BeyondTrust Corporation Introduces Privilege Manager

Solution provides a Group Policy extension for implementing ‘Least Privilege’ security

Portsmouth, NH - October 18, 2006 – BeyondTrust™ Corporation today introduced Privilege Manager, a software solution that enables customers to implement the security best practice of Least Privilege. BeyondTrust team members developed the innovative Privilege Manager technology under the name PolicyMaker Application Security. BeyondTrust Corporation was formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of DesktopStandard.

"BeyondTrust is focused on providing best-of-breed enterprise security products that help corporate customers move beyond the need to place trust in computers or users," said John Moyer, CEO of BeyondTrust. "Privilege Manager will help our customers achieve this vision by eliminating security breaches that result from incorrect privilege assignment. When users and applications are given more privileges than necessary, organizations expose themselves to threats such as malware and data theft."

Privilege Manager is a Group Policy security extension that gives security administrators the ability to assign the least privilege required for end-users to perform their jobs and lockdown computers. A common problem network administrators face is that restricted end-users need to be able to run a particular set of applications and to manage certain system settings that require elevated permissions, as well as to install approved applications and browser components, such as ActiveX controls. Privilege Manager solves the problems by reducing or elevating permissions on a per-application or per-task basis. The solution is secure and transparent to the user.

With Privilege Manager corporations can:

• Protect Against Zero-Hour Exploits – While anti-virus and anti- spyware solutions are important components of a security strategy, they are not a complete solution. Both require regular definition updates from their vendors. These take time to apply, and during that period new threats can damage your environment. Privilege Manager offers a distinct, complementary approach. By enabling users to run software without administrative privileges, malware is neutralized.
• Prevent Unauthorized Malicious Use - By allowing users to install only approved applications and make only authorized system changes, Privilege Manager prevents users from compromising security. Users can no longer (knowingly or unwittingly) add malicious software or make ill- advised system changes. Privilege Manager also prevents unauthorized data access. Users can be authorized to access protected data/resources only under specified circumstances. Privilege Manager eliminates the need to trust your users to only access approved applications and resources.
• Increase Productivity and Compliance - When you implement a secure, locked-down environment, Privilege Manager provides a way to ensure that users can still do their jobs by running the applications and managing the system settings they require. Corporate productivity will increase as PC downtime and requests for system administrator assistance are reduced. When striving for compliance with regulatory mandates, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPAA, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the need for desktop security increases. Privilege Manager’s policy-based management inherently provides a framework for organizational compliance.

Tom Powell, IT Architect, Desktop and Portable Technologies for Quintiles Transnational explains, "BeyondTrust Privilege Manager is an essential part of our strategy to prevent unauthorized use and zero-hour exploits, and to enforce the security principle of Least Privilege. We have over 13,000 non-administrator user accounts, and numerous applications that require elevated permissions. In addition to managing application privileges, we must be able to selectively allow our end-users to self-install certain software, such as printer drivers and authorized applications."

About BeyondTrust

BeyondTrust Privilege Manager was the first product to allow administrators to assign permissions to applications and tasks, enabling the security best practice of Least Privilege in Windows environments. BeyondTrust Privilege Manager has won many prestigious awards, including "Excellence in Management of Least Privilege - Customer Trust 2006" (Info Security Products Guide), "Best of TechEd 2006 - Security Finalist "(Windows IT Pro/SQL Server Magazine), and "Best Product of 2005 - Policy Management" (MSD2D People’s Choice Security Award).

For more information, visit www.beyondtrust.com.