Cybersecurity Insurance Checklist - Meet Insurance Requirements with BeyondTrust PAM Download for Free

  • Partners
  • Support
  • Careers
  • English
    • Deutsch
    • français
    • español
    • 한국어
    • português
BeyondTrust
  • Products

    Privileged Password Management

    Discover, manage, audit, and monitor privileged accounts and credentials.

    • Password Safe
    • DevOps Secrets Safe
    • Privileged Access Discovery Application

    Endpoint Privilege Management

    Enforce least privilege across Windows, Mac, Linux, and Unix endpoints.

    • Windows and Mac
    • Unix and Linux
    • Active Directory Bridge

    Secure Remote Access

    Centrally manage remote access for service desks, vendors, and operators.

    • Remote Support
    • Privileged Remote Access
    • Privileged Access Discovery Application

    Cloud Security Management

    Automate the management of identities and assets across your multicloud footprint.

    • Cloud Privilege Broker

    BeyondInsight

    Experience the industry’s most innovative, comprehensive platform for privileged access management.

  • Solutions

    Use Cases

    • Cloud Security
    • Compliance
    • Cyber Insurance
    • Digital Transformation
    • Endpoint Security
    • Operational Technology
    • Ransomware
    • Service Desk Efficiency
    • Zero Trust

    Industry Applications

    • Financial Services
    • Government Agencies
    • Healthcare
    • Law Enforcement
    • Manufacturing
    • Schools & Universities

    Solutions

    The BeyondTrust Privileged Access Management portfolio is an integrated solution that provides visibility and control over all privileged accounts and users.

  • Resources

    Learn

    • Blog
    • Customer Stories
    • Competitor Comparisons
    • Datasheets
    • Demos
    • Glossary
    • Podcast
    • Whitepapers

    Attend

    • Events
    • Go Beyond
    • Training
    • Webinars

    Support

    • Changelog
    • Professional Services
    • Technical Documentation

    Universal Privilege Management

    Our innovative Universal Privilege Management approach secures every user, asset, and session across your entire enterprise.

  • Company
    • About
    • Leadership
    • Core Values
    • Partners
    • Careers
  • Watch Demo
  • Contact Sales

Securing SQL Server v.Next with PowerBroker Password Safe API

November 20, 2016

  • Blog
  • Archive

Secure SQL Server v.Next

Many of you have heard the recent news that Microsoft is releasing SQL Server for the Linux and Docker platforms, which is available as a pre-release called SQL Server v.Next.

I am sure many IT and Security folks are celebrating Microsoft’s decision to embrace additional platforms. However, this new support presents users with additional security challenges.

For example, to install and run SQL Server v.Next on Docker, according to Microsoft’s directions, you would:

  1. Pull the Docker image from Docker Hub
  2. Run the Docker image using the following command
docker run –e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' –e 'SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' 
-p 1433:1433 -d microsoft/mssql-server-linux

Now the accepted practice to set credentials in the stateless container is to use environment variables. You can see this in the -e parameter 'SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>'.

The big problem with this approach is that the SA credentials will appear in the bash history. Not only this, but the credentials will also show in the output of the ps command (used to list running applications). This effectively exposes the Super User account to any admin with access to the host machine.

Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem.

The PowerBroker Password Safe API can be leveraged within a Python wrapper that securely extracts the SA account password from Password Safe, and then runs the container using the Python Docker client.

This is just one example of using dynamic real-time substitution to replace hard-coded credentials. The additional benefit of this approach is that as soon as SQL Server is launched, the credentials may be automatically rotated to a new random value so any bash history values would be out of date. The next time the container is run, the API would simply pull down the latest password, launch, and then rotate the credentials as before.

BeyondTrust's PowerBroker Password Safe enables secure credential rotation/storage, advanced workflow control, auto-launch, and session recording for administrative sessions to most major database platforms. For true dual-control, PowerBroker Password Safe allows administrative activities to be monitored in real-time. Password Safe not only enables the remote termination of these sessions, but also has the ability to pause (or lock) a session that is already in progress.

With capabilities such as these from Password Safe, organizations can reduce risk of the unauthorized release of privileged credentials. If you would like to learn more about how Password Safe can help, request a personalized demo.

Photograph of Martin Cannard

Martin Cannard,

Martin has been helping organizations solve challenges in the privileged account management and identity and access management space for over 24 years. At Dell Software, Martin managed a team of Solution Architects, focused on designing and implementing solutions in the Privileged Account Management (PAM) space. Prior to joining Dell, Martin was Sr. Product Manager for Novell Privileged User Manager, a privilege management application acquired from Fortefi, an organization where he served as Vice President, Corporate Development. Prior to this, he was Program Manager of Client Technologies at Symantec where he was responsible for many ground-breaking field and channel enablement applications. Additionally, Martin managed the European QA group at Axent Technologies and has held various management positions in consulting, systems development, and operations. Martin is a regular speaker for security events, and webinars.

Stay Up To Date

Get the latest news, ideas, and tactics from BeyondTrust. You may unsubscribe at any time.

I agree to receive product related communications from BeyondTrust as detailed in the Privacy Policy, and I may manage my preferences or withdraw my consent at any time.

You May Also Be Interested In:

Whitepapers

Cybersecurity Insurance Checklist

Whitepapers

Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report 2021

Whitepapers

Privileged Access Management: PAM Checklist

Keep up with BeyondTrust

I agree to receive product related communications from BeyondTrust as detailed in the Privacy Policy, and I may manage my preferences or withdraw my consent at any time.

Customer Support
Contact Sales

Products

  • Endpoint Privilege Management
  • Password Management
  • Privileged Remote Access
  • DevOps Secrets Safe
  • Remote Support
  • Cloud Privilege Broker

Resources

  • Blog
  • Case Studies
  • Competitor Comparisons
  • Datasheets
  • Glossary
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Webcasts
  • Whitepapers

About

  • Company
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Leadership Team
  • Partner Program
  • Press
BeyondTrust Logo
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Privacy
  • Security
  • Manage Cookies
  • WEEE Compliance

Copyright © 1999 — 2022 BeyondTrust Corporation. All rights reserved. Other trademarks identified on this page are owned by their respective owners. BeyondTrust Corporation is not a chartered bank or trust company, or depository institution. It is not authorized to accept deposits or trust accounts and is not licensed or regulated by any state or federal banking authority.