Leading Analyst Firm Highlights Critical Security Vulnerabilities of Unmanaged Privileged Accounts; Cites CyberArk as PAM Pure-Play Market Leader
Newton, Mass., March 18, 2015 – CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR), the company that protects organizations from cyber attacks that have made their way inside the network perimeter, today announced that it was named a leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Privileged Access Management 2014 Vendor Assessment (doc #253303, December 2014). To download a free excerpt, please visit https://www.cyberark.com/privileged-access-management-market-leader/.
The IDC MarketScape assesses vendors offering products in the privileged access management (PAM) market and notes that, “CyberArk is the PAM pure-play “big gorilla” with the most revenue and largest customer base.”
The compromise and misuse of privileged accounts is a key signature in advanced, targeted cyber attacks. As demonstrated in recent, devastating attacks on businesses, cyber attackers steal and exploit privileged accounts to conduct a hostile takeover of a company’s entire infrastructure. By exploiting privileged access, attackers can conduct internal reconnaissance, move laterally throughout a network without detection and complete the goals of the attack. The IDC MarketScape recognizes the critical need of securing privileged accounts and provides businesses with recommendations for evaluating vendors.
“Attackers typically exploit privileged credentials to accomplish their goals, which is why privileged access management is a crucial aspect of securing the enterprise,” said Pete Lindstrom, research director, Security Products at IDC. “CyberArk has established itself as a privileged access management leader through its breadth of capabilities and commitment to innovation as evidenced by solid revenue numbers and growing customer base.”
The IDC MarketScape report highlights the key functionality businesses should consider when selecting a privileged access management provider, including the ability to:
- Manage access to shared accounts with sensitive privileges: This includes tracking any shared account usage by controlling password access and logging user activity for anomalous behavior.
- Remove Windows local administrative functionality: By removing the local administrator privilege from the user account and providing flexibility and functionality for a user’s particular needs, IT can better support individual job needs while protecting against today’s malware threats that target these admin accounts.
- Enhance visibility of sensitive account activity: Third-party accounts are often shared intentionally or unintentionally among users outside an organization, making them extremely difficult to monitor. With proper PAM solutions in place, visibility into account activity can be elevated beyond basic capabilities for a full view of the network.
- Restrict privileges for separation of duties: To minimize the potential for a single user to compromise the system, organizations should implement solutions that provide separation of duties and therefore force the need for collaboration among attackers to compromise a system.
- Manage embedded application and service accounts: Distributed architectures often require some way to establish a presence on a set of resources and embedding static accounts and passwords has been a very common solution. Organizations must manage, protect and secure these accounts, as they pose a significant security risk.
“Protecting against today’s aggressive cyber attacks requires a fundamental shift in security mentality. CIOs and CSOs who are serious about security will build defenses based on the premise that the attackers are already – or will soon be – on the inside of the organization,” said John Worrall, CMO, CyberArk. “By locking down privileged accounts, businesses can prevent attackers from moving freely in the enterprise and stop advanced attacks early in the attack cycle.”
The CyberArk Privileged Account Security Solution is a complete solution to protect, monitor, detect and alert on privileged accounts. For more information, please visit: https://www.cyberark.com/products/privileged-account-security-solution/.
For a free excerpt of the IDC MarketScape report, please visit: https://www.cyberark.com/privileged-access-management-market-leader/.
About IDC MarketScape: IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor’s position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors.
