RSAC – Centrify releases cloud-based privilege user management service

Centrify has launched a cloud-based privileged identity service to enable users to addresses today’s growing gap in security, visibility and control over privileged accounts.
According to the company, Centrify Privilege Service (CPS) adds shared account password management for servers, network devices and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) to its flagship Centrify Server Suite. It also addresses security and audit requirements for the management of both cloud-based and on-premises access to critical production systems and applications by remote employees and third parties.
This results in a comprehensive and tightly integrated privileged identity management solution that not only increases security and simplifies compliance, but is also built to span both cloud and data center infrastructure, said CEO and founder Tom Kemp.
“Centrify’s modern approach to managing and securing privileged accounts is in stark contrast to legacy privileged identity management software offerings that do not address increasingly hybrid IT environments of on-premises and cloud-based systems,” he said.
“These products also fail to secure and manage third-party access and utilise cumbersome on-premises architectures that require expensive perpetual license purchases and months of professional services. Analysts have been asking when will the privileged identity management market be disrupted by the cloud, and we believe CPS is the answer.”
In an email to IT Security Guru, CTO EMEA Barry Scott, said that it has been in the Privileged Identity Management (PIM) space on UNIX, Linux and Windows for over 11 years now with Centrify Server Suite; ensuring that privileged users have the minimum level of access needed and only on the systems where they have a good business reason to have that access.
“We believe the right approach to PIM is one of least privilege, where users log on as themselves and are given the ability to execute only those specific privileged commands appropriate to their role – that’s what Centrify Server Suite does,” he said.
Asked if users acknowledge that they need this solution, Scott said that businesses already acknowledge that identity and privilege is a problem, and are looking for solutions- it’s also becoming a focus for auditors. “The fact that privileged users may be anywhere, and systems they are accessing may also be anywhere, only complicates the issue,” he said.
“CPS caters for the modern enterprise, which includes on-premises and Cloud infrastructure, a mobile workforce, big data and IT users who are internal, contractors and outsourced IT partners. CPS is unique in the market in being the first PIM solution built from the ground up in the cloud, and takes advantage of our Cloud Identity platform which has been used by our Mobile Management and Cloud SSO (IDaaS) solutions for the last
four years.
“Previously, vendors in this area built for an entirely on-premises market which becomes less and less valid as time goes on. We are building for where the market is going, not where it’s been.”