CA Technologies strengthens identity-centric security portfolio

A new release of CA Privileged Access Manager helps control privileged user access to dynamic VMware NSX® environments. Updates to CA Identity Suite help simplify identity governance for all users, and a new product, CA Data Content Discovery, helps address compliance demands by discovering and classifying mainframe data. With these new capabilities, CA is improving how businesses protect against security breaches, while helping them to more confidently implement the digital systems and applications that power the application economy.

Today’s release of CA Privileged Access Manager offers privileged access management interoperability with VMware NSX, VMware’s network virtualization platform for the software-defined data center.  Combining the built-in security capabilities of VMware NSX with the security capabilities of CA Privileged Access Manager helps secure system access for VMware NSX administrators and helps improve operational efficiencies. 

“This release of CA Privileged Access Manager, and its ability to control privileged user access and protect privileged credentials, allows customers to extend the benefits of the VMware NSX network virtualization platform and micro-segmentation,” said Steve Firestone, CA Technologies senior vice president and general manager, Security business. “This product helps reinforce CA’s leadership position in this market and helps organizations protect the systems of today’s application economy.”

A June 2014 report conservatively estimated the annual global economic cost of cybercrime at $375 billion, and investigations have consistently revealed that stolen or misused privileged user accounts and credentials are at the heart of many of those damaging breaches. 

“By 2018, the inability of organizations to properly scope and contain privileged access will be responsible for up to 60 percent of insider misuse and data theft incidents, up from more than 40 percent today,” according to Gartner Inc.

CA Protects the Application Economy by Securing the Credentials that Present the Most Risk 

Affigent, LLC, a solution provider serving the federal market since 2003, is creating security offerings to help federal customers protect their software defined data centers. “VMware NSX enables the agility and inherent network security that organizations need to respond quickly to the demands of today’s dynamic work environments,” said Carol Rivetti, president at Affigent. “CA Privileged Access Manager complements VMware NSX to control, monitor, and audit privileged user activity. Building on native VMware NSX security capabilities, CA Privileged Access Manager proactively controls privileged user access and activity enabling granular operator privileges in a VMware NSX environment and for workloads running in the environment.” 

CA Privileged Access Manager focuses on securing privileged accounts to minimize the risk of damaging breaches. The latest release interoperates with VMware NSX Service Composer™ to provide advanced security operator privileges for VMware NSX network-based resources and the underlying VMware NSX management environment. When unusual events or incidents are flagged, CA Privileged Access Manager provides dynamic security responses, such as terminating an administrative session, automatically starting session recordings, or forcing the administrative user to re-authenticate with stronger credentials. These automatic controls help protect privileged users and credentials from compromise and risk, while helping to maintain the integrity of the operating environment.

It also improves operational efficiencies and business agility with automation to help keep pace with the dynamic cloud and virtualization environments that are the backbone of the application economy. As CA Privileged Access Manager discovers new virtual instances, it provisions security policy in real-time. 

“The privileged user security capabilities in CA Privileged Access Manager will complement the strong security services provided by VMware NSX,” said Scott Clinton, vice president/senior director, partner product management, Networking and Security Business Unit, VMware. “CA Privileged Access Manager with VMware NSX enables control over operational tasks and can give customers added confidence that they have the best of both – VMware NSX network and security micro-segmentation and granular access control.”

Identity Management and Governance Simplified for the Business and IT   

CA is further enabling operational efficiencies, security and compliance by simplifying identity management and governance processes for business users who are now responsible for the identity-related functions that were once the domain of a central IT group. The new release of CA Identity Suite provides an intuitive and efficient business user experience designed to drive high user adoption and customer satisfaction across both the business and IT. Using new Web and mobile application launch pads, users can perform all identity and governance related processes from one centralized pane on any device. Personalization of the interface also helps drive a consistent user experience.

Additionally, CA Identity Suite enhances security by integrating with CA Advanced Authentication to provide credential provisioning for robust multi-factor authentication. This new capability includes step-up authentication, which requires the user to provide more evidence to prove they are who they claim to be when attempting an activity that is flagged as suspicious or more risky.

With more than four million members in Florida and an additional 15.5 million people served through its affiliated companies in 16 states, Florida Blue is committed to its members’ health and protecting their personal information. “We have thousands of employees supporting our mission to promote better health. Managing and governing the access of our employees is critical to improving employee productivity and efficiency, and maintaining security and protection of our member data,” said Linley Ali, Lead Enterprise Architect of Florida Blue, Florida’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield Company. “CA’s technology makes identity management simple by putting technical language into business terms any employee can understand, and effectively helping protect member information by controlling who can access what.” 

Mainframe Data Discovery and Classification Helps Address Security and Compliance Demands 

Developed to address security and compliance needs, CA Data Content Discovery is the industry’s first on-platform data discovery and classification solution that helps safeguard mainframe data by automatically scanning the data to identify where sensitive and regulated information is located, how it’s accessed and by whom.

“CA Data Content Discovery is a very useful product to discover regulated data on the z/OS platform,” said Joe Sturonas, Chief Technology Officer, PKWARE, Inc., an encryption software company and CA partner. “We expect banking and insurance companies will find the product valuable as the volume of sensitive and regulated information those organizations have far surpasses most organizations. With breaches in the news every day, the ability to find where this sensitive data resides with CA Data Content Discovery, then encrypting it, or even ruling out you don’t have it, are critical steps in protecting a business.”