting alternative authentication mechanisms for service accounts, or by using SAPM tools.”
PowerKeeper is a hardened appliance that secures privileged accounts through automated one-time password management, encryption, secure storage of credentials and configurable security features. PowerKeeper safeguards proprietary systems and information through a secure release mechanism that automatically changes and verifies passwords based on granular security parameters established by management. By protecting the UNIX root, Windows Administrator and other privileged accounts—the virtual “keys to the kingdom”—PowerKeeper meets corporate governance, compliance and risk guidelines. PowerKeeper also tracks and logs all password activity—including requests and releases—and creates a comprehensive audit trail from which various reports can be generated.
PowerKeeper 2.0 advances the solution’s core functionality while adding new features to help organizations continue to guard against insider threat and comply with PCI DSS, SOX, HIPAA and other industry standards and federal regulations. PowerKeeper 2.0’s robust new feature set includes:
According to a recent Gartner report by Research Vice President Ant Allan, “Shared-account/service-account password management (SAPM) tools enable effective and efficient password management for shared accounts, without the need for passwords to be shared among staff members who are sanctioned to use those accounts…Through 2009, large organizations will adopt automated methods, including (but not limited to) SAPM tools, to minimize the risks of shared passwords for shared accounts. Through 2009, large organizations will eliminate hard-coded passwords by adopting alternative authentication mechanisms for service accounts, or by using SAPM tools.”
PowerKeeper is a hardened appliance that secures privileged accounts through automated one-time password management, encryption, secure storage of credentials and configurable security features. PowerKeeper safeguards proprietary systems and information through a secure release mechanism that automatically changes and verifies passwords based on granular security parameters established by management. By protecting the UNIX root, Windows Administrator and other privileged accounts—the virtual “keys to the kingdom”—PowerKeeper meets corporate governance, compliance and risk guidelines. PowerKeeper also tracks and logs all password activity—including requests and releases—and creates a comprehensive audit trail from which various reports can be generated.
PowerKeeper 2.0 advances the solution’s core functionality while adding new features to help organizations continue to guard against insider threat and comply with PCI DSS, SOX, HIPAA and other industry standards and federal regulations. PowerKeeper 2.0’s robust new feature set includes:
-
Advanced Support for Single-Factor Authentication Solutions—PowerKeeper 2.0 enables single-factor authentication against LDAP and Active Directory, managing accounts on Linux, UNIX and Windows systems. This further strengthens PowerKeeper’s value within large, heterogeneous IT environments, helping to unify an organization’s access control mechanism and simplify the identity management process by ensuring that PowerKeeper is compatible with other methods the company implements to authorize users.
-
FIPS 140-2 Validated Components—PowerKeeper 2.0 incorporates FIPS 140-2 validated software products to provide the most secure encryption options possible and equipping customers with an enterprise-class, long-term solution to meeting access control challenges. The FIPS 140-2 validated components include: Windows IPSec, used by the PowerKeeper firewall to establish a transport that closes IP ports left open by other solutions; Windows Crypto API, the Microsoft cryptographic software components that provide encryption for Windows Server 2003; SSH Tectia Server; PKZIP, which encrypts the passwords stored on PowerKeeper; and EncryptionPlus Hard Drive, which provides whole-disk encryption (including the boot sector) using AES 256-bit encryption.
-
Comprehensive Performance Monitoring—All PowerKeeper processes are monitored to ensure that the services and programs needed by PowerKeeper are running properly. The performance monitor checks the availability of the mechanisms used by PowerKeeper, repairs any conditions that may result in performance issues or interruptions of service and validates and corrects network connections. By validating that PowerKeeper is consistently operating at the highest performance level possible, administrators have continuous control over privileged account passwords and assurance that proprietary systems and information are protected.
-
Enhanced Logging Capabilities—Information collected by PowerKeeper’s logging system has been expanded to included more detailed information about the operating system that can be used for troubleshooting purposes. In addition, any data extracted from the logs can be transferred to another service via secure copy using public key authentication. This ensures the accurate tracking of the events and activities logged by PowerKeeper—a critical aspect of adhering to security and compliance best practices.
-
Expanded Platform Support—PowerKeeper 2.0 adds support for several platforms and devices, including BlueCoat SGOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 5 (RHEL 5). This increased support provides organizations with the flexibility needed to ensure that a secure access control system is in place regardless of the variety of platforms they are running.
“PowerKeeper’s rich feature set makes
it an ideal solution for organizations
struggling to safeguard privileged passwords
to address insider threat and compliance
issues. Version 2.0 enhances and builds
on these features, resulting in a robust
enterprise-class technology for managing
privileged accounts,” said Robert H.
Farber, chief operating officer at Symark
Software. “By adding support for single-factor
authentication against LDAP and Active
Directory, advanced encryption and comprehensive
performance monitoring, PowerKeeper
2.0 is the industry’s most comprehensive
technology for controlling administrative
accounts.”
Pricing & Availability
PowerKeeper 2.0 is available now. For
pricing and additional information,
please call Symark at 800-234-9072 or
visit
www.symark.com.
About Symark
Founded in 1985, Symark is the leading
provider of information security solutions
for managing privileged account access
within heterogeneous UNIX, Linux and
Windows environments. Symark PowerBroker®
enables granular delegation of administrative
privileges while restricting root account
access. Symark PowerPassword®, User
Management Edition provides user account
management along with login and password
security policies. Symark PowerKeeper®
provides storage and secure access of
administrative passwords for multiple
servers, applications and network devices.
All three products offer central administration
and detailed audit logs to help comply
with regulatory mandates. Symark offers
extensive expertise in enterprise computing
security, and its products are backed
by unmatched technical support. For
more information, visit
www.symark.com.
###
NOTE TO EDITORS: If you would like additional information on Symark and its products, please view the Symark web site at www.symark.com.
Symark, the Symark logo, PowerPassword, PowerBroker, and PowerKeeper are trademarks or registered trademarks, in the United States and certain other countries, of Symark Software. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the individual companies and are respectfully acknowledged.
