[November 27, 2012] |
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Cyber-Ark Secures Primary Targets in Critical Infrastructure Attacks - Privileged Accounts
NEWTON, Mass. --(Business Wire)--
Cyber-Ark®
Software today announced the release of its Privileged Identity
Management Suite for Critical Infrastructure Protection (PIM/CIP) to
secure, manage and monitor all privileged account access and activities
across Operational Technology (OT). The solution secures critical
infrastructure by preventing the exploitation of local or remote
access to privileged
accounts - the primary target of Industrial Control Systems (ICS)
and SCADA cyber-attacks.
Privileged Accounts Emerge as Primary Target (News - Alert) of Critical
Infrastructure Attacks
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Organizations that serve as national critical infrastructure have
interconnected corporate IT systems with production and OT
environments that were traditionally segregated. Connecting ICS, SCADA
and other OT systems to corporate networks has introduced known risks
from the IT environment into the OT environment - including the
exposure of privileged access points.
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Privileged access points consist of privileged and administrative
accounts, default and hardcoded passwords, application backdoors, and
more. These accounts act as a gateway to an organization's most
sensitive production systems, which control the production and
delivery of electricity, water, gas and other critical services to the
public.
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The typical operational environment consists of thousands of servers,
databases, SCADA RTUs and PLCs, network devices and applications - all
controlled and managed by a variety of privileged and shared
administrative accounts. Built-in vulnerabilities, including hardcoded
and factory default passwords, are also known problems in OT and SCADA
systems. The security, control and auditability of these privileged
access points are often neglected, while usage is hard to monitor.
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A recent alert1 from The Department of Homeland Security's
Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT)
highlighted that the combination of network connectivity with these
known vulnerabilities would "significantly increase the ICS threat
landscape."
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The report further stated that critical infrastructure companies
should "not assume that their control systems are secure or that they
are not operating with an Internet accessible configuration. Instead,
asset owners should thoroughly audit their networks for Internet
facing devices, weak authentication methods, and component
vulnerabilities."
PIM/CIP Secures Critical Infrastructure -Protects the Privileged
Pathway
Cyber-Ark's PIM/CIP identifies, secures, manages and tracks all
privileged account access and activities across the operational
environment, preventing potential cyber-attacks by controlling and
monitoring all privileged activities. Cyber-Ark PIM/CIP enables critical
infrastructure organizations to:
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Minimize Insider Threats and External Cyber-Threats -
Privileged credentials have emerged as the primary target for
cyber-attackers - including internal and external attackers. PIM/CIP
identifies all privileged accounts across critical infrastructure and
secures the use of these shared accounts by identifying users with
authorization, providing full accountability and account usage (audit
trails).
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Manage Privileged Identities - Organizations can manage
privileged passwords and control access for the thousands of remote
devices that connect to a network. PIM/CIP enforces policies and
workflows around privileged password usage, strength and automatic
replacement.
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Secure and Monitor Remote Vendor/Contractor Access - Enables
external contractors to have a secured and transparent connection into
the network while isolating the critical network from the threats of
malware -- all without divulging system passwords. PIM/CIP provides
complete real-time monitoring and recording capabilities of all
privileged sessions for forensic analysis and change management
review. Organizations are able to terminate suspicious activity in
real-time.
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Achieve Compliance with NERC (News - Alert) CIP Standards - Cyber-Ark PIM/CIP
automates controls to meet NERC CIP regulatory requirements and
continuous audit readiness. Organizations can create audit ready
processes and policies for password strength, periodic password
replacement and role-based access control.
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Reduce Operational Costs - A flexible policy management engine
discovers, provisions, automates and replaces hundreds of thousands of
privileged credentials across the ICS network and the Smart Grid,
eliminating resource-intense manual procedures. This minimizes energy
fraud/theft in smart meters by restricting access and creating
accountability.
"The built-in flaws of ICS and OT systems have left our critical
infrastructure increasingly vulnerable to attacks. As we saw with
Stuxnet, the Shamoon virus at Saudi Aramco, and similar high-profile
attacks, privileged account vulnerabilities have emerged as the priority
target for cyber-attackers," said Roy Adar, vice president of product
management, Cyber-Ark Software. "Cyber-Ark's PIM/CIP identifies and
protects these privileged access points, securing each organization from
the inside out. In addition, the suite provides a comprehensive audit
trail for ensuring compliance regulations laid out by NERC CIP, CFATS
and NRC."
For more information, visit the website
or download the following whitepapers: Cyber-Ark
for Critical Infrastructure Protection, Cyber-Ark
for Secured Remote Access and Complying
with NERC CIP Standards.
About Cyber-Ark
Cyber-Ark® Software is a global information security company that
specializes in protecting and managing privileged users, sessions,
applications and sensitive information to improve compliance,
productivity and protect organizations against insider threats and
advanced external threats. With its award-winning Privileged
Identity Management, Privileged
Session Management and Sensitive
Information Management Suites, organizations can more effectively
manage and govern data center access and activities, whether on-premise,
off-premise or in the cloud, while demonstrating returns on security
investments. Cyber-Ark works with more than 1,100 customers, including
more than 35 percent of the Fortune 100. Headquartered in Newton, Mass.,
Cyber-Ark has offices and authorized partners in North America, Europe
and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.cyber-ark.com.
Copyright © 2012 Cyber-Ark Software. All Rights Reserved. All
other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their
respective holders.
1 ICS-ALERT-12-046-01A-Increasing Threat to Industrial
Control Systems, Oct. 25, 2012
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