Symark Announces PowerBroker 4.0

Symark, developer of leading UNIX/Linux security and administration solutions, today announced PowerBroker 4.0, which introduces the ability to deploy command shells that provide powerful extended control and logging. In addition, a GUI report writer has been added, which greatly facilitates event log reporting. PowerBroker provides UNIX and Linux systems security and accountability by enabling system administrators to manage requests and delegate administrative task privileges and authorization without disclosing the “superuser” or root password. It also enables system administrators to grant selective access to UNIX and Linux-based corporate resources.

PowerBroker protects the root account—the most targeted user account—from hackers who could remove critical system files, gain access to confidential data, and delete audit trails. Administrative tasks such as system programs mounting, performing backups, and adding new users can be delegated to individuals or groups at a granular level, thus reducing the risk of accidental damage and the threat of malicious activities thus dramatically increasing enterprise security.
“Organizations are looking to implement access management solutions to meet regulatory compliance, improve operational efficiency, and contain costs,” said Doug Yarrow, Symark’s president and co-CEO. “PowerBroker offers organizations a cost-effective, non-intrusive, and secure tool for managing root privileges and meeting regulatory requirements. The enhanced shell, GUI report writer, logging, and security capabilities of version 4.0 make PowerBroker a valuable component of a robust and secure UNIX/Linux privilege management infrastructure.”

PowerBroker can control accounts with any elevated privilege, such as ORACLE and SAP. PowerBroker also provides a detailed audit trail of all tasks down to the keystroke that helps organizations pass UNIX and Linux audits and ensure regulatory compliance. PowerBroker 4.0 is shipping now and will be demoed at the CSI 32nd Annual Computer Security Conference and Exhibition in Washington DC November 13-15, 2005.

PowerBroker Version 4.0
PowerBroker 4.0 provides two variations of the standard Korn and Bourne shells. The Korn shell provides a convenient user interface for interactive sessions, while the Bourne shell provides a fast interface for scripts without the overhead of the interactive user interface. The shells provide PowerBroker security for shell scripts, log all shell activity, control shell built-in commands and I/O redirection, provide sub-shell control and the ability to authorize commands by a PowerBroker MasterDaemon, and enable commands to be run either locally or through a PowerBroker Local Daemon.
To further facilitate compliance, PowerBroker 4.0 offers several logging improvements. A new retry limit allows the script writer to stop waiting for a server that is no longer in service. Failover prioritizes log servers based on the number of failures during the secured task, while event logs in CSV and XML format facilitate data exchange with other programs. With support for I/O logging for local mode, PowerBroker 4.0 obviates the need for a log server while eliminating log server reconnections for improved performance and less network overhead.

PowerBroker 4.0 introduces a powerful report writer that provides an easy way to report on the PowerBroker Event Logs, which eases the generation of compliance and audit reports. The report writer incorporates a web-based GUI with a wizard style workflow to make event log reporting simple and straightforward.

Additional enhancements in PowerBroker 4.0 include a new PAM client interface, which allows PowerBroker to easily work with local accounts, NIS/NIS+ accounts, LDAP accounts, and any current or future accounts supported in PAM. Security improvements guard against host spoofing, provide greater control over remote jobs, and make it easier to identify the host from which a job originated. New resource limits in PowerBroker 4.0 control how much of a computer’s resources a job can use, while improved environmental diagnostics make it easier for administrators to diagnose their setup. Connectivity enhancements not only allow PowerBroker to be run on a specific interface for greater control and to further limit spoofing and errors but they also enable programs to be run without a network. In addition, with version 4.0, PowerBroker now supports Ipv6 and Unix Local Domain Sockets.

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