PowerBroker Desktops Offers Enhanced Privilege Management Features
Integration of PowerBroker Desktops, Windows Edition with Microsoft enables new automation, workflow, reporting, and customization features
Note: ESJ’s editors carefully choose vendor-issued press releases about new or upgraded products and services. We have edited and/or condensed this release to highlight key features but make no claims as to the accuracy of the vendor's statements.
BeyondTrust, a privilege delegation and authorization management solutions provider, has enhanced PowerBroker Desktops, Windows Edition (formerly Privilege Manager) thanks to its deeper integration with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), Version 4.9 can automatically identify and report on all enterprise applications that require administrator privileges. Additionally, new customization features allow IT to create custom User Account Control (UAC) messages that request information from the user and may submit a request for privilege elevation to IT.
The latest version of PowerBroker Desktops, Windows Edition makes privilege information available to SCCM through Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), which SCCM uses to collect information from computers on the network. This allows IT to view reports through the same Microsoft interface that’s already used for many other configuration settings.
Enhancements in PowerBroker Desktops, Windows Edition v4.9 make it easier for IT to discover which applications require administrative privileges and what policies need to be created to optimize security without overburdening IT. This is the first step in removing administrator privileges from end users in a transparent, seamless way without downtime or lost productivity. Additionally, tighter integration with UAC provides a significantly improved experience for Windows 7 or XP users who are logging in as standard users with UAC enabled.
According to BeyondTrust’s director of program management, Peter Beauregard, “The major hurdle for removing administrator privileges from end users has been the difficulty of identifying all the applications that require elevated rights. With SCCM integration, reporting, 'passive mode' auditing, and other features, this is now completely automated.”
The PowerBroker suite manages and controls administrative privileges for desktops, servers, devices, applications, and virtualized environments running on Windows, Unix/Linux, and Max OS X. By providing a single solution for managing privileged access across all common platforms in heterogeneous IT environments, the PowerBroker suite helps organizations eliminate the risk of misuse of privileges from a single user interface.
An evaluation copy of PowerBroker Desktops, Windows Edition 4.9 is available at www.beyondtrust.com/PBWD-Eval/.