BeyondTrust Announces Support for New Microsoft Group Policy Management Editor
BeyondTrust Privilege Manager 4.1 Enables Enterprises to Easily Create and Manage Policies in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1
PORTSMOUTH, NH. – November 24, 2008 —
BeyondTrust Corporation, the first provider of Least Privilege Management solutions, today announced support for Microsoft’s new Group Policy Management capabilities available in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1. Using BeyondTrust Privilege Manager 4.1, policies can now be created and managed within the new Group Policy Management Editor on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1-based computers to implement the security best practice of Least Privilege. This highly integrated solution makes it even easier for enterprises to create and manage policies that eliminate administrator rights for end users, and transparently grant administrative privileges to applications that require them.
"Organizations today are increasingly reliant on Group Policy to ensure that their Windows servers and desktops are secure and well managed," said Derek Melber (MCSE, MVP) author of the "Group Policy Resource Kit" published by Microsoft Press and one of only ten MVPs in the world in the area of Group Policy. "By providing an easy-to-use solution that enables enterprises to remove administrator rights and allows users to run all authorized applications through tight integration with Group Policy, BeyondTrust Privilege Manager reduces the overall cost of supporting enterprise Windows users and improves security."
Privilege Manager 4.1 introduces support for the new Microsoft Group Policy Management Editor, which is now available in Windows Server 2008 and Vista SP1-based computers that have Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) installed, and includes popular Group Policy preferences as native, built-in functionality. Privilege Manager 4.1 offers new features and enhancements to strengthen Least Privilege security, including:
- Support for creating and editing policies in the new Microsoft Group Policy Management Editor on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1 with RSAT installed.
- Logging enhancements—new flexible options for specifying how much data on application execution will be logged, enabling options such as logging all application execution by users whose token includes administrators or only logging application execution when there is a Privilege Manager rule match.
- CD/DVD Rule elevation for MSI packages—allows for the installation of software in MSI format from authorized CDs and DVDs that an enterprise may distribute to users.
BeyondTrust’s award-winning Privilege Manager software is implemented as a Group Policy extension. Organizations simply specify the privileges necessary for an application. These privileges will be added to the application process when it is launched enabling end-users without administrative privileges to run all authorized applications. Privilege Manager will reduce support costs and provide great flexibility for maintaining standardized desktop configurations, such as those recently specified in the Federal Desktop Core Configuration mandate.
"Group Policy has become the de facto standard mechanism for managing desktop settings and maintaining standardized and secure desktop configurations in a Windows environment," said John Moyer, CEO of BeyondTrust. "As part of our commitment to providing customers with the most comprehensive capabilities for managing Windows user privileges throughout the enterprise, BeyondTrust is introducing seamless integration with Microsoft’s new Group Policy offerings with Privilege Manager 4.1. We look forward to delivering continued support for the latest Group Policy technologies to help companies reduce desktop management costs and make least privilege a manageable reality for their organizations."
Pricing and Availability
BeyondTrust Privilege Manager 4.1 is available immediately. Pricing starts at $30 per seat. Current Privilege Manager customers will be upgraded as part of their upgrade assurance program. Privilege Manager supports Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Server 2008 and 64-bit platforms.
About BeyondTrust
BeyondTrust Corporation, a pioneer in Least Privilege Management, enables enterprises to move beyond the need to trust users with
excess privileges or administrator passwords. BeyondTrust Privilege Manager was the first product to enable the security best practice
of Least Privilege in Windows environments by allowing administrators to assign end-users permissions for required or selected applications.
Least Privilege strengthens security by limiting users to the permissions they need to do their jobs. Hundreds of organizations worldwide in industries such as financial, healthcare, government and military rely on BeyondTrust Privilege Manager to secure their enterprises.
For more information, visit www.beyondtrust.com.
Contacts:
Dave Bowker or John McElhenny
Schwartz Communications
(781) 684-0770
BeyondTrust@schwartz-pr.com