BeyondTrust, the leading provider of Privileged
Access Lifecycle Management solutions, today announced Privilege
Manager 4.7, the first solution to elevate the privileges of
Internet Explorer based on approved URLs stored in Group Policy.
The new features in Privilege Manager 4.7 make it easier to
migrate to Windows 7 and maintain recommended security
configurations that remove administrative rights from end users.
The latest version of Privilege Manager enables wildcard
characters in policy rules and allows the enterprise to manage when
policies are activated based on timing, frequency or network access.
"For enterprises where
desktop security is an important initiative, Windows 7 lacks the
necessary granularity to effectively manage enterprise-wide
privileges, putting enterprises in an uncomfortable position. They
must either adopt the recommended security practice of removing
administrative rights, which will overwhelm their help desk with
support calls and hamper productivity, or grant end users
privileges that can provide access points for malware, hackers, and
insider threats,” said John Mutch, CEO of BeyondTrust. “Privilege
Manager 4.7 is essential for a secure migration to Windows 7 in large
enterprises.”
BeyondTrust Privilege Manager 4.7 enables
enterprises to remove administrator rights while allowing users to
run all authorized applications by transparently granting
administrative privileges to the specified applications and
activities that require them. This empowers IT to eliminate the
risk of intentional, accidental and indirect misuse of privileges
on desktops without impacting productivity. Privilege Manager 4.7
makes the transition to a Windows 7 environment easier and more
secure with new policy rules to simplify the process of granting
elevated privileges.
“Privilege Manager has enabled us to remove
administrator rights from approximately 3000 managed clinical
computers in the hospital, virtually eliminating malware on these
machines and addressing HIPAA compliance requirements. All of the
users on these computers now follow the security best practice of
least privilege,” said Scott Sands, IS Technical Development, Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “As we look to deploy Windows 7
in the future, it’s reassuring to know that BeyondTrust will help
us secure desktops running the new operating system and continue
to ensure that users will be able to run the applications and
installs our users need without administrator rights or UAC
prompts.”
Based on feedback from customers, BeyondTrust
Privilege Manager 4.7 introduces new enhancements to strengthen
security and meet hard-to-predict privilege management needs that
require more flexibility than a traditional lockdown model,
including:
- Website Self
Service Installation Rule – Privilege Manager 4.7 securely elevates
Internet Explorer privileges based on approved URLs to provide support
for Internet Explorer plug-ins, downloaded installation packages, and
web based applications. This allows users to install the software,
drivers, peripheral software, updates and web based applications they
need. When installed or run from an approved URL, the installation is
transparently elevated for the standard user. - New Policy Execution Options – New
options increase the security of an organization and provide greater
control over when applications can be run with elevated privileges.
Companies can now enable users to run applications with elevated
privileges within a date or time range, such as during business hours or
when filling in for the duties of another employee. Rules can also be
controlled to only apply a certain number of times a user can run an
application with elevated privileges in a set amount of time. Policies
can be enforced based on rules for when a user is connected or
disconnected from a network, to meet the need for varied security needs
based on network access. - Wild Card Rule – Administrators
can now define rules using wildcard characters. This new feature
provides administrators the ability to create rules more quickly and
efficiently for applications provided by trustworthy sources.
BeyondTrust’s award-winning
Privilege Manager software is implemented as a Group Policy
extension. Organizations simply specify the privileges necessary
for an application. These privileges will be added to the
application process when it is launched enabling end-users without
administrative privileges to run all authorized applications.
Privilege Manager reduces support costs and provides greater
flexibility for maintaining standardized
desktop configurations, such as those recently specified in
the Federal Desktop Core Configuration mandate.
Pricing and Availability
BeyondTrust
Privilege Manager 4.7 will be available in April 2010. Pricing
starts at $30 per seat. Current Privilege Manager customers will
be upgraded as part of their upgrade assurance program.
