BeyondTrust has released version 9.0 of PowerBroker for Unix and Linux, our solution for efficiently delegating Unix and Linux privileges and authorization without disclosing passwords for root or other accounts. This new release features some exciting enhancements – especially around enhanced audit, database, and API capabilities. Read on for more.
Advanced Control and Audit over Commands at the System Level
Auditing and controlling activity inside scripts and 3rd party applications in Unix and Linux systems has been difficult for many companies to achieve, especially when it is easy to “cheat” the system by pointing shortcuts to unapproved applications. Other existing tools on the market have not been able to provide a solution to this common challenge.
PowerBroker for Unix & Linux overcomes this challenge in version 9.0 by providing enhanced system level control and audit capabilities over any application – regardless of how the application is initiated. To achieve this, PowerBroker for Unix & Linux provides a secure container for all applications at the very lowest system level, providing fine-grained control over interactions between the operating system and the user. This results in a much faster and secure way of providing root access for individual controlled applications or administrative tasks, closing loopholes that exist in least privilege.
A graphical representation of this method is shown below.
PowerBroker for Unix & Linux Advanced Control and Audit capabilities provide system-level controls.
Database for Storage and Configuration Management
Several database enhancements are available in PowerBroker for Unix & Linux version 9.0. Each enhancement is meant to improve performance and simplify management.

- Centralizing policy configurations into the database simplifies the process of detecting policy conflicts.
- An enhanced, more scalable database, built on MySQL, provides new capabilities for change management of all settings and policy configurations.
- Enhanced event and IO logfile archiving implements a simplified, more complete and integrated method of managing large amounts of data throughout its useful life to reduce storage costs.

Paul Harper, Product Manager, BeyondTrust
Paul Harper is product manager for Unix and Linux solutions at BeyondTrust, guiding the product strategy, go-to-market and development for PowerBroker for Unix & Linux, PowerBroker for Sudo and PowerBroker Identity Services. Prior to joining BeyondTrust, Paul was a senior architect at Quest Software/Dell. Paul has more than 20 years of experience in Unix/Linux operations and deployments.