Gartner Research

Privileged Account Management: Addressing the Seedy Underbelly of Identity

Published: 27 September 2007

ID: G00203342

Analyst(s): Mark Diodati

Summary

Privileged accounts can bypass controls designed to protect sensitive information from destruction or breaches. These accounts traditionally live outside the organization's identity management processes. In this report, Analyst Mark Diodati examines the compliance issues associated with privileged accounts, surveys products from the fast-growing privileged account management market, and recommends some approaches to improve the security of privileged accounts.

Table Of Contents

Synopsis

Analysis

  • How Bad Is the Privileged Account Problem?
    • They Are Everywhere
    • They Are Exponential
    • They Are Difficult to Control
    • They Have No Accountability
    • They Are, After All, Privileged
  • Compliance Rears Its Ugly Head
  • How Do Privileged Account Management Products Work?
  • Market Impact
  • Recommendations
    • Change Privileged Account Passwords Frequently
    • Use Stronger Authentication
    • Be Available
    • Integrate with Core Identity Management Components
    • Integrate Privileged Account Management Auditing with the SEIM Infrastructure
    • Limit the Rights of Privileged Accounts, and Limit User Access to Privileged Accounts

The Details

  • Administrative Checkout
    • Authentication Options
    • Dual Control
  • Programmatic Checkout
    • Platform Support
    • Password Caching
  • Password Verification
  • Periodic Reconciliation
  • Password Change Options
  • Provisioning and LDAP Integration
  • The Vendors
    • Cloakware Server Password Manager (CSPM) 3.2
    • Cyber-Ark
    • e-DMZ Security Password Auto Repository (PAR) v2.0
    • Fischer High Privilege Account Management (HPAM)
    • M-Tech ID-Archive 4.2.5
    • PassGo SafeKeeping v5.0
    • Symark PowerKeeper v2.0
  • Complementary Products
    • Symark PowerBroker
    • PassGo Technologies UNIX Privilege Manager
    • e-DMZ Security eGuardPost

Conclusion

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