Centrify Suite 2010 Helps Ensure Higher Levels of Trust, Control, Compliance
New DirectSecure dynamically isolates and protects sensitive systems, enables end-to-end encryption; DirectManage delivers rapid deployment, accelerates provisioning
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Centrify Corporation has expanded its Centrify Suite with a pair of components that provide additional layers of security and compliance while extending IT operational efficiencies.
The addition of these two new solutions to the existing Centrify Suite -- consisting of DirectControl, DirectAuthorize and DirectAudit -- gives Centrify a solution set for extending Active Directory across a wide range of heterogeneous systems, hypervisors, and applications.
The first new component, DirectSecure, extends the Centrify Suite beyond its traditional capabilities -- managing end users' identity and access management privileges -- into endpoint protection. DirectSecure authenticates computers and data center servers, protecting these "trusted" systems from "untrusted" computers and enabling end-to-end encryption of data in motion.
DirectSecure, a host-based software solution, dynamically isolates sensitive systems or groups of systems into trusted virtual networks to allow higher levels of protection for intellectual property and confidential information. As a result, untrusted systems have no visibility or access to trusted systems on the network, and tiers of trust levels can be formed. DirectSecure also provides the option for end-to-end encryption of data in motion.
For example, DirectSecure can completely isolate systems that process credit card or personal health information from other trusted systems within the same network. This provides an added level of protection and can significantly reduce the cost and complexity of a compliance audit by limiting its scope to just systems that, say, process credit card data, and not the entire network.
DirectManage, the second new component, provides a scalable and extensible management platform that centralizes the discovery, management, and user administration of non-Microsoft systems through integration into Active Directory-based tools and processes.
The DirectManage management platform automates provisioning of administrator access and facilitates rapid migration of existing accounts and privileges. In a heterogeneous data center, DirectManage can discover systems and groups, implement trust relationships and policies -- including the migration of existing relationships from UNIX and Linux accounts -- and centrally manage, monitor, and audit all user access. DirectManage includes the new Zone Provisioning Agent, which leverages Active Directory group membership to automate the provisioning of user profiles into Centrify Zones.
Intentional exploitation of access and system connectivity continues to represent a significant source of data breaches. The Identity Theft Resource Center recently reported that for the first time more breaches are caused by malicious hacking or insider theft than by human error or accidental exposure. As a result, organizations are increasingly searching for an easy and centralized way to understand, monitor, and control access to sensitive systems. Notably, they must extend the security of those systems without increasing complexity or impeding the ability to do business. The addition of DirectSecure and DirectManage to the Centrify Suite 2010 go to the heart of these issues.
In addition to the introduction of DirectSecure and DirectManage, enhancements to the Centrify Suite 2010 include:
- Additional operating system support, extending Centrify's coverage for the widest range of heterogeneous systems, hypervisors, and applications: more than 225 flavors of UNIX, Linux and Mac
- Feature enhancements to DirectControl for Mac OS X, including support for Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) in both 32- and 64-bit modes and new group policy capabilities
- Updated version support and other enhancements to Centrify-enabled open source tools, including Centrify-enabled Samba and Centrify-enabled OpenSSH
The Centrify Suite 2010 is available now. It is licensed on a per guest OS server basis, starting at US $350 per server for Standard Edition. DirectSecure is included in the Platinum Edition and pricing starts at US $1,150 per server. DirectManage is included with every Centrify Suite purchase and is available at no additional charge to new and existing customers.
For more information, visit http://www.centrify.com.